Portals Vells is located in the town of Calvià, 20 minutes by car from Palma in the direction of Son Ferrer, past Poniente golf course. The stretch of road is quite old, but the dense Mediterranean pine trees make it a pleasant route with natural tunnels which seem to caress the roadside.
The story of these beaches begins in the Middle Ages, with the extraction of solid rocks for the construction of Palma Cathedral, which means that today we find a huge cave with three entrances that look like gigantic portals (which is where Portals Vells, lit. ‘Old Portals’, gets its name).
In total there are four coves in Portals Vells. The Cala del Mago, the two Calas de Portals Vells and the Cala de La Cantera (where the rocks for Palma Cathedral, La Seu, were cut). Around these four coves there is a beach bar and three restaurants, which are only open during the summer season. There is also a beach bed and sunshade service and a sports port.
The beaches and coves of Portals Vells are also known for being pioneers of nudism in Mallorca, along with Es Trenc beach in Campos. One of the most famous beaches is Playa del Mago, which gets its name from a film produced in 1967 with Michael Caine, Anthony Quinn and Candice Bergen.
