The end of the road on the west of the island: a small fishing village looking straight at Sa Dragonera, an uninhabited island shaped like a sleeping dragon that the locals saved from developers in 1977.
Checking the water.
Sunrise 07:43 · sunset 19:41 today at Sant Elm and Sa Dragonera.
Drive west until the road stops. That is Sant Elm. A seafront, two small beaches, a handful of fish restaurants, and across a kilometre of water, Dragonera: four kilometres of ridge, three lighthouses, thousands of lizards, no people. The ferry takes fifteen to twenty minutes and lands you at a small quay with a warden's hut. Then you walk.
The island is a nature reserve because in 1977 a group of islanders occupied it to stop a hotel project. They won. It is still one of the great acts of this island, and you feel it when you stand on top. Visitors are capped at a couple of hundred at a time, so in October you may have a whole cape to yourself.
The walk to do is na Pòpia, the old lighthouse on the summit, about an hour up on a good path, with the whole south-west coast laid out behind you. The easy one is Cap de Tramuntana, forty minutes there and back along the water. Take water, a hat, and something for the lizards. They will come and check you.
Arrive in Sant Elm, coffee on the seafront facing the island. Buy the ferry ticket at the kiosk by the jetty, or online the night before.
First ferry of the morning. Fifteen to twenty minutes across.
Walk up to na Pòpia lighthouse. About an hour. Lizards, falcons, silence at the top.
Back down. Swim off the rocks by the quay while you wait for the boat.
Ferry back. Late lunch on the seafront, a terrace facing the island. Then Cala Conills for a last swim if you have it in you.
The best-rated table in the whole southwest: 4.9 on Maps, twenty to thirty a head, small, at number 12. Fish and only fish, the bocaditos del mar to start, squid and salmon after. Lunch from half past one, closed Wednesdays. Book on TheFork or say the word and we do it.
The strongest table in the village on the numbers: 4.8 from 665 people, twenty to thirty a head, at number 22, run by two women who cook like they mean it. Octopus, boquerones in vinegar, burrata with tomatoes, gambas al ajillo, and a terrace upstairs. Lunch from one. It fills, so book.
At the port end, number 4, looking straight at Dragonera. 4.8 from 375, twenty to thirty a head. Ceviche, arancini, hummus, crisp prawn croquettes, and the kind of service people write home about. From one.
Jonny’s Sant Elm stop, on the first square as you come in, on the left. Stone walls, old things on the shelves, a rustic terrace and a playground beside it. 4.5 from nearly a thousand, twenty to sixty a head, evenings from six. Prawns in suquet, and the desserts are why people come back.
The paella place on the front at number 46. 4.5 from seven hundred people, twenty to sixty a head, from ten in the morning. Seafood paella facing the island, the long Sunday lunch after the ferry.
The cheap one that is not cheap in the mouth: 4.7 from 608, ten to twenty a head, by the beach at number 36. Big salads, croquetas, poke bowls, cordon bleu for the children. From half past twelve.
The Italian on the front at number 20. 4.6 from 644, twenty to thirty a head. Pizza, frutti di mare, carbonara, and a tiramisu people mention by name. From half past twelve. The family evening.
Meat, and only meat, done properly: entrecôte, chuletón, sweetbreads, empanadas. 4.9 from 134, twenty to fifty a head, on Plaça na Caragola. From midday. For the night you have walked enough to earn it.
The ice cream at number 21, 4.9 from 128. The almond granizado is the one, and the almond ice cream tastes of dulce de leche and nobody complains. From eleven.
The morning. El Poropo at the Cala Conills end opens at eight: coffee, tostada, a beer after the swim, 4.5 from 339. Forn Sa Palomera at number 28, also from eight, for the ensaimada and the bread, 4.5 from 317. Skip the hotel breakfast.
The cliff monastery above the village. Combine it with Dragonera only if you start at eight.
A cove of rock and grey clay reached by a path through the pines. People rub the clay on and swim it off.
The quarry cove at the south end of the village. Steps down, clear water, an afternoon place.
On the way home if it is Saturday. Small, local, cash.
Coming to Andratx? Tell us your dates. We write your week around places like Sant Elm and Sa Dragonera, with the tables and the boat booked if you want them. Free, and a person answers.
Tell us your dates