What you can see on the Playa de Palma webcams
Under the palms, the view runs over the promenade and the beach, with walkers, joggers and cyclists passing in front and the hotel line of the bay on the horizon. Another view looks straight out over the water, past the swimming buoys and a small harbour wall, to the far side of the bay. Together they tell you whether the beach is busy and whether the sea is flat, choppy or breaking.
Playa de Palma beach webcam at Can Pastilla
At the western end of Playa de Palma, this camera looks out from under the palms of the Can Pastilla seafront. In the foreground runs the promenade, with walkers, runners and cyclists passing; then the low wall, the sand and the shallow water of the bay. On the horizon, the long line of hotels curves away round the Bay of Palma.
It is the best camera for seeing how busy the beach is and what the sea is doing at the water's edge: flat calm, small waves or the wind-blown chop that the local surf and wing-foil school waits for. Evening light comes in from the west, and on clear days the sunset colours the whole bay.
Bay of Palma from a Can Pastilla surf shop
This image comes from a surf shop at Can Pastilla and looks straight out across the Bay of Palma. The swimming buoys mark the edge of the bathing area, a small harbour wall juts in from the right, and the far side of the bay forms a low line on the horizon.
With no beach in the frame, it is all about the water: whether the surface is glassy, ruffled or breaking, and how far the visibility reaches. Windsurfers, paddleboarders and wing-foilers use it to check the wind before heading down; swimmers can see at a glance whether the bay is calm enough for a long swim. Here it plays as a time-lapse of the last 24 hours.
A beach with numbers
Playa de Palma is divided by its beach kiosks, the balnearios, numbered from one at Can Pastilla to fifteen near S'Arenal. People arrange to meet "at balneario six", the stretch German holidaymakers call the Ballermann. The numbers are the easiest way to find your way along a beach that otherwise looks much the same for miles.
When to watch Playa de Palma
Mallorca is one hour ahead of the UK. The beach faces south-west across the bay, so afternoon and evening light is the warmest. On summer afternoons a sea breeze often builds, and the surf and wing-foil schools take to the water; on still mornings the bay can be mirror-flat. The sea reaches about 25 °C in August and drops to around 14 °C in February.
Around Playa de Palma
Palma's old town is about 5 miles (8 km) west along the seafront cycle path. Cala Estància, a small cove with a marina, lies between Can Pastilla and the main beach. At the S'Arenal end, the coast turns rocky towards Cala Blava and Cap Blanc.
Visiting Playa de Palma
The airport is right behind Can Pastilla, and planes on the approach pass low over the beach, which some visitors love and others do not. Buses run along the seafront to Palma. Lifeguards cover the beach in season; the water stays shallow a long way out, which suits children, but keep to the flagged areas when the wind blows onshore.
