Things to do in Mallorca
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Mallorca
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Consensus best time: everything open, Tramuntana green, cycling peaks, sea swimmable by late May, sane prices.
Early June is still spring like; late June starts full summer, with Nit de Sant Joan on 23 June.
Beach island at full price: packed calas by 10am, peak room and car prices, and the worst value of the year in late July and August.
Locals' favourite: warm sea and thinning crowds, grape harvest in September, but seasonal places close in a wave from mid October.
Palma and outdoors island: most resorts and beach clubs shut, hiking and cycling at their best, sea swimming for the committed.
What's on
- Sant Sebastià around 19-20 January
Palma's patron festival: concerts in the squares, bonfires with grilled sobrasada, and the correfoc fire run.
- Sant Antoni 16-17 January
Bonfires, devils and animal blessings in towns island wide, strongest in Sa Pobla and Artà and Manacor.
- Almond blossom fairs late January-February
The interior turns pink white, with blossom fairs at Son Servera and Marratxí; pair with hiking, not beaches.
- Carnival / Sa Rueta February
Palma's carnival season in the city streets.
- Semana Santa Easter
Serious processions in Palma and a price spike; book ahead.
- Moros i Cristians, Sóller Monday after the second Sunday in May
The island's most theatrical mock battle festival, best if you base in Sóller for it.
- Nit de Sant Joan 23 June
Beach bonfires and midnight swims at Palma's Parc de la Mar and beaches island wide.
- Moros i Cristians, Pollença 2 August
Pollença's huge, beloved battle re-enactment and party.
- Festa des Vermar late September
Binissalem's wine harvest festival, the date to time an interior trip around.
- Dijous Bo mid-November
Inca's huge agricultural fair, the island's biggest, worth a detour if you are there.
Best things to do in Mallorca
La Seu
Palma's Gothic cathedral on the sea wall, with its huge rose window and Gaudi era interior work.
Valldemossa
Mountain village of the Carthusian monastery where Chopin wintered, plus coca de patata in a cafe.
Deià
Artists' village stacked above Cala Deià on the Tramuntana villages loop.
Sóller
Orange valley town square reached on the Tramuntana loop, with the vintage tram down to its port.
Tren de Sóller
The 1913 wooden electric train from Palma through 13 tunnels to Sóller, tram onward to the port.
Caló des Moro
Tiny slot of turquoise water between cliffs, with almost no sand and a rough path down.
Cala s'Almonia
Rockier, calmer cove five minutes from Caló des Moro for the rest of the morning.
Es Trenc
Six kilometres of pale sand and shallow clear water in a protected area, with no resort behind it.
Where to stay in Mallorca
Palma Old Town, Santa Catalina and Portixol-Molinar
first trip, all-round base, only base that works every month
Sights and restaurants on foot, the market and bar life nearby, and a calmer seafront suburb a short walk east.
Sóller, Port de Sóller, Deià and Valldemossa
Tramuntana base, couples, hikers and cyclists
Train, tram, hiking, cycling and boats from one base, with Deià and Valldemossa prettier, pricier and quieter.
Pollença and Port de Pollença
north base, cyclists, walkers and families
A handsome inland old town for character and its low key port for the beach and Pine Walk.
Santanyí, Cala d'Or and Colònia de Sant Jordi
south-east cala base
Markets, galleries and restaurants in town, Es Trenc on foot and the Cabrera boats from Colònia, with a car needed throughout.
Canyamel and Capdepera
quieter east base for starred dining
Adults only cliff luxury and rural fincas, with beaches a short drive and Voro and Andreu Genestra nearby.
Alcúdia and Playa de Muro
pure family beach week
The island's longest, shallowest sandy bay with big resort infrastructure and the old town nearby for evenings.
Think twice about
- Magaluf, especially the Punta Ballena strip
Cheap drinks bars, street promoters, very drunk crowds, noise to dawn, and petty theft and scams in peak season.
- S'Arenal / El Arenal
Beer hall strip and group drinking tourism, with the same noise, tout and petty crime pattern as Magaluf.
- Palmanova directly adjoining Magaluf
Not dangerous, but spillover noise in peak season makes it a poor base for families and light sleepers.
- Remote cala resorts in winter
Shutdown, not safety: many hotels, restaurants and beach services close from November to March, leaving long drives for an open dinner.
Best restaurants in Mallorca
DINS Santi Taura
Starred chef's counter reworking historic Mallorcan recipes as a single tasting menu.
Voro
Álvaro Salazar's two-star restaurant, the island's highest rated kitchen and a destination dinner.
Marc Fosh
Long standing Palma starred table with a set lunch that is the cheapest credible starred meal on the island.
El Camino Palma
Counter tapas bar doing contemporary Spanish small plates at speed, worth the queue.
El Caminito
El Camino's smaller sibling, the overflow bar locals use when the main counter is full.
Ca's Patró March
Tables on the rocks above Cala Deià for grilled fish and paella, in two fixed lunch sittings.
El Olivo
Fine dining in the old olive press at La Residencia, candlelit and repeatedly called deeply romantic.
Sebastian's
Slightly more relaxed Deià village alternative to El Olivo for a Tramuntana dinner.
Outdoor things to do in Mallorca
Golf Son Gual
The championship test east of Palma, big, strategic and immaculate, the sporting highlight of a golf week.
Club de Golf Alcanada
Robert Trent Jones course sloping to the sea, with a lighthouse island offshore and the Tramuntana behind.
Son Muntaner Golf Club
High quality Arabella course you can play while based in Palma, with no cross island drive.
Canyamel Golf
Credible cheaper round in the east, scoring alongside the big names at lower green fees.
Vall d'Or Golf
Credible cheaper round in the east for a golf week based away from Palma.
Torrent de Pareis
Mallorca's signature gorge walk, a boulder scramble emerging at the twin cove of Sa Calobra.
GR221 Dry Stone Route
Tramuntana long distance trail on stone paths past olive terraces, best in one day slices.
Camí de s'Arxiduc
The best short Tramuntana alternative to the GR221, a stone path above Valldemossa.
Best hotels in Mallorca
Es Príncep
Palma's polished five star on the old walls by the sea, with rooftop pool and strong spa.
Sant Francesc Hotel Singular
Old Town mansion boutique with courtyard and rooftop pool, a travel awards regular.
Can Bordoy Grand House & Garden
Old Town mansion boutique with a big garden and rooftop pool, among Palma's most loved luxury stays.
Nakar Hotel
Design hotel on Jaime III with a rooftop pool and cathedral views, the mid range Palma pick regulars name.
Hotel Cort
Smaller boutique on Plaça de Cort with a good restaurant terrace, best for a short city break.
Hostal Cuba
Four star conversion of the Santa Catalina landmark, with a rooftop Sky Bar below boutique prices.
Belmond La Residencia
The island's benchmark luxury hotel, twin manor houses in olive groves with art everywhere.
Hotel Valldemossa
Small luxury hotel in Valldemossa, the quieter Tramuntana splurge named best for couples.
Is Mallorca expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €100 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €190 a person |
| Splurge | €480 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Tren de Sóller: a few days ahead
- Cuevas del Drach: a few days ahead
- Golf Son Gual: a few days ahead
- Club de Golf Alcanada: a few days ahead
- Son Muntaner Golf Club: a few days ahead
- Canyamel Golf: a few days ahead
- Vall d'Or Golf: a few days ahead
- Parque Nacional de Cabrera: a few days ahead
- DINS, Voro, El Olivo and Ca's Patró March book weeks ahead in season, and Ca's Patró has fixed lunch sittings.
- Book Tren de Sóller combined tickets, Cabrera boats and Drach timed entry ahead in season.
- La Residencia and Can Ferrereta rooms for July to September, and Son Gual and Alcanada tee times, go early.
- Beach club beds book out on summer weekends and carry minimum spends; read them before you sit down.
Is Mallorca safe?
- Mallorca is broadly safe; the real risks are petty: pickpockets in Palma crowds and markets.
- Never leave anything visible in a car at cala car parks; this warning recurs in beach guides more than any other.
- Drink related theft and scams happen on the Magaluf and S'Arenal strips.
- Respect sun and heat on summer hikes, jellyfish flags at beaches, mountain roads after rain, and the Torrent de Pareis after storms.
- Check your government's current travel advice before you go.
Mallorca travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Caló des Moro at midday in August is a queue for a patch of sand; the 8am version is a different place.
- Es Trenc is a famous, beautiful, busy beach, not a secret; go early or in shoulder season.
- Drach is a superb cave run as a high volume timed procession, not a small group nature experience.
- Paella is a lunch dish for a minimum of two, made to order in 25 minutes or more; if it arrives in ten, it was not.
- Eat where residents eat, in Palma, ports and village cellers, not on the Magaluf or S'Arenal drinks strips.
- Watch rental car excess and deposit terms at airport budget desks; book a reputable firm and photograph the car.
Getting around Mallorca: public transport and more
- Rent a small car: TIB buses are decent Palma to town, but calas, fincas and half the excursions are car or tour only.
- Palma itself is walkable, and parking there is garages, not streets; do not drive inside the Old Town.
- From the airport, bus A1 or a taxi into Palma is easy; pick the car up in town the day you leave Palma.
- For Cap de Formentor in the restricted period, ride TIB bus 334 from Port de Pollença and board at the start of the line.
Who Mallorca suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Good |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make Mallorca your trip
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