Cala Vadella Beach

Cala Vadella is the sheltered family bay of the west coast, a neat horseshoe of fine pale sand wrapped by headlands and a steep hillside of white villas. The protection from the two arms of the bay keeps the water calm and shallow near the shore, and the beach has held a Blue Flag for years, which tells you most of what you need to know about why families return. It is easy, pretty and low key rather than glossy.

There is no single grand beach club dominating the sand. Instead a line of relaxed restaurants and bars runs along the bay, among them Maya Beach Club and a clutch of family run places serving Mediterranean and Ibizan plates with good views over the water. The mood is unhurried, the kind of beach where lunch stretches into the afternoon and nobody is in a rush to move you on.

The honest caveat is access and scale. The bay is small and reached by steep winding roads, and the parking above it fills in high summer, so an early arrival or a walk down from higher up is sometimes the price of a spot. The beach itself is busy in August but rarely has the crush of the famous postcard coves, which is part of its appeal for a calmer day.

Who it suits: families with young children, couples who want a sheltered easy swim and anyone after a relaxed long lunch by calm water.

Who should skip it: visitors chasing a buzzing scene or a wild remote beach will find Vadella too tame, and should look to the club beaches or the northern calas instead.