Unless you've been living under a rock the last few weeks or forever you'll know of Magaluf and you'll more than likely have seen some of the recent headlines from a young girl partaking in sex acts for drinks to Jeremy Kyle being pepper sprayed.
I've heard nothing but the shrieks of disgusted people slamming this poor girl and shaming her for her actions
and all of the recent negative press is enough to put me off going for life but I've just returned from Palma Nova, basically Magaluf. A 10 minute walk from our hotel and we were at the notorious Punta Ballena strip.
I'm not really sure what people expect when they go to a place that sells pints of vodka for 2 quid but yes it's a neon nightmare full of vomiting pre teens and people utterly off their heads on whatever they can get their hands on but this is the strip.
These cocktails were around £3 each and the one on the right had around 6 shots of alcohol from rum to vodka so it's not hard to see why people get incredibly drunk and do stupid things, 4 people have died and been seriously injured from being drunk and falling off their balconies in the last 3 months. Scary right?
Along Punta Ballena I have experienced some of the things that are notoriously bad such as prostitutes who mugged my friends, being offered drugs and I've seen things I'd be ashamed of but if someone wants to act the way they are then fine, more power to them.
One bit of the whole island shouldn't taint the rest so badly, the bad press is coming from one area when the rest of Palma Nova is wonderful!
There's a lot more to do than down fish bowls and the walk of shame, there's one of the most beautiful cathedrals I've ever seen, Water parks, Caves, A giant aquarium, Katmandu house, Shopping and loads more. I was highly impressed with the fact Palma has a Sephora, MAC and Zara home.
It feels a world away from the flashing lights and shots of the strip when you're strolling through narrow cobbled streets looking through the designer windows.
It's hard to think that this place is so badly thought about when it's only the actions of the people that go there that cause it to have such an awful reputation.
I absolutely love Palma and the surrounding areas, I visited last year and I'll hopefully be going again next year and I'm sure I'll end up along the strip once or twice because if you can look after yourself and you're careful it can be a really fun place to visit!
Have you ever been to Palma or Magaluf? Would you be tempted to go even with all the bad press?
I've never been to Magaluf and would probably never go, but that's not because of the bad press- it's just not my kind of place. It's such a shame that a few people go there on their first holiday away from their parents and go a bit too wild. Don't get me wrong, when I was 18 I probably did things that would make my parents shudder, but I knew the limits and the problem with the strip there is that the reps and club owners encourage the behaviour rather than manage it safely. This is genuinely one of my favourite ever blog posts, well done!
ReplyDeleteI adore Magaluf. I went there for my 21st birthday, safe to say I didn't see much of the culture but the nightlife is amazing. And a lot safer than most people make out. I didn't see any trouble there when I went.
ReplyDeleteSian | Siân Marie Beauty
xo
I have never been, and I don't think I'd want to go either not necessarily because of the press. I'm not a big drinker and the whole idea of people getting themselves into such a state kinda just makes me want to cry. It just doesn't seem like my kind of place. It does look beautiful and interesting though, this has been one of my favourite blog posts I've read this week!
ReplyDeleteLou Barker xo