Santa Eulalia Beach

Santa Eulalia is the island's calm, cosmopolitan town on the east coast, and its main beach matches the mood. A long stretch of fine white sand runs from the town centre along a palm lined promenade towards Siesta, with calm shallow water that is gentle near the shore. It is a relaxed family beach with the comfort of a town behind it, the kind of place you walk to from a hotel rather than drive to in search of a hidden cove.

The sand is lined with relaxed chiringuitos, the small typical beach bars, rather than a single glossy club, among them family friendly spots like Chiringuito Blue with activities for children. Smarter beach clubs sit along the coast nearby at S'Argamassa and Cala Nova, but the town beach itself stays low key. Santa Eulalia is also known as the gastronomic centre of the island, so the real luxury here is the choice of restaurants a few steps from the sand.

The honest caveat is that this is a town beach, not a wild one. There is a road and a promenade behind it, boats in the marina and a steady family crowd in summer, so anyone seeking solitude or dramatic scenery should look elsewhere. What you get instead is ease, a long shore that absorbs a crowd, calm water for children and a dining scene that few beaches anywhere can match.

Who it suits: families with children, food lovers and anyone who wants a relaxed beach with a town and a promenade at its back.

Who should skip it: travellers chasing a remote cove or a dramatic landscape should head for the northern calas, as Santa Eulalia is firmly a town beach.