British families staying on the edge of the infamous Magaluf strip have told how they love bringing their young children to the party hotspot – but blame rowdy tourists for forcing strict tourist rules on everyone.
Couples holidaying with their babies in Palma Nova, which is just minutes away from Magaluf’s bars and strip clubs, hailed the neighbouring town as a perfect family destination.
The tranquil beachfront where couples walk along with prams and dine at upmarket restaurants is in stark contrast to the late-night debauchery on the strip.
But 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 revealed 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.
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. Pictured: Holidaymakers on the strip last night
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. Pictured: Holidaymakers and a vendor on the strip last night
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. Pictured: Families holidaying in the Palmanova area, just a street away from the strip
Despite some families staying clear of the 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.
It comes amid a 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.
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.
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
‘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.’
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
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.
Pictured: 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.’
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’. Pictured: Holidaymakers on the strip last night
Holidaymakers are seen outside one of Magaluf’s famous clubs last night
‘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.
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.
