British families who bring their children to Majorca have backed new rules aimed at cracking down on rowdy tourists in the island’s Magaluf party town.
Couples holidaying with their babies in Palma Nova, which is just minutes away from Magaluf’s infamous strip, said they love bringing their young children to the neighbouring town and have hailed it as a perfect family destination.
But the tranquil beachfront where couples walk with prams and dine at upmarket restaurants is in stark contrast to the late-night debauchery on the nearby strip.
Families told MailOnline about having to cross the ‘border’ into the ‘slums’ of the Magaluf strip as they weaved through drunken revellers to make it to other beaches and restaurants on the island.
One mother recalled how pushy holiday reps tried to drag her into a bar for shots with her three-month-old baby, while another couple fled the strip amid fears their children would step in smashed glass.
The situation has grown so dire in the resort town that Magaluf’s mayor said a 9.30pm alcohol curfew is needed to make the island safer, while Majorca’s nearby capital of Palma has vowed to introduce tougher measures to lower tourist numbers.
The moves are part of a wider crackdown on over-tourism that has been spreading across a series of Spanish islands as they face severe overcrowding and immense spikes in the numbers of boozy holidaymakers.
Tourists face fines of up to £1,300 for street drinking, shops selling alcohol must close at 9.30pm and party boats cannot sail within one nautical mile of designated areas. Pictured: Holidaymakers on the strip last night
British families staying on the edge of the infamous Magaluf strip blame rowdy tourists for forcing strict tourist rules on everyone
In an attempt to toughen up the islands’ 2020 legislation, shops selling alcohol in areas of ‘excessive tourism’ must now completely close between 9.30pm and 8am
The latest crackdown adds to the 2020 law which banned happy hours, pub crawls and the sale of alcohol in shops between 9.30pm and 8am
Shops between the short walk from Palma Nova to the strip sell T-shirts with ‘I love s**ts’ plastered across them directly next to ‘I love mummy and daddy’ baby grows
The shops sell the t-shirts and babygrows in a desperate bid to cater for boozy revellers and families
Despite some families staying clear of Magaluf’s strip, MailOnline witnessed some couples sitting in bars with prams after 10pm and others walking through the booze-fuelled zone with babies sleeping in prams.
In a desperate bid to cater for boozy revellers and families, shops between the short walk from Palma Nova to the strip sell T-shirts with ‘I love s**ts’ plastered across them directly next to ‘I love mummy and daddy’ baby grows.
Another couple said they were left ‘very frustrated’ by Magaluf’s strict drinking rules and were suffering from the crackdown because of unruly partygoers ruining tourists’ reputation.
Amid the fresh clampdown on drinking in popular resorts such as Magaluf, Palma and Llucmajor in Majorca and San Antonio in Ibiza, tourists face fines of up to £1,300 for street drinking, shops selling alcohol must close at 9.30pm and party boats cannot sail within one nautical mile of designated areas.
Under revised plans, unveiled by the conservative Partido Popular government, although the areas where the booze restrictions are in force have been reduced, it is now illegal to drink in the street in those areas.
These new measures were fully supported by the Mayor of Calvia, Juan Antonio Amengual, who stated they would make the island a safer place to be enjoyed by all.
Natasha Rodrigues, who was holidaying in Palma Nova with her partner Joshua Hayes and their two children, three months and 21 months, said: ‘I think it’s lovely here.’
But the 30-year-old, who used to come to Magaluf to party, added: ‘Last night when we finished out food, we had to walk through Magaluf strip to get back here.
‘That was the awkward part. I felt uncomfortable, only because they were still trying to drag us in to bars.
‘It was a bit intimidating with them shouting ‘come in for a shot’… I said to them I’ve got kids and I’m going back to the hotel.
Natasha Rodrigues, who was holidaying in Palma Nova with her partner Joshua Hayes and their two children, three months and 21 months (pictured), described walking down the strip as ‘awkward’ on account of people trying to persuade them to go into bars
Ben Forrest (pictured bottom-left), who was holidaying in Palma Nova with his wife Kara (top-left), both 29, and their two children, aged three and five, said: ‘from street to street [in Magaluf] is a big difference’.
Sarah Donnelly (pictured), who was staying in Palma Nova with her husband Karl and their two young children, said she and her husband took their children down the strip during the day for a walk, but ‘wouldn’t past 9pm’. ‘It’s a place where it’s just drugs and alcohol – it’s not something you want kids to see,’ she said
‘I felt like a bad mum because obviously everyone is on stag-dos. It was a bit nerve-wracking walking through. I felt a bit uncomfortable walking through with two kids.’
Ms Rodrigues, from Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, said she backed the rules that were being brought in.
‘They need to have some sort of restrictions, because people come to Magaluf just to get paralytic,’ she said.
‘I think it puts everyone off. It is getting better, I really do think that. I still think it’s got its reputation but it doesn’t put me off.’
Speaking about staying in Palma Nova, she said: ‘I like how close it is because you can get the best of both worlds. I think that drags some more people in as well.
‘I think it’s a lovely place. I think it’s gorgeous. Even the staff, they are so nice. I would come every year, it’s one of my go-to places. I love the cleanliness of it.’
Sarah Donnelly, who was staying in Palma Nova with her husband Karl and their two young children, said: ‘We have come twice, once when my son was in my tummy five years ago and then we thought we would bring the the kids back – we love it here.
‘It seems like two different places, you don’t even know that’s down there [the strip]. Everybody wants to come here for whatever reason they want. Magaluf is there and the families are here. It’s fine the two are sharing the same town.’
The 33-year-old, from Portsmouth, said she and her husband took their children down the strip during the day for a walk but ‘wouldn’t past 9pm’.
‘It’s a place where it’s just drugs and alcohol – it’s not something you want kids to see,’ she said.
As well as Majorca’s recent fresh crackdown, all-inclusive hotels have only allowed guests to have three drinks at lunch and three at dinner since 2022.
Couples holidaying with their babies in Palma Nova, which is just minutes away from Magaluf’s bars and strip clubs (pictured), hailed the neighbouring town as a perfect family destination
As the tougher sanctions came into force over the weekend, partying Brits vowed to defy the crackdown and accused Majorca of trying to ‘kill’ Magaluf
Holidaymakers enjoy a night out on the strip last night
Ms Connelly added: ‘I knew [about the drinking rule] when I booked it but I thought it would be fine and they would get us more. But they are actually quite strict.
‘We went to Turkey last year and it was all-inclusive, drink as much as you want. We are struggling a little bit because we do want to have more drink.
‘We like a drink, we are here as as family, the kids are stressing out, we want to have a drink so I’m sneaking drink. It’s only wine and beer, it’s not anything major. That whole drink as much as you can is even there as a family. My husband wants more, we are having to go shop to buy more alcohol.’
Ms Connelly said couples and families were suffering because of rowdy tourists, adding: ‘I can see why they brought the rules in because it’s that culture of English people drinking all day but you can see people at hotel saying why am I not getting the drink that I want to get.’
‘We had a couple drinks at pool, but we had to pay for it even though we are all-inclusive.
‘It is frustrating, really frustrating actually. The drink is so cheap so you just think why can’t you just give it more?
Ben Forrest, who was holidaying in Palma Nova with his wife Kara, both 29, and their two children, aged three and five, said: ‘From street to street is a big difference.
‘You look at this here and you go two streets and it’s completely different. It’s like a different district.’
But Ms Forrest told of the moment she had to flee after turning down the nearby Magaluf strip with her pram.
‘We didn’t realise we were staying in Magaluf. We thought we were further out and then we got to hotel, we were driving through strip and then I panicked a bit.
One 33-year-old, from Portsmouth, said she and her husband took their children down the strip during the day for a walk but ‘wouldn’t past 9pm’
Holidaymakers are seen outside one of Magaluf’s famous clubs last night
Potential customers are avoiding the area because of its reputation, one business owner said
‘We’ve not really gone down but we did just walk down and I turned round with the kids.
‘I find they look at you a bit funny if you have prams down there. And I felt taking the kids down there, I could see it was getting a bit rowdier so we walked back.’
Mr Forrest added: ‘It’s such a shame because the McDonald’s, the Taco Bell, KFC, Burger King, everything the kids want to eat on a night is down there.
‘You don’t want to walk down there with the kids. You could step in a bit of glass, you could trip over, there could be anything on the floor.
‘You just don’t want to have that problem go going to hospital with your kid abroad and having to get stitches because somebody has dropped a pint glass and nobody’s clearing it up properly.’
They said the Irish bar on the corner of the strip was like a border between the two areas.
Police have upped their patrols in Majorca
The couple, from Cornwall, were on holiday with Finn Sarilar, 22, and Lydia Morgan, 23, and their seven-month-old baby.
Mr Sarilar said: ‘We’ve had a really good time, we’ve drank and not had a bad time. The people are pleasant enough. You just stay away from the people who are d***s.’
Describing the moment of walking from Palma Nova to the Magaluf strip, he said it ‘turns into the slums’.
Niall Maddock, 21, and his girlfriend Grace Taylor, 18, were taking their daughter on holiday to Magaluf for her first birthday.
Ms Taylor said: ‘When we were back home and people said where are you taking her and we said Magaluf, people were a bit like ‘oooh’. But it’s been really nice. Especially for a family holiday.
‘Our hotel has a lot of kids. We thought it was just party central but it’s been really nice for her. This is the baby’s first holiday. She’s just loved it.’
‘We haven’t been to the strip at night yet. We wouldn’t want to take her up there, we know it’s party central so we wouldn’t take her. If we were on our own, yeah, but not with the baby.
Speaking about the crackdown on tourists drinking, Mr Maddock added: ‘On the sea front I’ve seen a lot of bars saying you’re not allowed to leave the bars without glasses. I feel it’s a good thing because if you were walking down here and everyone had their beers, things would get smashed and it wouldn’t be a good environment to take the baby. It’s rowdy, angry drunk people.’
Ms Taylor said that the drunken revellers are ‘violent’ but added: ‘The stag do’s and hen do’s, they all want to come here for the party but the families are thinking it’s really nice here so it’s all a bit mixed here really.’
The couple had just come from a restaurant which was dishing out €600 fines for taking a glass outside.
‘I would listen to that, I don’t want to pay €600 for taking a glass on the beach,’ Ms Taylor said.
Mr Maddock added: ‘You’ve always got people that take it a bit far, and they get rowdy but around here they have the rules in place so everyone is sticking to the rules.’
Many businesses in the area were formerly brothels, which brought the reputation of the place down
As Majorca tries to crack down on ‘excessive tourism’, partygoers in tourist hotpots now face penalties of between €500 and €1,500 (£430 and £1,290) if their street drinking ‘disrupts coexistence, involves crowds or deteriorates the tranquillity of the environment’.
In an attempt to toughen up the islands’ 2020 legislation, shops selling alcohol in areas of ‘excessive tourism’ must now completely close between 9.30pm and 8am.
As the tougher sanctions came into force over the weekend, partying Brits vowed to defy the crackdown and accused Majorca of trying to ‘kill’ Magaluf.
Meanwhile Magaluf businesses accused Brits of destroying their ‘paradise’ and claimed the rules did not go far enough.
The latest crackdown adds to the 2020 law which banned happy hours, pub crawls and the sale of alcohol in shops between 9.30pm and 8am.
Up to €16million (£13.7million) will be spent on enforcing the street drinking ban as well as on security, inspections and educating tourists on ‘excessive tourism’.
The rules are set to stay in place until at least December 2027 – by which point the government hopes the law will no longer be necessary.
The need for stricter measures have also spread to neighbouring Palma as Marga Prohens, the president of the Balearic government said in a statement last week that ‘the Balearic Islands have reached their limit’.
He vowed to demand measures against tourist overcrowding, including ‘regulating the number of rental cars, not expanding the Palma airport and committing to a tourism model that reduces the number of visitors and the environmental footprint’.
Last week, the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) of Palma highlighted the existence of around 800 illegal holiday rental homes in the municipality alone, according to Ultima Hora .
Francisco Ducros, a spokesperson within the City Council said: ‘Citizens no longer want the situation we are experiencing: without solutions in terms of housing, without proposals to improve the lives of residents or the neighborhoods of Palma’.
It comes after a series of crackdowns across several other Spanish islands as they battle overcrowding and immense spikes in tourism.
Last week, a Menorca holiday village dubbed the ‘Spanish Mykonos’ threatened to ban all tourists after previously telling them to only visit between 11am and 8pm so they can enjoy their breakfasts.
Ibiza also became the latest Spanish holidaymaker hotspot to join in with growing anti-tourism protests that have erupted around the country.
‘We welcome anybody who wants to enjoy our local culture, gastronomy, local traditions, beautiful beaches and covers,’ said Xaquelina Ana Perry, a spokeswoman for an activist group by the name of Prou Eivissa (Enough Ibiza).
‘We are only against the massification of the type of tourism attracted to our island. The island is saturated, especially with illegal renting and our 572 square kilometres cannot take anymore,’ she added.
Similar protesting has been seen in other popular destinations, such as Tenerife, where furious locals even went on hunger strike in an effort to voice their anger.
In Menorca, graffiti has also sprung up on walls telling tourists to ‘go home’, while in Marbella last year, tyres on cars with British number plates were slashed.
On April 20, thousands of protestors took to the streets of the Canary Islands to protest against the problems caused by mass tourism and demand their politicians take action.
The protestors chanted the slogan: ‘Canarias tiene un limite’, which in English translates as ‘The Canary Islands have a limit.’
Two weeks ago the same words appeared painted in white on the tarmac of one of the access roads to Mount Teide in Tenerife.
The words ‘Go Home Tourist’ were scrawled in English over a wall underneath a real estate promotion billboard in Nou Llevant, Mallorca, a neighbourhood that has seen a massive influx of foreign buyers over the past few years
Graffiti reading ‘My misery, your paradise’ is seen in the Balearic Islands
Spanish islands are threatened by sea pollution, traffic gridlock and lack of cheap affordable housing linked to the pushing-up of property prices because of Airbnb-style holiday lets
Another message painted on the road said: ‘Moratoria turistica’ – ‘Tourist moratorium’ in English.’
Majorcan-based hotel chief Joan Pla warned recently the mass tourism protests in the Canary Islands could be repeated in the Balearics.
He claimed the number of homes built for local residents that were being purchased instead by foreigners as holiday properties was a problem.
And he complained islands like Majorca where he is based were having to cope with the influx of too many people at certain times of the year.