Bendinat, Illetes and Portals: the coast just west of Palma

Three places on one old estate

Drive west out of Palma on the old Andratx road and you pass Sant Agustí, then cross into the municipality of Calvià at Cas Català. From there, Illetes, Bendinat and Portals Nous follow one another along the coast in a few kilometres. The houses carry on without a break, so many visitors assume they are still in Palma. They are not: Calvià’s town hall handles planning, local taxes and the padró (the residents’ register) for all three.

They also share a history. Most of this coast was once a single country estate, Bendinat, and building on its land began in the 1930s. The first house in Portals Nous went up in 1932, Palma families built summer houses there in the years before the Civil War, and development at Illetes started in 1933. The estate’s old manor house survives as Bendinat Castle, remodelled in neo-Gothic style in the mid-19th century. It is privately owned and used for weddings and events, so it is not open for ordinary visits.

Illetes: coves and seafront hotels

Illetes, with Cas Català beside the Palma boundary, is the most seaside of the three. The coast is a run of small coves with clear water. Platja d’Illetes is the best known, while Cala Comtesa and Cala Xinxell a little further south are usually quieter. The islets that give the place its name lie just offshore. Hotels and apartment buildings, several from the 1950s and 1960s, sit close to the water, and residential streets with detached houses and villas climb inland towards the Ma-1 motorway.

In winter it is a quiet suburb of a little over 3,000 registered residents. In summer the coves fill with hotel guests and day visitors from Palma, and parking near the beaches becomes hard. Shops are few, so a big weekly shop means a drive.

Bendinat: villas around a golf valley

Bendinat is the most private of the three. It has no village centre, just quiet residential streets on the slopes around the Real Golf de Bendinat, an 18-hole course in a wooded valley that opened with nine holes in 1986. Detached villas with gardens make up much of the housing, with some apartment complexes near the golf course and the coast. The higher streets look out over the Bay of Palma.

Its own shoreline is rocky. Cala Bendinat, also called Portals Nous beach, is a small cove backed by pines and one of the calmest in the area. Bendinat has little nightlife and changes less with the seasons than the resorts further west. The streets are hilly and spread out, so most residents drive.

Portals Nous: a village and its marina

Portals Nous is a small village of just over 2,000 registered residents with the Puerto Portals marina at its foot. The marina opened in 1986, has around 700 berths and is lined with restaurants, boutiques and yacht services. Platja de l’Oratori, a sandy beach beside the marina’s eastern breakwater, is the main beach, named after the chapel above it. Everyday shops, a pharmacy and cafés line the old Andratx road through the village, and they stay open all year.

August is the busy month. The marina holds an evening market on some nights in summer, and Portals Nous shares its festes with Bendinat around mid-August. Housing mixes apartment buildings and villas, and the hillside of Costa d’en Blanes above the village is mostly detached houses with views over the marina.

What they share

• Schools: the state primary and secondary schools, CEIP and IES Bendinat, stand just inland of Illetes. Two private international schools are in Portals Nous: King Richard III College, with the English curriculum, and Agora Portals International School, with the International Baccalaureate.
• Health: a small public GP unit, UBS Bendinat, is in Cas Català. The main health centre for the area is in Palmanova, and Son Espases, Palma’s main public hospital, is about 15 minutes away by car.
• Buses: TIB buses run along the old Andratx road to Palma, the A11 airport bus stops in Bendinat and Portals Nous, and Palma city bus line 4 reaches Illetes.
• Distances: central Palma is about 15 minutes from Illetes and 15 to 20 from Bendinat and Portals Nous outside rush hour. The airport is 25 to 30 minutes away.

Which one suits you

None of the three has a weekly market or an old town of its own; Calvià’s markets are further west. All share the same trade-offs: busy beaches and scarce parking in July and August, and rush-hour traffic on the way into Palma. If you plan to let a home here to holidaymakers, check its licence first. Our guide to holiday rental licences explains what to look for.

Areas in this post

Illetes & Cas Català · Bendinat · Portals Nous & Puerto Portals