Would you book a cruise because of only one port? I had to answer “Yes” when my husband asked the question!
We were so excited when we discovered that the Norwegian Epic’s Western Mediterranean itinerary now included a stop in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. We could not wait to visit the beautiful island in the Balearic sea, home of Rafa Nadal. Our intent was to visit the Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy by Movistar, located in Manacor, Spain on the island of Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Our first impression of Palma de Mallorca was that of beauty. As our boat sailed into port, we enjoyed the coastal landscape of old buildings along the hillside, the majestic palace and boats as far as you could see. A sailing school was going out to sea with very small sailboats, as we cruised into port. It was truly a sight.
Palma de Mallorca, Spain – tennistravelsite.com
Getting to Rafa’s facility presented a dilemma. There is no Uber type of service in Majorca. They have bus service to most everywhere, but limited train service. Because of a relatively short time in port, that left only a couple of options in making our tennis excursion happen.
Take a taxi to and from the facility, about 45 minute drive from the port. $$$$$$
Rent a car. $$$
The problem was that our ship arrived to port at 1pm. There are several car rental agencies near the port as when you arrive at Mallorca as you are very close to the city. In Spain however, most businesses shut down at noon and open back up in the afternoon! We arrived during the magic window of all car rental companies being closed near the port. The airport was a 20 minute cab ride in traffic and they rent cars 24/7. So that ended up being the best way to guarantee a car so that we could control our time on the island. The Taxi to the airport was simple to get as they have a line of them right outside the Cruise Terminal. Taxi’s on Mallorca are somewhat expensive, so make sure you have enough Euros! We rented from SixT. We have been very happy with all our international car rentals from SixT. SixT always exceeds our car rental expectations.
Once we rented our car, we were off to the Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy, and drove the 45 minute drive inland to the town of Manacor. Rafa’s facility was a very large state-of-the-art resort, with tennis courts as far as you could see. The stadium court had a view area from the restaurant deck, above. The facility also housed a hotel, a spa, and a health clinic. Many stay at this resort for sports residence, or just to stay at the resort. I could imagine staying here for a week and playing tennis each day. We had previously booked a hitting session/lesson with one of the Teaching Tennis Pros, as an email request. The reception area had our lesson. We made our way down to the courts where our Tennis Pro was waiting for us!
Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy, Manacor, Spain – tennistravelsite.com
Believe it or not, we played our tennis on hard tennis courts. We had a great hitting session with Francesco, from Italy. I love the way Italians say my name “Cinzia.” Our take away from our lesson was that the Rafa Nadal way is to never hit the tennis ball into the net. Better long than in the net! The second Rafa secret is to always make your way into the tennis court. With every shot and every serve, momentum should move forward. We focused on doing just that, making our way into the tennis court during each drill. This definitely worked when we played singles a couple of days later!
Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy, Manacor, Spain – tennistravelsite.com
The beautiful thing about the Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy is that it provides attractions, shopping, restaurants, as well as wellness options, for tennis and non-tennis players. As you drive up to the facility, the Rafa Nadal Museum Xperience is the first thing you see. The Museum Xperience includes hands on activities as well as a history of Rafa Nadal’s tennis career. There is a very large fitness center, along with a spa. After a day of exercise, site-seeing or wellness, you can enjoy a nice meal at the restaurant or on the deck overlooking the tennis grounds.
Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy, Manacor, Spain – tennistravelsite.com
After our lesson, we had a beverage in the restaurant followed by a trip to the gift shop! There was a corporate event happening the day we visited and the buzz around the place was that we had just missed Rafa!
On the drive back, we opted to stop and shop at one of several Pearl showrooms. The Mallorca Pearl is beautiful and we did not leave empty handed.
Rafa Nadal is one of my favorite all time tennis players. It was a dream come true to play tennis at his beautiful tennis facility. We look forward to visiting his other tennis facilities; however, this one was special because it was in his home town, Manacor, on the island of Mallorca, Spain.
Camera Roll:
Tennis Point of interest:
Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy, Ctra.Cales de Mallorca s/n, Km 1,2, 07500 Manacor, Illes Balears, Spain
Email: reservations@rnsportscentre.com
phone: +34 971 84 50 22