Spain · Balearic Islands
Mallorca
A Gothic cathedral, a UNESCO mountain range, hundreds of coves and the most sought-after road cycling in Europe, all within an hour's drive.
Mallorca is the largest of the Balearics and holds several islands' worth of variety. The Gothic sandstone bulk of Palma Cathedral, La Seu, stands over the bay in a real working capital, and behind it runs the Serra de Tramuntana, a UNESCO-listed limestone range terraced with olives and stitched together by dry-stone paths. Around those two sit long northern bays, pale coves cut into the southeast cliffs, a flat farming interior of sandstone villages, and the package resorts that gave the island its reputation while occupying a small share of its coast.
Suggested stay
5–7 days
Language
Spanish
Currency
EUR
Timezone
UTC+2
Why you'll love Mallorca
The Tramuntana A UNESCO cultural landscape of terraced groves, dry-stone paths and hairpin roads, with a waymarked long-distance route running refuge to village along the range.
Palma A working city rather than a resort capital, built around La Seu, a serious market and eating culture, and old-town courtyards you can wander into.
The coastline Long sandy bays in the north, pale coves notched into low cliffs in the southeast, and a string of beaches you can only reach by boat or on foot.
Two islands in one The party strips sit in a handful of places, and everything beyond them is villages, farmland and mountain quiet.
Best time to visit
all year
17-30° days
39.570° N, 2.650° E
UTC+2 · Europe/Madrid
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Weather & when to go to Mallorca
Month by month: typical highs and lows, rainfall and rain days.
✓ Best all year
Cards tinted by calculated verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
When to avoid Mallorca
No bad-weather season, which is exactly why it stays busy. August is the most crowded and most expensive month by a distance, and roads, coves and beach parking all feel it. From about November to March many coastal resorts close down almost entirely, and winter storms can shut the Sa Calobra road and higher mountain routes for a spell.
Top things to do in Mallorca
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Palma Cathedral (La Seu) - the sandstone giant on the bay
history culture arts 👍 PopularBegun after the conquest of 1229 on the site of the main mosque and not finished until the seventeenth century, it has one of the widest Gothic naves in Europe and a rose window that throws colour across the floor on winter mornings. Gaudi reworked the sanctuary, and Miquel Barcelo's ceramic chapel is the modern counterpoint.
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Serra de Tramuntana - walk the Dry Stone Route
adventure nature wildlife ⭐ Highly recommendedThe GR-221 threads the range from Andratx towards Pollenca on old charcoal-burners' and pilgrims' paths, past terraces, snow houses and mountain refuges. Most people walk it in stages: Deia to Soller along the coast, the Barranc de Biniaraix staircase, or the climb to the castle ruins at Alaro. The classic walking season runs autumn through spring.
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Ferrocarril de Soller - the wooden train over the mountains
scenic history 👍 PopularA narrow-gauge line built in 1912 to carry oranges out of the Soller valley, still running polished wooden carriages from Palma through thirteen tunnels and out onto a viaduct above the town. An open-sided tram then rattles on down to Port de Soller, and the round trip is half the reason people come.
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Sa Calobra and the Torrent de Pareis - the hairpin road and the gorge
scenic adventure ⭐ Highly recommendedThe road down to Sa Calobra corkscrews through a full loop under itself at the Coll dels Reis, one of the most photographed descents in Europe. At the bottom, a walkway through tunnels leads to the mouth of the Torrent de Pareis, where a canyon a few metres wide opens onto a shingle cove.
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Cap de Formentor - the lighthouse road
scenic 👍 PopularThe island's northern finger, a knife-edge of cliffs running out to a lighthouse, with the Mirador Es Colomer viewpoint on the way and the pine-backed sand of Playa Formentor below. Traffic onto the cape is restricted in the busy months, so the shuttle bus or an early start is the way in.
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Coves del Drach - the underground lake at Porto Cristo
nature wildlifeFour linked caverns of stalactites on the east coast, ending at Lake Martel, one of the largest underground lakes anywhere. Visits finish with musicians rowing across the water by lamplight and a short boat ride back to the path. Nearby Coves dels Hams and Coves d'Arta are quieter alternatives.
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Cartoixa de Valldemossa - Chopin's difficult winter
culture arts historyThe Carthusian monastery where Chopin and George Sand spent the winter of 1838, he composing preludes on a piano that arrived late, she writing a book about the island that offended half of it. The cells, pharmacy and gardens are open, and the village around it is the prettiest in the range.
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Deia and Cala Deia - the writers' village
culture arts scenicHoney-coloured houses stacked on a hill under the Teix, with Robert Graves buried in the churchyard and his house Ca n'Alluny kept as he left it. A path drops through the olive terraces to a boulder cove with a couple of shacks serving fish over the water.
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Cycling the Tramuntana climbs
adventureMallorca is where much of the European peloton spends late winter and spring, and the reason is the road surface plus the climbs: Sa Calobra, Puig Major, the Coll de Soller hairpins and the run out to Formentor. Rental fleets and cyclist-first hotels cluster around Port de Pollenca and Alcudia.
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Deep-water soloing at Cala Barques and Es Pontas
climbing adventureMallorca is the home of psicobloc, climbing sea cliffs ropeless with the water as the landing. The Porto Cristo and Cala Barques sectors are the classic testing grounds, and the sea arch of Es Pontas off Santanyi is the route that put the discipline on film. Warm-water months only, and a boat or a swim to reach most of it.
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Es Trenc and the southeast calas - the beach day
scenicEs Trenc is the long undeveloped dune beach behind the salt pans on the south coast. East of it the cliffs are notched with calas: Mondrago and Cala Llombards for easy swimming, Calo des Moro for the postcard and the scramble down that comes with it.
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Mercat de l'Olivar and the island table
foodPalma's main market is the quickest introduction to what Mallorca eats: sobrassada, the soft paprika sausage, the coiled ensaimada pastry, salted almonds, tumbet and arros brut. Inland Binissalem and Felanitx make the island's wine from local manto negro and callet grapes, and both run cellar visits.
Best areas to stay in Mallorca
$ Budget $$ Mid-range $$$ Premium
Palma Old Town, La Lonja and Sa Calatrava
First-time visitors $$$Courtyard palaces above a working port
Explore hotels in Palma Old Town, La Lonja and Sa Calatrava →
Santa Catalina and Portixol
Food and city beach $$Market district and seafront fishing quarter
Explore hotels in Santa Catalina and Portixol →
Soller and Port de Soller
Mountain base $$Orange valley under the high peaks
Explore hotels in Soller and Port de Soller →
Deia and Valldemossa
Couples and quiet $$$Stone villages on the cliff road
Explore hotels in Deia and Valldemossa →
Alcudia and Port de Pollenca
Families $$Long northern bays and Roman walls
Explore hotels in Alcudia and Port de Pollenca →
Live nightly prices from Booking.com, Agoda and others, centred on Mallorca
Getting to & around Mallorca
Getting there
Fly into Palma de Mallorca, then about 20 minutes by bus or taxi into the city.
Flight
Palma de Mallorca Airport (Son Sant Joan) (PMI)
Roughly 8 km east of Palma. The A1 airport bus runs into the centre and Plaza de Espana in about 20 minutes, the A2 runs along the western resort strip, and seasonal express coaches serve Alcudia, Pollenca and the southeast; taxis queue outside arrivals and hire-car desks sit across from the terminal.
Ferry
Port of Palma
Overnight and fast car ferries from Barcelona, Valencia and Denia on the mainland, landing a short taxi ride west of the old town.
Ferry
Port d'Alcudia
The northern port handles crossings to Menorca, useful if you are basing yourself on that side of the island.
Ferry
Port of Palma
Inter-island sailings to Ibiza and Menorca run year-round, with far denser timetables over summer.
Cruise
Palma cruise terminals
Calls berth west of the centre; the cathedral and old town are a shuttle plus a short walk away.
Getting around
Hire car
The realistic way to see the Tramuntana and the southeast coves. Village parking and beach parking are the constraint in summer.
TBC
TIB intercity buses
A decent network radiating from Palma to the resorts and larger towns, thinner between villages and much reduced in winter.
TBC
Trains and metro
Public lines run from Palma to Inca, Sa Pobla and Manacor, with a short metro out to the university.
TBC
Soller train and tram
A separate heritage line to Soller and Port de Soller, priced as an attraction rather than as transport.
TBC
Palma city bus (EMT)
Covers the city, Portixol and the airport road; the old town itself is walkable end to end.
TBC
Boat
Seasonal launches link Port de Soller, Sa Calobra, Formentor and several cove beaches with no road access.
TBC
Day trips from Mallorca
Soller valley and Port de Soller
Full dayHeritage rail
The train climbs through orange terraces and tunnels to a town square of shuttered mansions, then the tram runs down to a sheltered horseshoe bay. Add the walk up to Fornalutx, routinely called the prettiest village in Spain, or the lighthouse path above the port.
Getting there
train | car
About 1 hr by vintage train from Palma, then the tram
Valldemossa and Deia
Full dayTramuntana villages
The cliff road strings together the Chopin monastery at Valldemossa, the Son Marroig estate on its headland, and Deia with its writers' churchyard and boulder cove below. Slow, winding and one of the great Mediterranean drives.
Getting there
car | bus
About 30-45 min drive northwest of Palma on the Ma-10
Sa Calobra and the Torrent de Pareis
Full dayGorge and hairpins
Thirteen kilometres of switchbacks drop from the Ma-10 to sea level past the tie-knot loop, ending at a cove where two canyon walls meet. Going in by boat from Port de Soller avoids the road entirely, and the descent is closed after heavy storms.
Getting there
car | ferry
About 1.5 hr drive from Palma, or by boat from Port de Soller
Cap de Formentor and Pollenca
Full dayCliff cape
Viewpoints along a cliff ridge out to the lighthouse at the island's northern tip, with Playa Formentor for a swim on the way back. Pair it with Pollenca's Calvari steps and Sunday market. Cape access is limited to shuttles in the busy months.
Getting there
car | bus
About 1 hr drive from Alcudia, longer from Palma
Porto Cristo and the eastern caves
Full dayCaves and coast
Coves del Drach and its underground lake concert are the draw, with Coves dels Hams next door and a small harbour town for lunch. Carry on north to Arta and the Talayotic settlement at Ses Paisses if you want prehistory with it.
Getting there
car | bus
About 1 hr drive east of Palma
Cabrera National Park
Full dayIsland reserve
A protected archipelago off the south coast with a castle over the harbour, lizards on every rock and some of the clearest water in the Balearics. Visitor numbers are capped and sailings are seasonal, so it needs booking ahead.
Getting there
ferry | tour
About 1 hr by boat from Colonia de Sant Jordi
A little history of Mallorca
Mallorca's first builders left talayots, drystone towers and settlements scattered across the interior and the east, some of them still standing at Ses Paisses and Capocorb Vell. Rome annexed the Balearics in 123 BC and founded Palmaria and Pollentia; Vandals and Byzantines followed, and from 903 the island was Madina Mayurqa, part of the Islamic west, when the terraces, irrigation channels and water gardens that still shape the countryside were laid out.
Jaume I of Aragon took the city in 1229, and the cathedral rose on the site of the main mosque. For a few decades Mallorca was an independent kingdom with its own court and coinage before Aragon reabsorbed it. Centuries of corsair raids, watchtowers and rural poverty followed. Chopin's winter, and the Austrian archduke who bought up the west coast, began the island's reinvention as somewhere to travel to, and the package boom from the 1950s did the rest, for better and worse.
Talayotic communities build drystone towers and villages across the island.
Rome annexes the Balearics and founds Palmaria, the seed of Palma, and Pollentia in the north.
The island passes to the Emirate of Cordoba and Palma becomes Madina Mayurqa.
Jaume I of Aragon storms the city; construction of La Seu begins on the site of the main mosque.
The independent Kingdom of Mallorca is founded, lasting until Aragon reclaims it in 1349.
The cathedral is finally completed after nearly four centuries of building.
Chopin and George Sand winter at the Valldemossa charterhouse and put the island on the European map.
Package flights arrive and the resort coast is built out within two decades.
UNESCO inscribes the Serra de Tramuntana as a cultural landscape.
Know before you go
Payment
Cards everywhere
English
Widely spoken
Wifi
Reliable
Power
Type C / F
230 V, 50 Hz
Dialing
+34
Mobile network & SIM card
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FAQs about Mallorca
▸ When is the best time to visit Mallorca?
Spring and early autumn are the sweet spot: everything is open, the mountains are walkable and the island is not full. Midsummer is the beach-and-crowds season at its peak. Winter is quiet and green, good for walking, cycling and Palma, but much of the resort coast is closed.
▸ Do I need a hire car in Mallorca?
For the Tramuntana villages, the southeast calas and the inland towns, yes. If you are staying in Palma or Soller you can manage on trains, buses and the odd taxi, and cyclists cover more of the island than drivers do. Book the car early for summer.
▸ Is Mallorca just package resorts?
No. The mass-tourism strips are concentrated in a few identifiable places, mainly Magaluf, Palmanova and S'Arenal near Palma, and you can spend a fortnight on the island without seeing any of them. Most of the coast, the whole mountain range and the farming interior are nothing like that.
▸ Why do cyclists go to Mallorca?
Smooth roads, light traffic outside summer, mild winters and a mountain range with everything from long steady drags to the switchbacks of Sa Calobra. Pro teams train here in late winter and spring, and hotels around Port de Pollenca and Alcudia are set up for riders with workshops and early breakfasts.
▸ Palma or a coastal base?
Palma if you want a city, restaurants, galleries and public transport, and are content to drive to beaches. A coastal or mountain base if the point of the trip is swimming or walking. The island is small enough that either works, and splitting the stay in two works better still.
▸ Is Mallorca expensive?
It sits at the pricier end of Spain, with July and August the sharpest weeks and Deia, Port d'Andratx and the yacht end of Palma pricier again. Inland towns, the northern bays out of season and Palma's market restaurants are all much gentler on a budget.
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