Every year, the town fifteen kilometers down the hill from our finca reenacts the night Mallorca changed hands. Hundreds of neighbors in Moorish and Christian costume, boats in the bay, a battle on the beach, fire-runners in the streets, and fireworks over the water to close it.

And every year it lands on the first weekend of September, which means the centerpiece falls the day after Sol & Soul ends.

I can’t add a night at Son Boronat; the finca is booked straight through. So here’s the honest version: if you want to see it, fly home a day later, sleep somewhere on the coast Friday night, and go stand on the sand. This post is how to do that.

What is the Festes del Rei en Jaume?

The Festes del Rei en Jaume is Calvià’s biggest fiesta, a ten-day commemoration in Santa Ponça of King Jaume I landing on this coast in September 1229 with a fleet of more than 150 vessels to take the island from its Moorish rulers. The festivities were first celebrated in 1929 for the 700th anniversary, and the modern version has grown into one of the most recognizable traditional events on the island.

What makes it worth a plane change: it isn’t staged for visitors. The battle is fought by colles, local companies of residents; around 1,400 people from eleven Moorish and eleven Christian companies take part. Your waiter’s cousin is probably a Saracen.

When is the Festes del Rei en Jaume in 2027?

The 2027 program hasn’t been published yet — the Calvià town hall releases it each August — but the shape is the same every year. The 2026 edition ran August 26 to September 6, opening with a commemorative ceremony at the Santa Ponça Cross on Thursday and building to the reenactment on the first weekend of September: the Moorish parade on Friday, then the landing and final battle on Santa Ponça beach on Saturday.

For 2027, that points to the battle on Saturday, September 4, with closing fireworks Sunday the 5th. Sol & Soul ends Friday, September 3. One extra night gets you the battle. Two gets you the fireworks. I’ll update this post when the dates are official.

How do I extend my stay after the retreat?

Book your flight home for Sunday or Monday instead of Friday, and reserve one or two nights on the coast near Santa Ponça. That’s the whole plan. Three things make it easy:

Where to sleep. Santa Ponça itself has a range of beachfront and adults-only hotels a short walk from the beach where the battle happens; that’s the zero-logistics choice. Port Adriano and Portals Nous, ten minutes east, are quieter and prettier if you’d rather not sleep in the middle of the fiesta. Palma is 25 minutes away and gives you the city for Sunday; the tradeoff is a taxi each way to Santa Ponça.

Getting down the hill. The retreat’s Friday transfer runs to the airport at set times; a taxi from Son Boronat to Santa Ponça is about 20 to 25 minutes, and we can help coordinate so the women extending share a ride.

Flights. Palma is 30 to 40 minutes from Santa Ponça. A Sunday-afternoon or Monday flight home gives you the battle, a slow last swim, and no 5am alarm.

What happens on battle Saturday?

The battle begins late afternoon. Around 5:30, Christian boats decorated for the occasion fill Santa Ponça bay and wait for the king’s order to land; the first hand-to-hand fight between Moors and Christians happens around the Creu. Both sides then parade toward Caló d’en Pellicer, where history places the second battle of September 10, 1229, and the final battle is fought on Santa Ponça beach. Expect firecrackers and much rejoicing.

The beach fills up quickly, so arriving well ahead of the start is worth it if you want to watch from the sand or the promenade rather than from further back.

My suggested Saturday: morning swim, a walk out to the Creu de Santa Ponça (a stone cross on a headland with views across the bay), a long lunch, then claim your spot on the beach by four with water and a hat. After the battle, the medieval market on the promenade runs until 1am and the plaza has music.

What else is on during the fiesta?

If you’re already on the coast, the week has more than the battle. The Nit de Foc turns Santa Ponça into a demonic set with fire, drums, and pyrotechnics, about 75 minutes starting at 10pm. It’s a correfoc, a fire run through the streets: wear cotton, cover your hair, and stand where you’re comfortable. The medieval market on the beach promenade runs from Thursday to Sunday, noon to 1am. A historian leads a guided walk of the landing route from Caló d’en Pellicer, booked in advance through cultura@calvia.com. And the closing Sunday brings a solemn mass and fireworks in the evening.

A few of these fall inside the retreat week. We’ll run an optional van into Santa Ponça for one of them if the dates line up; details on the retreat page once the program is out.

Sol & Soul · Son Boronat, Calvià · August 27–September 3, 2027
Fourteen women, two practices a day, the warmest sea of the year — and a town’s own fiesta down the road. See dates, pricing, and what’s included →

Is it worth staying an extra day for?

Yes, if you like your travel with a pulse. A week at the finca is slow by design: long mornings, long meals, a lot of air in the schedule. The fiesta is the opposite — loud, crowded, joyful, a whole town in costume — and doing it on the way out is a strangely perfect ending. You’ve spent seven days coming back to yourself. Then you stand on a beach with several thousand strangers and watch a boat land, and you remember that being alive is also this.

It’s free. It’s fifteen minutes from where you’ve been sleeping. And the odds of it lining up with your life again are low.

To be fully immersed in another culture’s celebration

The short version

Fly home Sunday or Monday. Sleep in Santa Ponça, Port Adriano, or Palma on Friday. Be on the beach by four on Saturday. Everything else is optional.

One brave decision. Sol & Soul, Mallorca, August 27–September 3, 2027 — plus one more day if you want it. Reserve your spot →

Love,
Autumn

FAQ

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