Porto Cristo is a mixture of holiday resort, fishing port, yacht marina and residential town for locals on the East Coast of Mallorca.
The town has a great deal to offer those seeking a relaxed and very picturesque seaside location with plenty to do, great restaurants, and not too built up. It is quite different to the busier package-tour resort locations such as Sa Coma just to the North of Porto Cristo, and Cala Millor and Cala Bona a little further to northward.
Part of the charm of Porto Cristo is its setting. It is based around a natural harbour that has a super sandy beach with a very attractive rocky headland to its northern side, and has moorings for a mixture of luxury yachts and leisure boats along with the local fishing boats stretching from its southern side and up the estuary of the El Rivet river.
There is a wide range of things to do in the town and surrounding area. Boating of course is a major pastime, and there are day-trip boating cruises including glass bottom boats that run down the very pretty stretch of coastline. The Caves of Drac and Caves of Hams are just outside of the town which attract hundreds of thousands of visitors every year represent one of the island’s premier tourist attractions. There are many great beaches within easy reach, and there are some great fish restaurants along the seafront. For those looking for a more lively night out with more frenetic bars and discos Cala Millor and Cala Bona are within easy reach.
As an all-year-round residential town Porto Cristo feels less like a holiday town than other East Coast and Southeast Coast Mallorca resorts such as Sa Coma and Cala d’Or. There is an old town area to which the church is the central focal point. In more recent history Porto Cristo was a naval base and was the only town on Mallorca to see action during the Spanish Civil War when Republican troops landed in an unsuccessful attempt to take control of Mallorca from General Franco. This history adds to the feeling that Porto Cristo is rather different to many of the East and Southeast Coast resorts.
In terms of property, this is somewhere to consider if you are looking for an apartment in a pretty harbour resort that is relaxed and offers a feeling that you are in a “real” Mallorcan seaside town. There are also some superb villas on the outskirts of the town. To-date these properties have been more popular amongst locals and Spanish from the mainland who have second homes here. Increasingly though discerning British buyers and other nationalities looking to get away from the more glitsy side of the Southwest coast are finding Porto Cristo has a lot more to offer than many of the tourist guides would suggest.
In terms of property prices, Porto Cristo is more expensive than many East Coast Mallorca resorts, but less expensive than the better-known Porto Colom with which it is sometimes compared (although they are quite different!). It is also quite a bit less expensive than Southwest Coast harbour resorts such as Puerto de Andratx Puerto Andratx and Port Adriano.
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Porto Cristo gallery – 16.05.09: 15 photos
