When I started travel blogging I used to get caught up thinking about the story or blog post. I’d look for cultural experiences and try to see as many things as I could so that I have something to write about.
I learnt quickly though that when you’re in this frame of mind you forget to have fun! Nowadays I just look for enjoyment, new experiences, new journeys but most of all fun.
I spent a few nights in Mallorca with the sole aim of disconnecting and having fun. To be honest I have been doing this a lot recently as getting back to basics and just living the moment has been so much better than writing about it.
Mallorca and certainly the Magaluf and Palma Nova region of the island, gets a lot of stick. However there is a lot of fun to be had and if you take of the snobby ‘you shouldn’t travel like this hat’ and embrace it then fun is what you shall have! I spent time staying with friends in Cala Vinyes but here are some of the things I tried out in the Magaluf and Palma Nova area.
The water assault course – Palma Nova
The water assault course cost me 10 euros and I got to spend an hour climbing giant inflatable icebergs and doing flips off the floating trampolines into the warm Mediterranean Sea. It looked easy from the beach but actually when you get onto a huge inflatable that’s drenched in salty sea water, climbing and moving around becomes pretty tough. I slipped off so many times but by the end of the hour I’d managed to get round the whole course and complete all the different slides and obstacles.
The water assault course is great for all ages too. I went on with my friend’s daughter who is 10 and whilst some things, like the giant iceberg, were a bit beyond her we pretty much managed to do the whole course together. A great family bonding thing to do and loads of fun. I’d highly recommend it.
The Western Water Park near Magaluf
I haven’t been to a water park in quite a few years and I forgot how awesome they were. The Western Water Park here was fun but I actually thought it was a little small compared to other water parks I’ve been too. Perhaps I’ve been spoilt by the huge ones in the USA! It did have a cool death drop slide though and some really fun raft ones that you could do with the whole family.
The lazy river here was actually the highlight. Twice a day they turned into rapids and pushed you round really quickly with fast-moving water. They also had huge 3 man rings which were great for a tall person like me. It meant I could lay out properly and enjoy the sunshine and float around.
Katmandu K3 Adventure
One word ‘awesome‘ – I love challenging myself on things like this. The K3 adventure is a three-tier high ropes obstacle course which cost me €15(it’s half price for children). I have done Go Ape in the UK but would say that this definitely had some more challenging obstacles. I spent about two hours working my way up to the top and trying and failing at some challenges.
Eventually my arms gave out and I had to stop. The best way down is the ‘Death Drop’. It’s like walking the plank and stepping off a small ledge 20 metres up before the rope catches you and slowly lowers you to the ground.
The K3 Adventure is a new addition to the Kathmandu Hotel and for 2014. The small theme park also offers a fun house mini golf and some other things such as a 4D adventure and a big swing. It was all great fun for kids, families and big kids like me 🙂
Chilling
I spent a lot of time swimming and snorkelling and having beers in the evening and realised sometimes you don’t need to look for that new thing when travelling often you just need to stop, stare and watch the world go by, contemplate for a bit, enjoy a beer and have some fun.
Fancy some fun in Mallorca? Well it’s a cheap island to get to from the UK. I have travelled a couple of times this year and the best value flights I managed to get were with Monarch out of Gatwick. The cost was around £50 per person return in the off-season. Mallorca has loads of accommodation options too from traditional fincas, the usual full range of hotels and very cheap apartments and studios too. You can easily get a bargain break and whilst I decided to do fun tourist attractions the island also offers a lot in culture and natural beauty too.