El Arenal beach is a long stretch of beach, about 10km to the east of Palma de Mallorca, so not within walking distance of the city, sadly. It is Mallorca's biggest holiday resort.
It is made up of several different beaches. Cala Estancia at the holiday resort of C'an Pastilla whilst officially part of Playa de Palma, is actually a separate beach just around the corner from the main beach.

Cala Estancia is quite little, at 200 metres in length and 35 metres deep. There is soft white sand here and the beach leads down a gentle slope to the clear blue sea. Artificial breakwaters have been built around this beach to create a little bay which ensures calm waters. You'll find sun beds and parasols for rent, easy access for the disabled and a lifeguard service. This is also where you'll find Puro Beach Club. Note that you are right at the end of the airport runway here, so if you are noise-sensitive, this may not be the beach for you!

The main stretch of Playa de Palma is a Blue Flag beach and starts just beyond Can Pastilla and finishes at the resort of S'Arenal - a length of around 4.5 km. It is a lovely, wide beach (average of around 50 metres) with golden white sand. The shallow, clear water is suitable for children (although there have been some recent complaints about the amount of algae in the water), and there is usually plenty of space for playing.

There is a good variety of fun water sports available - jet skiing, water skiing and paragliding. Other beach sports (football, volleyball etc) are also popular here because of the depth of the beach, and it's proximity to Palma. All the facilities are on your doorstep - sunloungers & parasols, toilets & showers, disabled access and lifeguards on duty, and of course, plenty of beach bars to grab refreshments.

Behind the beach you will find a traffic-free promenade and a cycle path, where there is a great choice of bars, cafes and restaurants. The promenade is being upgraded over the next few years and some new fresh & contemporary hotels are appearing along the sea front. Miami beach here we come!

This area of Majorca is very popular tourists, and the built up resorts of Can Pastilla and S'Arenal make these beaches very busy in the summer months.

You can park for free in the streets behind the beach, or there are plenty & regular buses that run from Palma and the airport to the resort.