Cala de Biniparratx

The caves are what people remember — hollows in the rock at the back of the cove, and more of them underwater, cool after the walk down in the sun. The water is clear, the rock shelves away a few strokes from the shore, and there is space to swim well out; open-water swimmers use it for exactly that. The beach itself is small, so a few groups are enough to make it feel cramped, but the usual state of the place is quiet. Nothing has been built here. The ground is raw rock and shingle, uneven and not always clean, and that is the price of a cove left alone.

• No facilities. No toilets at the cove and none nearby, and no drinking water either — bring what you need for the day.
• The walk in. About ten minutes downhill from the car park over uneven ground; a pushchair will not manage it, a baby carrier will.
• Footwear. The shore is rock and shingle, uneven and not always clean — sandals beat bare feet here.
• Don't come by bike. There is a very steep hill just before the cove and nowhere to leave a bike.
• It fills quickly. The beach is small, and a handful of groups arriving together changes how it feels.

Arrive by car. The nearest car park, Biniparratx, sits about 288 m away in a straight line, with a second about 431 m out; from there the way down is on foot, roughly ten minutes, downhill the whole way on uneven, rocky ground. The climb back is the same walk in reverse, which is worth remembering at the end of a hot afternoon. Public transport leaves you well short: the closest bus stop is about 1.3 km away in a straight line, and the Poblat Pescadors stop about 2.7 km. Leave the bike at home — the hill just before the cove is very steep, and there is nowhere to park a bike at the top.

Best: early in the day, and outside the height of summer — cooler air for the walk down, and the cove at its quietest.

Avoid: midday in August, when a small cove on a warm island takes everybody at once.

The beach is small enough that a few groups arriving together change how the place feels, and bare rock gives no shade at the hottest hours.