Things to Do in Manacor: The Drach Caves, Pearls and Porto Cristo
Manacor is not a place people put on a postcard. It is the island's second town and it works for a living: furniture workshops, a pearl industry, agricultural supply shops, and a tennis academy that happens to belong to the most famous Mallorcan alive.
What it also has is the single most visited attraction on the island. Ten minutes down the road at Porto Cristo, the Drach Caves take more visitors than anything else in Mallorca, and the municipality's coast beyond them is a run of small, clear coves that most people driving to the caves never stop at.
The Drach Caves
The Coves del Drach are the reason most visitors come to this municipality, and they earn it. The route descends through chambers of stalactites to Lake Martel, one of the largest underground lakes in the world — a long sheet of still water in near-darkness.
What makes the visit memorable is what happens there. Rather than simply looking at the lake, you sit in a small amphitheatre in the dark while musicians play a short classical set from illuminated rowing boats moving across the water. It is unashamedly theatrical and it works. Afterwards you can cross the lake by boat or walk out.
- What it is: A large show cave with an underground lake and a live music performance
- Why come: The best-known attraction on Mallorca, and genuinely worth it
- Insider tip: Visits run in timed groups and sell out in season — book ahead rather than turning up, and bring a layer for the temperature underground
Ctra. de les Coves, s/n, 07680 Porto Cristo, Illes Balears, Spain
The Coves dels Hams
The municipality's second cave system sits between the town and the port, and it is quieter, smaller and in some ways stranger. Its name comes from the hook-shaped formations found in it, which grew sideways rather than straight down and look like nothing else on the island.
If you have already done the Drach Caves, this is not a repeat — the formations are the draw here rather than the scale.
- What it is: A smaller cave system known for unusual hook-shaped formations
- Why come: The formations, and far smaller crowds than the Drach Caves
- Insider tip: Doing both cave systems on one day is a lot of underground — split them if you can
Ma-4020, Km. 11, 07680 Manacor, Illes Balears, Spain
Porto Cristo
Porto Cristo is Manacor's port, sitting at the mouth of a narrow inlet with a sheltered town beach at the head of it. It is a real town rather than a purpose-built resort, and out of high season it is notably calm — a harbour, a promenade, fishing boats and a beach you can walk to from anywhere in it.
Because most visitors arrive for the caves and leave again, the town itself is often overlooked. It is a pleasant place to have lunch and a swim in the same couple of hours.
- What it is: A working port town with a sheltered beach at the head of an inlet
- Why come: Calm water, a proper harbour, and somewhere to eat after the caves
- Insider tip: Stay for lunch instead of driving straight back — the town empties as the cave coaches leave
The town: furniture, pearls and a tennis player
Manacor town rewards a wander rather than a tour. Its long trade is furniture and woodworking, and the other is pearls: the manufactured pearl industry has been based here for over a century, and you can visit the factory and watch them being made and graded.
Its most famous export, though, is Rafael Nadal, who was born here and never left. The academy he built on the edge of town is a working sports facility, and the museum attached to it is a genuine sports museum rather than a trophy room — his own collection alongside objects from other athletes.
- What it is: A working Mallorcan town with a pearl industry and a tennis academy
- Why come: The pearl factory, the Nadal museum, and a town centre with no tourism gloss
- Insider tip: This is the place to do errands and eat well cheaply — it is priced for residents, not visitors
Ctra. Cales de Mallorca s/n, Km 1,2, 07500 Manacor, Illes Balears, Spain
Ctra. Cales de Mallorca s/n, Km 1,2, 07500 Manacor, Illes Balears, Spain
Via Palma, 9, 07500 Manacor, Illes Balears, Spain
The coves south of the port
South of Porto Cristo the coast breaks into a series of small inlets, each with a patch of sand at its head and clear water. Cala Mendia and the neighbouring S'Estany d'en Mas are the pick of them — sheltered, shallow and backed by pine — and further south the beaches at Cales de Mallorca sit below a cluster of resort hotels.
North of the port, S'Illot is the municipality's other resort strip, shared with Sant Llorenç and quieter than its neighbours along the bay.
- What it is: A run of small sheltered coves between the port and the south
- Why come: Clear, shallow, family-friendly water away from the big resorts
- Insider tip: These coves have small car parks that fill early in summer — arrive in the morning
07680 Manacor, Balearic Islands, Spain
Passeig Voramar, 94, 07680 Manacor, Illes Balears, Spain
Cala Domingos, Carrer de Cala Domingos, 142, 07688 Cales de Mallorca, Illes Balears, Spain
Where to eat
Manacor town eats well and without ceremony — this is a place with a long tradition of cellers, cavernous former wine stores turned into restaurants serving Mallorcan cooking in quantity. Down at Porto Cristo the emphasis shifts to fish and to tables with a view of the water.
- In town: Traditional celler cooking, generous and Mallorcan
- At the port: Fish and harbour views
- Insider tip: The cellers fill with local families for Sunday lunch — book, or go early
Passeig d'Antoni Maura, 91, 07500 Manacor, Illes Balears, Spain
Plaça de Ramon Llull, 12, 07500 Manacor, Illes Balears, Spain
Carrer del Verí, 1, 07680 Porto Cristo, Illes Balears, Spain
Carr. Manacor-Porto Cristo, km 4, 07500 Manacor, Illes Balears, Spain
Where to stay
Staying in Manacor town is unusual and has its advantages: you are central for the whole east of the island, prices are aimed at residents, and you get a town that does not close down out of season. For a beach holiday, the coast is the obvious choice — Porto Cristo for a real town, Cala Mendia or Cales de Mallorca for a resort with the sand in front of it.
- Town: Central, well priced, open all year
- Port: Porto Cristo, for a harbour and a beach
- Resort: Cala Mendia or Cales de Mallorca
Plaça de s'Algar, 07680 Cala Anguila-Cala Mendia, Illes Balears, Spain
Carrer de Cala Antena, s/n, 07689 Cales de Mallorca, Illes Balears, Spain
Getting around
Manacor sits on the main road across the island from Palma and is one of the few east-coast towns reachable by train — the line from Palma terminates here, which makes a day trip genuinely easy without a car. Getting from the town to the coast, though, means a bus or a car; Porto Cristo is a short drive.
With one day: take the train or the road out in the morning, do the Drach Caves before the middle of the day, then spend the afternoon in Porto Cristo or on one of the coves to the south.
Mentioned in This Guide
Explore all the locations mentioned in this guide on the map below.
Porto Cristo Beach
07680 Porto Cristo, Balearic Islands, Spain
Platja de Cala Mendia
07680 Manacor, Balearic Islands, Spain
Cala domingos
Cala Domingos, Carrer de Cala Domingos, 142, 07688 Cales de Mallorca, Illes Balears, Spain
S'Estany d'en Mas
Passeig Voramar, 94, 07680 Cala Anguila-Cala Mendia, Illes Balears, Spain
Drach Caves
Ctra. de les Coves, s/n, 07680 Porto Cristo, Illes Balears, Spain
Hams' Caves
Ma-4020, Km. 11, 07680 Manacor, Illes Balears, Spain
Rafa Nadal Museum
Ctra. Cales de Mallorca s/n, Km 1,2, 07500 Manacor, Illes Balears, Spain
Quince — Restaurant i cantina
Carrer del Verí, 1, 07680 Porto Cristo, Illes Balears, Spain
Majorica Pearl Factory & Café
Via Palma, 9, 07500 Manacor, Illes Balears, Spain
Es Celler
Passeig d'Antoni Maura, 91, 07500 Manacor, Illes Balears, Spain
Bar Mingo
Plaça de Ramon Llull, 12, 07500 Manacor, Illes Balears, Spain
Restaurant es Molí d'en Sopa
Carr. Manacor-Porto Cristo, km 4, 07500 Manacor, Illes Balears, Spain
Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar
Blau Punta Reina Resort
HYB Eurocalas
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