Mountains, a cathedral and coves that really are that blue. Five days around the island, with the beaches sorted by coast.
Photo: Jorge Franganillo, CC BY 4.0
Mallorca has a reputation problem. For half of Europe it means a cheap flight and a hotel strip, and that part is real: package tourism started here in the 1950s, boomed after the 1970s and still fills the island every summer. But Mallorca is bigger than its brochure. It has a mountain range, the Serra de Tramuntana, that UNESCO listed as World Heritage in 2011, a Gothic cathedral on the seafront that Gaudí tried to rearrange, caves with an underground lake, and in the south-east a string of small sandy coves.
Five days is the right length for one honest lap. Palma deserves a full day, the Tramuntana another, the north (Pollença, Formentor, Alcúdia) a third, and the south-east coves with the Caves of Drach finish the job. The honest warning: Mallorca is a car island once you leave Palma. This plan is car-free for the first two days and uses a rental car from day three, sleeping in three bases so you don't backtrack: Palma, Alcúdia and Cala d'Or.
Day one is Palma, day two the Tramuntana (Valldemossa, Deià, Sóller and the wooden train), day three Pollença, Formentor and Alcúdia, day four the Caves of Drach and the Cala d'Or coves, and day five Mondragó, Santanyí, Caló des Moro and Es Trenc. Start on a Tuesday: the cathedral shuts on Sundays, the Almudaina palace and Bellver Castle on Mondays, and Saturday is market day in Santanyí. The plan also allows for the late-October clock change (Sunday 25 October 2026), which pulls sunset from about 7pm to just before 6pm. For the wider picture, see the Spain country page. Coming from the mainland? Valencia has a ferry to Palma of about seven hours.
Every stop from the plan below, colored by day. Pick a day to see its route.
Ensaimada and hot chocolate, the cathedral and the royal palace, lunch at the Santa Catalina market, Bellver Castle, and sunset on the seafront.
A bus into the mountains for Chopin's monastery, a poet's village, lunch in Sóller, the old tram to the port and the wooden train home.
A hill town and its 365 steps, the cliff road to the northern tip, a swim at Formentor beach, sunset at the lighthouse and dinner inside Alcúdia's walls.
Roman ruins and a swim on the Bay of Alcúdia in the morning, the Caves of Drach with their underground lake at 2pm, and the south-east coves by evening.
The natural park at Mondragó, Santanyí's Saturday market, Caló des Moro, the long dunes of Es Trenc and fish in Colònia de Sant Jordi.
Everything today is in Palma, and everything except Bellver Castle is on foot. The cathedral does not take visitors on Sundays and the royal palace and the castle are closed on Mondays, so a Tuesday start works. The Santa Catalina market closes at 3pm, which sets the timing for lunch.
Start the way Palma starts: with an ensaimada, the coiled, sugar-dusted bun that is the island's breakfast, and a cup of thick hot chocolate. Ca'n Joan de s'Aigo has been doing exactly this since 1700, which makes it the oldest café in the city. Its founder, Joan Thomàs, is said to have stored snow from the Tramuntana mountains in cases de neu (snow houses) and pressed it into the island's first sorbets, and the house is still known for its almond ice cream.
The original is on Carrer de Can Sanç, a few minutes from the cathedral, and it is open from 8am to 9pm. Order the plain ensaimada first and take a coca de patata (a soft potato bun) away for later.
The cathedral sits on the seafront, right where the city's biggest mosque once stood. Work began soon after King James I conquered the island in 1229 and dragged on into the 17th century, and the result is a Gothic hull so tall and so thin-pillared that it looks like it shouldn't stand. Its east rose window, nearly 14 meters across, is the second largest Gothic one in the world.
Inside, the story is two arguments. In 1903 Antoni Gaudí took over a restoration, moved the choir stalls to the side walls, hung a huge canopy over the altar and opened bricked-up windows, work some people still call vandalism. Between 2001 and 2006 the Mallorcan artist Miquel Barceló covered a whole chapel in ceramic with loaves, fishes and sea creatures, and the argument started again. Go and decide for yourself, and come at 10am when it opens.
The Almudaina faces the cathedral across a terrace, and the two buildings are the whole story of Christian Palma in one view. It started as an Arab fortress, and the Mallorcan kings rebuilt it as a palace in the early 14th century. It is still one of the official residences of the Spanish royal family.
It is a pleasant hour rather than a thrill, so if you only have energy for one of the two big buildings, make it the cathedral. The palace is closed on Mondays.
Five minutes east of the cathedral, a small brick dome sits over the only building in Palma that survives from the Arab period. The Banys Àrabs, the Arab baths, date to the 10th century, and under the floor you can still see how the heating worked. Only two or three small rooms are open, so this is a short stop, but the courtyard garden is a calm place to sit for ten minutes.
Santa Catalina is the neighborhood where Palma eats lunch. The covered market at its center is open Monday to Saturday from 7am to 3pm, with stalls for fish, vegetables, cheese and sobrassada, and tapas counters around them. Go at 1pm, when it is full of locals.
Order small plates: fried fish, cured meats, a slice of tortilla Española (the thick potato omelet found at every Spanish bar), or whatever the person next to you is eating. Then walk the streets around the market, full of bars and bakeries.
Bellver is the only circular castle in Mallorca and one of the few in Europe. The island's King James II had it built in the 14th century on a pine-covered hill 3 km west of the old town, and from the 18th century into the 20th it served as a prison. Today it houses the city's history museum, but the real attraction is the building: a round courtyard with two layers of Gothic arches, a moat and a tower reached by a bridge.
The roof has the best view of Palma and its bay. Take a city bus (lines 4, 20 or 46) or a taxi up the hill and walk down through the forest.
Finish below the cathedral. Parc de la Mar is a long lake under the city wall, and as the sun drops, the cathedral glows and reflects in the water. It is the picture on every postcard, and the free version beats the postcard.
Dinner is a short walk away: Sa Llotja, the Gothic merchants' exchange, marks the start of the small streets around the Born, full of tapas bars and restaurants.
Today is the day for the UNESCO mountains, and you can do it without a car. Take bus 203 from Palma's Intermodal station (it runs several times a day and reaches Valldemossa in about 30 minutes), ride on to Deià and Sóller, and come home on the Sóller train. The Valldemossa Charterhouse is closed on Sundays, and the last train from Sóller leaves at 7:30pm. The railway shuts for the winter (roughly late November to February) and the tram has its own break, so then come back the way you went: bus 203 from Sóller to Palma, or bus 204 via Bunyola, and treat Port de Sóller as optional. The Sóller road tunnel is closed at night, Monday to Thursday 10pm to 6am, until 19 November 2026, so don't plan a late drive back through it.
In the winter of 1838-39 the composer Frédéric Chopin and the writer George Sand arrived in Mallorca hoping that the warm climate would help his lungs. It rained. Chopin got sicker, his piano sat in customs for weeks, and the couple ended up in the old Carthusian monastery at Valldemossa. Sand later wrote an acid account of the trip, A Winter in Majorca, and the island has been quarreling with her about it ever since.
The Charterhouse began as a royal palace and became a monastery in 1399. You can see the cells, the church and the rooms from that winter, and the site runs short piano recitals. Arrive at 10am before the tour buses.
Valldemossa is a village of stone houses on a hillside, and the streets around the Charterhouse are made for wandering. It is also the home of coca de patata, a soft yeasted bun made with potato and dusted with icing sugar. It is eaten for breakfast with hot chocolate in winter, and with almond ice cream in summer.
Buy one at a village bakery and eat it on a bench. Valldemossa is also the birthplace of Mallorca's patron saint, Catalina Thomàs, and her birthplace is a small shrine next to the parish church.
Deià is about 16 km up the coast from Valldemossa: a village on a hillside between orange and olive groves on cliffs above the sea. The English poet Robert Graves was one of the first foreigners to settle here, and he stayed until his death in 1985. Artists, writers and musicians followed him from the 1950s on.
Graves is buried in the small churchyard on the hill, and the walk up to it has a good view down to the sea. His house, Ca n'Alluny, is now a museum. Then wander the lower lanes. If the weather is warm, a path leads down to Cala Deià, a small cove.
Sóller sits in a bowl of mountains, and for centuries it made its money from oranges and lemons, which were easier to ship out by sea than to haul over the hills. Emigrants who came home rich built Art Nouveau houses and the Banco de Sóller, a 1912 Modernista bank by Joan Rubió i Bellver, a follower of Gaudí, on the main square. Its ironwork is worth a look even if you don't need a cash machine.
Eat on or just off the square under the plane trees and order something that tastes of the valley: grilled vegetables, a plate of sobrassada, or orange juice from the Canoneta variety, grown only here.
A historic tram runs the 5 km from Sóller's station to the waterfront at Port de Sóller. It opened in 1913, some of the original cars are still in service, and it leaves roughly every 30 minutes from 8am until 8:35pm. You will want a window seat.
At the port, walk the bay, have a coffee in the sun and watch the boats. The beach is not Mallorca's best (it can be sludgy near the stream outflows), so treat this as a stroll, not a swim. Then take the tram back up. A combined ticket from Palma (train, tram, train) costs 40 EUR.
The Sóller railway opened in 1912, built on the profits of the orange and lemon trade, and it still runs with its original wooden electric carriages. The hour-long trip winds through 13 tunnels with a stop at Bunyola, and it is the best way to see the mountains without driving them.
The timetable posted in October has trains leaving Sóller at 9:00, 10:50, 12:15, 14:00, 17:15, 18:00, 18:30 and 19:30, reaching Palma about an hour later. The railway shuts for the winter (last year from 24 November to 1 February). In that gap take bus 203 or 204 from Sóller instead.
Pick up your rental car in Palma in the morning and drive the Ma-13 highway, about 54 km and an hour to Pollença. Today you move bases: you sleep in Alcúdia tonight. The Pollença market is on Sundays, so on a Thursday the town is quiet, which is good for the steps.
Pollença sits inland on purpose. The Roman town of Pollentia stood on the coast near today's Alcúdia, and when raiders made the coast unsafe its people moved here and took the name with them. The old center is a grid of narrow lanes around the Plaça Major, a pedestrian square with cafés.
The classic climb is the Calvari: 365 steps, one for each day of the year, to a small chapel from 1795 on a hill with a view of the town. Do it before the day heats up. On the way out, look at the Roman bridge on the north side of town. On Good Friday the same steps host a torch-lit procession.
Port de Pollença is the sandy bay 6 km from the town and the gateway to Formentor. Eat here before the cape, where nothing is certain to be open in the off season.
Order the day's fish, a plate of tumbet or frit mallorquí (diced meat and vegetables fried in oil), or a simple pa amb oli (bread with olive oil, tomato and cheese). Buy water and snacks here for the beach.
The road from Port de Pollença to the cape is 13.5 km of curves cut into the cliff in 1925 by the engineer Antonio Parietti, who also built the road to Sa Calobra. It climbs to Mirador es Colomer, the first and best viewpoint, a terrace above cliffs that drop about 300 meters to the sea, with the islet of Colomer below and Menorca on the horizon on a clear day.
Locals call the cape the meeting point of the winds, and it is windy. Hold onto your hat and your phone at the rail, and stop again on the way back in different light.
Formentor Beach is the one proper beach on the cape, by the old Hotel Formentor, which an Argentine art lover, Adan Diehl, built in 1928. In late October the sea is still warm enough for a swim on a sunny day, and the beach is a lot quieter than in summer.
Beach services are seasonal, so bring a towel and your own water. Further along the peninsula, Cala Figuera and Cala Murta are small coves, better for a short visit than a long stay.
The lighthouse stands at the tip of the Cap de Formentor, the northernmost point of Mallorca. It opened in 1863, when the only way in was by sea or a long mule track. It is the best place on the island to watch the sun go down.
In summer, private cars can't drive the whole peninsula. In 2026 the restriction ran from 15 May to 18 October, 10am to 10pm: cars reached Formentor Beach only if its car park had free spaces, and beyond it only the TIB shuttle (line 334), taxis, bicycles and permit holders continued. Outside those dates you can drive to the lighthouse yourself. The dates shift each year, so check the traffic authority's Formentor page.
Alcúdia is a walled town. Its walls went up between 1298 and 1362, when King James II laid out a new town beside an old Moorish farmstead, and you can still walk the free path along the top. Inside the walls are about 20 restaurants, which is why the old town is a better place to stay in the off season than the beach strip.
Have dinner inside the walls and walk to the Porta del Moll, one of the surviving gates. The weekly market is on Tuesdays, so you won't catch it today.
Today you cross the island north to south-east and change bases, from Alcúdia to Cala d'Or. The driving is only about 85 minutes in total, and the caves set the clock: book the 2pm tour, which runs in every season. That gives you Pollentia and a swim before lunch and a couple of hours at the coves afterwards. Sunset is around 7pm until 24 October and 5:55pm after the clocks go back, so in late autumn skip the beach, take the 12:00 tour and keep the daylight for the coves.
Before you leave, spend an hour on the Roman side of Alcúdia, when the site opens at 10am. Pollentia was a Roman camp rebuilt as a town from around 70 BC, and for a while it was Mallorca's main port for trade with Rome and the eastern Mediterranean, while Palma handled Spain and North Africa. Then the empire collapsed, raiders hit the coast and the people left. What is open is modest: a residential area, a necropolis and a small Roman theatre.
Go for the story rather than a big site. The Museu Monogràfic next to the church of Sant Jaume has the finds.
The Bay of Alcúdia is a sandy beach about 14 km long, running from the port to Can Picafort with Platja de Muro in the middle. In late October the water is still warm, and you will often have a long stretch of sand to yourself.
Swim, then leave by noon. The wetland reserve of s'Albufera is right behind the beach, but it needs its own morning, so it sits under more time.
Drive south-east for about 45 minutes to Porto Cristo, the small port next to the caves. Eat here before your tour, because the published slots skip 1pm.
Look for a restaurant near the harbor that serves the day's fish, and eat early enough to reach the caves for your time slot.
The Caves of Drach are four connected caves, about 2.4 km long in all (the visit covers a part of that), and they have been known since at least 1338. Édouard-Alfred Martel, the French explorer who is considered the father of speleology, explored them in 1896 and found their star: Lake Martel, an underground lake about 115 meters long.
The tour is not guided, takes about an hour and ends at the lake with a short live classical concert. The ticket normally includes a boat crossing of the lake, but the caves' site says the boat trip is suspended for now, so check before you go. It is touristy and it is also beautiful. Book a time slot online.
Cala d'Or is a resort planned from 1932 by the Ibizan architect Josep Costa Ferrer, who wanted white cubic houses in the Ibizan style and got them. It spreads around three inlets with little sandy coves at their heads, including Cala Gran, Cala d'Or itself, Cala Egos and Cala Ferrera. The coves are small and crowded with parasols in summer, so treat them as a quick swim, not the best beach of the trip.
Walk out to Es Fortí, the fort built in 1740 against pirates, which is free to visit at any time and has a view of the coast.
Cala d'Or's center is a pedestrian zone with restaurants and a dozen pubs, with more around Petit Port and the marina. It is quieter in winter, so check that your choice is open.
Order fish or arròs brut (a brothy rice dish, described below) and walk the marina afterwards. The Eroski supermarket at the north end of town is open daily until 9:30pm.
The day is about beaches, so check the wind and the flags before choosing which end to start from. Santanyí's weekly market is on Saturdays, which is why this day sits on a Saturday. The cove car parks fill early in summer, and in late October they are much easier. It is about an hour from Colònia de Sant Jordi back to Palma Airport, so plan your last night accordingly.
Mondragó is a protected natural park a short drive from Cala d'Or, and it has the two best small beaches of this corner of the island: Cala Mondragó and S'Amarador, a short walk apart. Park in one of the paid car parks, about a ten-minute walk from the sand, and arrive early because they fill by midday on busy days. Bus 521 links Cala d'Or, Portopetro and Mondragó, but it is a seasonal beach line that TIB restarted in April, so don't count on it in winter and check the end date.
Santanyí is an old stone town with a market on Saturday mornings in the Plaça Major, the best one on this side of the island. Stalls sell fruit, olives, cheese and sobrassada, and the streets around the square fill with cafés.
Buy lunch here: olives, a piece of sobrassada, bread and fruit, and picnic on the coast.
Caló des Moro is a tiny cove, a tongue of turquoise water between white cliffs, and it has become the island's best-known example of a beach loved to death: it is so small that a crowd fills it in minutes. In 2019 the Santanyí town hall declared the cove free of alcohol and smoking, and in 2021 it put security staff on the access. Parking is the real problem: the nearby car park was closed and some streets of neighboring Cala Llombards were made residents-only.
Go early or late, and outside summer. Expect a walk of 15 to 30 minutes over uneven ground from where you can park, and have a plan B. The next cove, Cala s'Almunia, is a good one, and so is Cala Santanyí with the rock islet of Es Pontàs, a few minutes along the coast.
Es Trenc is the long beach: about 10 km of white sand dunes between Sa Ràpita and Colònia de Sant Jordi, with shallow, calm water. It sits inside a natural park, and it is also the island's most popular clothing-optional beach.
The main car parks are near Ses Covetes and Ses Salines. Parking is paid and fills early in summer, and the walk to the sand is long. Bring water and shade, and don't leave anything visible in the car, since thefts from parked cars have been reported.
Behind the beach are the salt pans of Es Trenc, where flor de sal (fleur de sel) is harvested. A small jar is one of the island's best souvenirs. Buy it at the salt works or a nearby shop.
Colònia de Sant Jordi is a small harbor village on the south coast, next to Es Trenc, and the easy place to eat after the beach. Order fish or a seafood paella with a glass of the island's white wine.
From here the drive back to Cala d'Or is under an hour, and to Palma Airport about the same. If your flight leaves tomorrow morning, sleep closer to the airport tonight.
Five days cover the island's essentials. With more time or a second visit, these are the best things to add, ordered by distance from Palma.
A monastery and Mallorca's most important pilgrimage site, in a mountain basin at 525 meters. A Moorish shepherd is said to have found a statue of the Virgin Mary here. It is home to the boys' choir Els Blauets, founded in 1531, and a starting point for walks.
Getting there: About 55 km from Palma, around one hour by car
A tiny port at the end of a single winding road that Antonio Parietti opened in 1933, with a 270-degree spiral bridge known as the tie knot. It is popular with road cyclists and coach trips, so go early.
Getting there: Roughly 85 km from Palma, 1.5-2 hours by car
A national park of uninhabited islands off the south coast, almost all of it sea, and home to species that are rare elsewhere in the Balearics. Visits are controlled, so book your boat ahead and check the season.
Getting there: About 55 km by road to Colònia de Sant Jordi, then a boat trip
A fortified village that James II ordered built in 1300, with a castle on a hill. Cala Ratjada is its fishing port.
Getting there: About 80 km east of Palma, roughly 1 hour 15 minutes by car
The ferry leaves Alcúdia in the morning and returns in the evening, so a day trip is possible, though Menorca deserves more than a day.
Getting there: Ferry from Alcúdia to Ciutadella, about 75 minutes each way
The center of the island's best-known wine region, Binissalem. Mallorca's wine industry was revived only in the 1990s, and several wineries around the village welcome visitors. Check opening hours before you go.
Getting there: About 25 km north of Palma, 30 minutes by car
A free wetland reserve behind the Bay of Alcúdia, open daily and a favorite with birdwatchers, with hides and walking trails. Give it a morning if you stay a second night in the north.
Getting there: About 55 km from Palma, 45 minutes by car, next to Platja de Muro
Mallorcan food is Catalan with a pork habit and a sweet tooth, built on bread, vegetables and olive oil. These are the dishes and drinks to look for.
The island's emblem: a spiral of airy dough made with pork lard (saïm, which gives it its name), baked golden and dusted with icing sugar. It is eaten at breakfast, often dipped in hot chocolate, plain or filled with cream, apricot, chocolate or even sobrassada. Try the plain one first, and look for gató, an almond cake served with almond ice cream, for dessert.
Where to try it: Ca'n Joan de s'Aigo in Palma (open since 1700) or any bakery with a queue before 10am.
A soft, spreadable raw sausage of ground pork, paprika and spices, made as part of the autumn and winter pig slaughter, the matança. It is not usually spicy. Eat it plain or toasted on bread, or look for it as an ingredient in other dishes.
Where to try it: Stalls at the Santa Catalina market, and at the Santanyí market on Saturdays.
Spain's most famous rice dish comes from Valencia, but the seafood version is on Mallorcan menus too and counts as a local dish. It is cooked to order, so a place that serves it in two minutes is not making it. For the original, see the Valencia guide.
Where to try it: A harbor restaurant in a fishing village such as Port de Sóller or Colònia de Sant Jordi.
A fried dish of diced meat and vegetables. It is rich, so share it as a starter.
Where to try it: Traditional restaurants in the interior villages.
A soft, lightly sweet yeasted bun made with potato, from Valldemossa. It is eaten for breakfast or as an afternoon snack, with hot chocolate in winter and almond ice cream in summer.
Where to try it: Valldemossa bakeries, and Ca'n Joan de s'Aigo in Palma.
The Sóller valley grows a juice orange called Canoneta, found only here, and fresh orange juice is the thing to drink in the cooler months. Most varieties are picked until March.
Where to try it: The cafés on Plaça de la Constitució in Sóller, and farm stalls in the valley.
Layers of sliced potatoes, aubergines and red peppers, fried in olive oil. It is on almost every local menu, either as a side with meat or fish or as a vegetarian main.
Where to try it: Any traditional restaurant in a town center, not on the beach strip.
The name means dirty rice, for the dark, cloudy broth: rice cooked loose and brothy with rabbit, chicken or pork, spiced with cinnamon, paprika and saffron. It is eaten with a spoon and it suits a cool October evening.
Where to try it: Village restaurants in the interior, where it is often a lunch-menu dish in the colder months.
Bread with olive oil and tomato, usually with cheese or tuna. It is the simplest Mallorcan summer meal and, done with good bread and oil, one of the best.
Where to try it: A village bar or a farm restaurant in the mountains.
Mallorcan bars serve the Spanish classics, from tortilla Española to croquettes and fried peppers. The usual order is a caña (a small draft beer) with two or three plates to share. For coffee, a cortado (espresso with a splash of milk) is the standard order.
Where to try it: Around Sa Llotja and Santa Catalina in Palma, and on the main squares of Pollença and Alcúdia.
An herbal liqueur flavored with aniseed, fennel, rosemary, lemon verbena and citrus peel, and the island's signature spirit. It comes in sweet, mixed and dry versions, the dry one the strongest, and it is served after a heavy meal. It has a protected geographical indication, so only bottles made on the island can carry the name.
Where to try it: Ask for a glass after lunch at any restaurant, and buy a bottle at a supermarket.
Mallorca's wine industry was revived in the 1990s, and there are now around 70 vineyards. Two areas have DO status: Binissalem, north-east of Palma, and Pla i Llevant, which covers almost half the island south of the Ma-13. Little is exported, so ask for a local bottle.
Where to try it: Restaurants in Palma and the interior, and wineries around Binissalem.
Mallorca's beaches and sights are far apart, so this plan sleeps in three bases, and they feel very different. Palma is a real city: lanes, markets and restaurants on foot, open all year. Alcúdia is a small walled town beside a 14 km sandy bay, quiet once the season ends. Cala d'Or is a purpose-built resort of small coves, easy but low on character. Many places close from November, so confirm that your hotel and a few restaurants are open.
Best for: The first two nights: the cathedral, markets and restaurants on foot, and the train and bus to the mountains
Stay in or near the old town and you can do day one on foot and day two without a car, because the Sóller train and the mountain buses leave from the Plaça d'Espanya area. Palma is also the base that stays open all winter. The catch: the old town is hard to drive in, so collect your rental car on day three.
Palma Mallorca Spain/ March 2025/ Walking Tour 4K UHD · Top Mallorca · 69 min · YouTube
Best for: The north: Pollença, Formentor, the Bay of Alcúdia and a quiet night in a walled town
The old town, inside the walls, is the base for the north and the best choice outside summer, since the beach strip and the port thin out when the season ends. It is 55 km from Palma. The catch: you need a car, and most hotels are on the beach strip and the port, not in the old town.
Alcúdia, Mallorca in 4K HDR | Walking Tour with Binaural Sound · Importmadl · 15 min · YouTube
Best for: The south-east: Mondragó, Santanyí, Caló des Moro and Es Trenc within about 30 to 45 minutes
Cala d'Or was one of the first big resorts in Mallorca, planned in the 1930s with white Ibizan-style houses. It is a handy, low-key base close to Mondragó, Santanyí and the south coast, about 60 km from Palma. The catch: beaches are not its strong point, and in winter some hotels and restaurants close.
BEYOND THE BEACHES: Exploring Cala d'Or Centre, Mallorca, Spain · Mallorca Under the Sun · 20 min · YouTube
Best for: Train and tram lovers, hikers and a night in the mountains
An alternative to a second night in Palma if you want to walk in the Tramuntana after the day-trippers leave. The catch: it is far from the beaches of the east and south.
In Map Drop the countries of Europe fall one at a time and you drop each into its place - Spain is one of the pieces.
The practical stuff that makes the first day in Mallorca easier.
Spain uses the euro, and cards work almost everywhere, though village markets and some small cafés prefer cash. The Balearic sustainable tourism tax (ITS) is added to hotel bills per person per night: in 2026 the rates were around 3 EUR in high season (1 May to 31 October) for a four-star hotel and about 0.75 EUR from November to April, with children under 16 exempt and a 50% reduction from the ninth night. Rates change, so check your booking.
Days one and two work without a car. From day three you want one, because the plan moves between three bases and the coves are far from the bus lines. Pick it up in Palma on the morning of day three and drop it at the airport. The main roads are toll-free, including the Sóller tunnel. Park at the edge of Pollença, Valldemossa, Sóller and Santanyí and walk in, because the old centers are narrow.
TIB buses leave for most places from Palma's Intermodal station by Plaça d'Espanya. Bus 203 serves Valldemossa, Deià and Sóller, bus 204 goes to Sóller via Bunyola, and bus 334 goes to Formentor from Alcúdia and Port de Pollença (it turns back at Formentor Beach from October to March). We couldn't confirm winter frequencies, so check tib.org for current times. The heritage train to Sóller is a trip in its own right: 23 EUR single, 30 EUR return.
North: the 14 km Bay of Alcúdia and Formentor Beach. South-east: small coves such as Cala Mondragó, Cala Santanyí and Caló des Moro, best early or outside summer. South: Es Trenc, about 10 km of white sand and shallow water. Tramuntana: mostly cliffs, with small coves such as Cala Deià. Bay of Palma: city beaches at Can Pere Antoni and Ciutat Jardí. Swimming is realistic until early November: the sea averages around 23°C in October, 20°C in November, 16°C in December and 14°C from January to March).
The main tourist season runs April to October and many businesses close for winter. The Sóller railway shuts for the winter (last year from 24 November to 1 February) and the tram has its own break, so use bus 203 or 204. The Caves of Drach cut to four tours a day from 1 November. The cathedral terraces close in November and the cathedral closes earlier from December. Beach services and some restaurants in Cala d'Or, Port d'Alcúdia and Colònia de Sant Jordi shut. The Formentor car limits end in mid-October, so you can drive to the lighthouse, but the shuttle bus stops running.
Spain moves its clocks back one hour at 3am on the last Sunday of October (25 October 2026). In Palma sunset is about 7:05pm on 20 October and about 5:55pm on 26 October, then around 5:35pm in mid-November and 5:30pm in December. The day gets shorter in a hurry, so plan the Bellver visit, the Formentor lighthouse and the drive back from Sóller earlier than you would in summer.
Lunch in Spain usually runs from about 1:30pm and dinner from 8pm, and some kitchens close in between. Mallorcans speak Spanish and Mallorquí, a variety of Catalan, and you will see both on signs. English is widely understood in tourist areas.
Spain is in the EU roaming zone, so EU SIMs work at home rates. Plugs are the European two-pin type (C and F), 230 V. The emergency number is 112. Don't leave valuables visible in parked cars at beaches and viewpoints.
Five days covers Palma, the Tramuntana, the north and the south-east on a sensible loop, with a few swims. Sa Calobra and the interior need more time. With three days, do Palma, the Sóller trip and either Formentor or the south-east coves.
Not for Palma, and not for the Sóller day, which works by bus and train. For the north and the south-east coves a car is far easier, and this plan uses one from day three.
Yes, with caveats. The sea is still warm (around 23°C in October) and the crowds are smaller, but October and November are the island's wettest months, with occasional storms, and many seasonal places close from November. The clocks go back on the last Sunday of October, so sunset drops to just before 6pm.
Long sand: the Bay of Alcúdia in the north and Es Trenc in the south. Small coves: the south-east. The Tramuntana coast is mostly cliffs.
Outside the summer limits, yes. In 2026 private cars were restricted from 15 May to 18 October, 10am to 10pm, and only the shuttle, taxis and bicycles went on to the lighthouse. Dates change yearly, so check the traffic authority's page.
Yes, once. The wooden electric train takes an hour from Palma through 13 tunnels, and the tram adds a 5 km ride to the port. It is crowded and not cheap (23 EUR single, 30 EUR return), so the bus is the practical choice if you only need to get to Sóller. The railway closes for the winter, so check it is running if you come after mid-November.
Spain is in the Schengen area: EU, UK and US citizens need no visa for stays of up to 90 days in any 180. Check other passports on the Spanish foreign ministry site. ETIAS, the EU's pre-travel authorization, has no confirmed start date yet. The EU Entry/Exit System registers non-EU visitors at the border with a photo and fingerprints, so allow extra time at Palma airport.
Not cheap, not extreme. Sights cost 3 to 20 EUR, a restaurant meal 15 to 35 EUR, and the rental car and fuel add to the budget. The tourist tax is a few euros per person per night in high season and less in winter.
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