I had a list as long as my arm of beaches I wanted to visit in Mallorca. Despite this, Calo Des Moro was number 1 on the agenda. And with good reason: it is an incredibly beautiful beach (although it didn’t end up being my favourite in Mallorca). After having been, I thought I would offer my tips for visiting the beautiful Calo Des Moro.

Calo Des Moro, Mallorca

Calo Des Moro is a stunning cove with aquamarine water on the south east coast of Mallorca. It can be accessed by two entry points: a path/rocky trail at one end of Carrer Des Calo Des Moro (the end of the road closer to Cala Llombards) or a set of steep steps and walking path at the other end of Carrer Des Calo Des Moro.

I chose the latter route (realistically, my GPS chose it for me). The bonus of the latter path down the set of stairs is that it takes you past Cala S’Almunia en route, which is another beautiful spot to sit or swim.

Once you reach Cala S’Almunia, you need to follow the walking past tucked behind the fishermen’s houses. I was lucky that there were some people walking ahead of me who I could follow. Personally, I didn’t find many beaches were well signposted in Mallorca (which is fair enough here as this is a previously ‘hidden gem’ and the strain on the environment is huge).

Parking at Calo Des Moro

I arrived in the area of Calo Des Moro at 8am on a Monday morning in early September. This is still a touristy season, which is something to keep in mind if you are planning to visit.

I managed to get a park within 5 minutes of the stairs down to Cala S’Almunia, but it was one of the last available parks. In hindsight, I am not entirely sure I was allowed to park where I did. I had just arrived in Mallorca and was a bit unsure of the rules. Don’t be like me because while I didn’t get a parking fine here, I got one in Santanyi (so they’re out and about). I parked on this corner and while there are no lines or signs, I assume this may be parking for residents (I’m sorry!). The fines aren’t cheap, so I recommend parking on the designated area and making the trek.

This website has detailed instructions on getting to Calo Des Moro from the designated parking lot (which is closer to Cala Llombards).

There were a lot of beaches I tried to visit at midday that were just too hectic to bother with. I am not a ‘trek 30 minutes in the heat and crowds for a beach’ type of person, nor do I have the patience to trawl for a car park. I am also not a competent reverse parker (in my defence, we drive on the other side of the road in Australia). If any of these also apply to you, I would highly recommend going early in the morning in peak season. I would also rethink plans to visit on a weekend if you can.

Are there any amenities at Calo Des Moro?

No. There are no toilets, shops or restaurants near the beach (and there are none near Cala S’Almunia, either).

Each entrance to the beach is in a residential area, neither with public amenities as far as I could tell. The closest restaurants and toilets are in Cala Llombards, which is an approximate 9 minute drive or 31 minute walk from Calo Des Moro.

If you are looking for a beach in the Cala Santanyi area with amenities, I recommend Cala Santanyi or Cala Llombards. Both have restaurants, which means bathrooms.

Is Calo Des Moro an accessible beach?

No. Neither route to the beach is accessible for those with limited mobility. There is a strenuous set of stairs, a rocky area and a path to reach Calo Des Moro from one entrance. From the other (which I didn’t take) it seems to be a rocky bush track.

Once you get to Calo Des Moro, you also have to scramble down some steep rocks to get to the beach. Of course, this means you will need to be able to scramble back up again.

Once on the beach, there is only a small amount of sand and not much room to spread out or play. For all of these reasons, I would also hesitate to try and bring small kids here.

If you need an accessible beach in the Santanyi area, I recommend Cala Santanyi or Cala Llombards. Both have parking at the rear of the beach and don’t require steps or hills. They are also both beautiful beaches in their own right with more space to spread out a bit.

Tips for Calo Des Moro

I recommend getting there super early! I got there around 8.15am on a Monday morning in early September and there were already people there. The beach wasn’t full, but it definitely wasn’t empty, as you can see from the photos. Keep in mind that there were also already people in water who aren’t captured in some angles. By the time I got back up the stairs past Cala S’Almunia, there were a steady stream of people heading down to the beach.

The beach is an east facing beach, which means that the sun is on it early in the morning. From what I have read, this means that it isn’t in direct sun later in the day. I was there at 8.15am and it was in direct sun, as you can see from the photos. Keep this in consideration when making your plans. Also keep the tides in mind, because there is not much sand on the beach to begin with.

Something I discovered (which is common sense) is that my enjoyment of a beach was very weather dependent and crowd dependent. I adored Cala Llombards because I arrived on a clear, sunny morning and the beach wasn’t too busy. When I arrived at beaches on overcast or overcrowded days, I enjoyed them less.

If you can, try to have some flexibility in your schedule to work around the weather. An early morning and a sunny forecast make for a lovely and memorable beach day.

On that note, bring food and water (and more importantly, take any rubbish away with you at the end). Calo Des Moro entry is on private land and by all accounts the owners are working incredibly hard to restore the habitat. I was shocked by how over-touristed Mallorca was and how much of a burden it places on the locals (I know I shouldn’t have been shocked given the news, but sadly I had to see it to understand how bad it really is).

Tips for Cala S’Almunia

The handy thing about visiting Calo Des Moro is that you really get two beaches for the price of one. Cala S’Almunia is either en route to Calo Des Moro or a short five minute walk from Calo Des Moro. This depends on which entrance you take to get to the beach, as explained above.

This is a rock based area, so you are unlikely to be laying on sand unless you manage to nab the tiny little beach about 100m to the right when exiting the staircase. The water wasn’t aquamarine when I visited but I suspect that is because it was early in the morning. If you Google images of this area, the water is a lovely vibrant blue and perfect for swimming (although I’d wear rock shoes).

Like Calo Des Moro, Cala S’Almunia has no amenities like toilets or a restaurant. It is a lovely little spot in it’s own right, but it is also an option if you are finding Calo Des Moro a little too busy or tricky to get down to.

Is Calo Des Moro worth visiting?

While it is undeniably stunning, I would say that whether it is worth visiting depends on your personality, fitness and travel style. If you park in the Cala Llombards carpark, it is by all accounts at least a half hour walk (and not always an easy walk) to get to the beach.

Next, you potentially have to compete with crowds at the beach (depending on when you arrive). On a busy day, you might have to wait in line in the sun for entry onto the beach.

If you are happy to trawl for parks, walk and wait for beaches, you will likely enjoy Calo Des Moro. It is gorgeous! However, if these things don’t appeal to you, you might not consider the beach worth visiting.

I would also suggest taking the weather, wind and currents into consideration. It would be a shame to trek all the way to the beach to find it is too windy to swim. In high tide there is likely only a small amount of sand to compete for, so you might find yourself with nowhere to sit. Needless to say, beaches are always more beautiful and shimmering in the sun, too.

I decided not to swim (I had Cala Llombards on my beach itinerary) but instead walked around the cliffs to observe the beach from different angles. It is undeniably gorgeous and most tourists (like me) want to see it with their own eyes. However, I wouldn’t say it’s a ‘spend the whole day’ sort of beach. It gets incredibly busy, it’s hard to get to and there are no toilets or amenities. I would, personally, prioritise other beaches (namely, Cala Llombards and Cala Formentor) if you are short on time.