Day 3 of our trip to Palma, Majorca
It was day three, the final day, of our quick break to Majorca. Day one can be viewed here and Day two is here.
A pool with a view
Our hotel, the Melia Palma Bay hotel had an outdoor swimming pool, bar and viewing terrace on the 7th floor but sadly it had been out-of-bounds the previous two days due to high winds but we got lucky on our last day to actually see the view from up here!
The view below is facing westwards so we’d love to come back in the summer to sit here with a couple of cocktails and watch the sun go down.🍸
We had a light breakfast at the hotel as Mr. Foodie had his eye on visiting a historic cafe in the centre of town, Ca'n Joan De S'aigo.
The oldest cafe in Palma
In fact, Ca'n Joan de S'aigo dates back to the 18th century and is thought to be Palma's oldest cafe! You might think that this would be ripe for a tourist trap but it's actually really cheap and their coffee is good too!
The cafe is also recommended as one of the best spots to try ensaimadas. An ensaimada is a flaky pastry topped with fruit or jam, a bit like a heavier Danish pastry but here they also serve a savoury variety - the top right pastry has sobrasada, a spicy chorizo-type sausage covered in icing sugar - yes really! They're Ideal for sitting with a coffee and people watching. The savoury sausage and icing sugar combo...maybe not so much!
We paid using our Travel Money Card then, as we had a lunchtime flight, we headed to the nearest bus stop for the airport. This was easy to locate using the Palma de Mallorca Mobibus app - which we would recommend for getting around. The app has a journey planner, map and bus stop locater. So no need to get lost finding that one bus stop!
The number 1 bus to the airport is €5 and you can buy by cash on board. This bus runs around every 15 mins.
Mallorca Airport Top tip!: if you're flying to the UK or any other non-Shengen country then buy drinks & snacks before passport control as there are no shops, only vending machines with a limited choice of drinks.
Adéu Mallorca!
Travel Money Card
The purpose of our trip was to show how easy it is to use a Post Office Travel Money Card and hopefully we've shown just that! We found it so useful that we now have one each! It's quick and easy to sign up, much faster than obtaining a regular debit or credit card! The Post Office will do an address check but not a credit check, so if you've moved house in the last 3 years you may need to provide a utility bill with your current address. Once your card is activated and you've received your PIN you can load up to 13 currencies using their app which is especially handy if you're visiting more than one country on a single trip. The card is also contactless so you don't need to keep entering your PIN, if you lose it it's not as serious as losing your current account bank card and you can only spend what you have so no fear of overdraft changes! If you travel a lot and you don't already have a prepaid debit card then now is the time!
Thinking of getting a Travel Money Card? Simply pop into your nearest Post Office for a form and receive the card there and then or sign up here and wait 4 - 6 days for delivery.
Wondering where to go on your next trip? The Post Office City Costs Barometer lists the best value destinations in Europe in 2018 and you can see where some other bloggers used the Travel Money Card here.
TL;DR
+ Easy to sign up and activate
+ Accepted anywhere that takes Mastercard
+ Chip and PIN / Contactless enabled
+ Secure - separate from your main bank account
+ App makes it easy to check balance and load/transfer currency
+ No fear of overdraft charges
- May take longer than 24 Hours to activate card if you've moved house in the last 3 years
- ATM fee for cash but capped at €2
Disclaimer: we were kindly funded by the Post Office who topped up our Travel Money Card and paid for our flights and hotel. All cash transactions, e.g. bus fares and Mr. Foodie's beer crawl were paid for by ourselves as we had cash left over from a previous holiday! Fred recommends always having some cash for those little things (like cat kibbles in addition to the above) but you could always take some out using an ATM as long as you don't mind the €2 fee.
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