General view of Puerto Soller

General view of Puerto Soller. | GRUPO SERRA

Shirley RobertsSoller25/07/2024 13:35
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This is the time of year when Puerto Soller reverts to type. The school summer holidays from the UK, and much of Europe, bring families here in droves to have a traditional family holiday. The price of cocktails and much fine dining escapes them, as most family groups are not in that price bracket. Some come to their favourite hotels along the sea front. Others to the apartments and houses let on ETV licenses. Still more come to houses, which for one reason or another, are owned by their extended family. The latter group are very French, and these are the friends who bring the language with them.

The history between Puerto Soller and France is well documented. People of the past left on boats from the Port to seek a new life in France when times were tough. This created a huge connection, and to this day 70% of Sollerics have France in their DNA. The houses returners built plus French traditions and customs brought with them, are still very much in evidence today. Some say that Soller is the 21st arrondissement of Paris (in theory, if not fact).

Puerto Soller has a perfect horseshoe bay with sandy beaches around a good part of it. The sand has been imported over the years and now a good beach exists in front of the Esplendido hotel. This was created in my lifetime here and many love the feel of the sand at that point. The beach at Repic and the Generoso end have their followers, who wouldn’t base themselves anywhere else. Beach life for all is very simple, with no amusements, bouncy castles, or fairground. The diving platforms out to sea in two locations is where the kids swim to and make their own amusements.

Of all the things people find to object to, the family time on the beach should not be on that list. This is tradition as its always been, long before the Michelin star restaurants, high end ice cream and cocktails. Buckets and spades and beach time followed by games and time with Mums, Dads, Nans and Grandads is the soul of Puerto Soller mid-July to the end of August every year. Restaurants will tell you of the drop off in trade for them at this time of year. It is a fact of life that a family of four is unlikely to be eating out every night of their stay. Some businesses recognise this and have special family priced menus for this period. The first rule of business is to know your market and react accordingly. Come September it’s all change again the couple orientated big spending month of the year takes over.

Families this year will find the bus timetable useful as they have long given up on using the tram to get into town. The tram used to be such an important means of family transport but now it will cost 36 euros for a family of four to go one way. It’s much cheaper on the bus and even a taxi is preferable to those prices. Cheaper tickets are available to those who take their photographs and ID to the office in the Station and want a block of individual tickets. Many finding about this can’t be bothered to waste half a day of their precious holiday time sorting the bureaucracy. It would be so much easier if the Tram was able to sell reduced price family tickets on board. This is an annual shout to the Ferrocarril. They need to have a summer holiday six week plan every year. Really not that difficult in my opinion.

The sun, sea, family holiday is alive and well and living on the beach of Puerto Soller. Family holidays have been welcomed for longer than any other form of tourism be it gastronomic, sporting, or cultural. The kids were there first when life was simple. This is the key to ‘making family memories’ which is so important to many. Long may it continue, and happy holidays to all from the Soller Valley.