Mallorca: how many days you need and the best months to go

When to go, and what each month costs you

Mallorca has a Mediterranean climate: hot, dry summers, mild winters, and most of the rain in autumn. The sea is warm enough for most swimmers from June to October, and the peak of July and August brings heat, crowds and the highest prices. The months either side are the best.

1. January: Worth it, butJan
2. February: Worth it, butFeb
3. March: Worth it, butMar
4. April: Worth it, butApr
5. May: Go nowMay
6. June: Go nowJun
7. July: Worth it, butJul
8. August: Worth it, butAug
9. September: Go nowSep
10. October: Go nowOct
11. November: Worth it, butNov
12. December: Worth it, butDec

• Go now
• Worth it, but
• Think twice

• May and June

  Go now

  Warm, green and before the peak

  Warm, sunny days, long evenings and the countryside still green. The sea warms through June, the coves are calmer than in summer, and the mountains are still pleasant for walking.

• September and October

  Go now

  A warm sea and fewer people

  The sea still warm after the summer, the heat easing and the crowds thinning. Autumn storms can bring a day of heavy rain, more often in October; the walking season in the mountains begins again.

• July and August

  Worth it, but

  Hot, full and dear

  Hot days, warm nights and a warm sea, with the island at its fullest. The famous coves fill early, the roads to them jam, and the lighthouse road at Formentor is closed to cars by day. Book well ahead, and do the sightseeing early.

• November to April

  Worth it, but

  Mild, quiet and half closed

  Mild days with cool nights and some rain, the best season for walking and cycling in the mountains, and the almond blossom from late January into February. Many resort hotels and restaurants close, but Palma stays alive, with the bonfires and festivities of Sant Antoni and Sant Sebastià in January.

How many days Mallorca needs

Four days give a fair picture. One for Palma: the cathedral, the old town, the market and the castle of Bellver above the bay. One or two for the Tramuntana: the train to Sóller, the villages of Valldemossa and Deià, and the road over the mountains. One for a coast: the coves of the south-east, or the caves of Drach on the east coast.

Six days let you have the beaches as well. Add the peninsula of Formentor and the old towns of Pollença and Alcúdia in the north, a day's walk on the long-distance path through the mountains, the boat to the cove of Sa Calobra, or simply a day by the sea. Many visitors split the stay between Palma and a second base on the coast.

How the island is arranged

Mallorca is roughly a square about a hundred kilometres across. Palma, with the airport, sits on a wide bay in the south-west; the Serra de Tramuntana runs along the whole north-west coast; a flat interior of almond and olive groves, vineyards and market towns fills the centre; and the east and south are low coasts of coves and beaches.

• Palma — the capital, with nearly half the island's people: the cathedral, the old town, the port and the beaches of the bay.
• The Serra de Tramuntana — the mountains of the north-west, with Valldemossa, Deià, Sóller and the road down to Sa Calobra.
• The north — the bays of Pollença and Alcúdia, their old hill and walled towns, and the peninsula of Formentor.
• The east coast — coves between pine-covered rocks, the caves of Drach near Porto Cristo, and resort towns.
• The south — the coves around Santanyí, the natural park of Mondragó and the long dune beach of Es Trenc.
• The interior — market towns, vineyards and hills crowned by sanctuaries, with weekly markets and the almond blossom of late winter.

Where to stay, and what each area costs you

Palma is the best base without a car, and for short stays: the buses and the Sóller train start there, and the city has the best restaurants. With a car, a second base in the mountains or on a coast saves long drives. The resort strips of the bay of Palma and the east coast are cheaper and built for beach holidays, which is what they are good for.

Prices peak in July and August and are high from May to October; many hotels outside Palma close from November to March. The Balearic Islands charge a tourist tax per person and per night, higher in the summer season.

Compare these areas against your priorities

Getting there, and getting around

Palma's airport is one of the busiest in Spain, with flights from all over Europe and a bus into the city in about twenty minutes. Ferries arrive from Barcelona, Valencia and Dénia, and link Mallorca with the other Balearic islands.

A hire car is the practical way to see the island, and the only way to many coves and villages. Without one, the island's buses run from Palma to most towns, trains go inland to Inca, Sa Pobla and Manacor, and the old wooden train climbs through the mountains to Sóller.

• The Sóller train has run between Palma and Sóller since 1912, with a tram on to the port. It is a ride more than a transport, priced as one, and the morning trains fill in summer.
• The road to Cap de Formentor is restricted by day from mid-May to mid-October: cars may go only as far as the beach car park, while it has spaces, and a shuttle bus runs on to the lighthouse.
• The road down to Sa Calobra is a famous ribbon of hairpins shared with coaches and cyclists; the boat from the port of Sóller is the calmer way in.
• Leave the car outside Palma's old town, where traffic is restricted to residents.

The cathedral, the mountains and the coves

Palma's cathedral, La Seu, rises from the old sea walls over the bay: a Gothic church begun after the Christian conquest of 1229, with one of the tallest naves in Europe and an immense rose window. Gaudí reworked its interior in the early twentieth century, and in this century the painter Miquel Barceló covered a side chapel in ceramic. Give it a morning, with the royal palace of the Almudaina next door.

• Bellver Castle — a round Gothic castle of the fourteenth century on a wooded hill above Palma, with the whole bay below.
• Valldemossa and Deià — a stone village around the old charterhouse where Chopin and George Sand spent a winter, and the hillside village of writers and painters above the sea.
• Sa Calobra and the Torrent de Pareis — a cove at the mouth of a deep gorge, reached through tunnels in the rock from the end of the road.
• The caves of Drach — caverns near Porto Cristo with an underground lake, where the visit ends with a short concert on the water.
• Formentor — the peninsula of cliffs at the island's northern tip, with viewpoints, a beach shaded by pines and the lighthouse at the end.
• The coves of the south-east — Caló des Moro, Cala Mondragó and dozens of others: turquoise water between pine-covered rocks, best early in the morning.

How eating works here

Mallorca's own food is country food: pork in every form, vegetables cooked slowly in olive oil, bread rubbed with tomato, and the spiral pastry the island is known for. The resorts serve the food of their visitors; to eat Mallorcan, look to the restaurants and markets of Palma, and to the old cellar restaurants and village bars inland.

Spanish hours apply, a little earlier in the resorts: lunch from one or two, dinner from eight or nine. The menu of the day at lunch is the best value on the island.

• The weekly markets of the inland towns, Sineu's on Wednesdays above all, sell produce, cheese and sausage.
• The island's wines, from Binissalem and the plain, are worth ordering.
• The herb liqueur comes sweet, dry or mixed, and is drunk after meals.
• Tipping is optional: rounding up is enough.

Where to eat in Mallorca, and what to order

Mallorca's table is simple and rich: a spiral pastry for breakfast, a soft paprika sausage, bread rubbed with tomato and oil, and a bake of summer vegetables, with a glass of the herb liqueur to finish. Look for them in Palma's markets and in the villages, not on the resort promenades.

• Ensaïmada

  What to order

  The spiral pastry of the island

  A coil of light, sweet dough made with lard, baked and dusted with icing sugar, plain or filled with pumpkin jam or cream. It has a protected name, and visitors carry it home in large flat boxes on every flight. Eat it for breakfast with coffee or hot chocolate.

  Check it on Wikidata

• Sobrassada

  What to order

  The soft paprika sausage

  A soft, spreadable cured sausage of pork and paprika, deep red and rich, spread on bread or cooked with honey. Its protected name covers the sausage made on the island, including one made only from the island's native black pig.

  Check it on Wikidata

• Tumbet

  What to order

  The bake of summer vegetables

  Layers of fried potato, aubergine and red pepper under a tomato sauce, served in a clay dish. It is the summer vegetable dish of Mallorca, eaten on its own or alongside fish or meat.

  Check it on Wikidata

• Pa amb oli

  What to order

  Bread with tomato and oil

  A slice of the island's dense bread rubbed with the small hanging tomatoes of Mallorca, drizzled with olive oil and salt, and topped with cheese or cured ham. It is the snack of every bar, and the plainest way to taste the island's oil and tomatoes.

  Check it on Wikidata

• Hierbas de Mallorca

  What to order

  The herb liqueur after the meal

  An anise liqueur flavoured with the herbs of the island, such as fennel, rosemary and lemon verbena, made sweet, dry or mixed. It has a protected name, and many restaurants pour a glass after the meal.

  Check it on Wikidata

Things that change the trip

1. 1Hire a car, or base yourself in Palma and use the buses and the Sóller train.
2. 2Book the morning Sóller trains in summer.
3. 3Reach the famous coves early, before the car parks fill.
4. 4Check the dates of the Formentor restrictions before you drive out.
5. 5Take the boat to Sa Calobra from the port of Sóller instead of the road at peak hours.
6. 6In winter, check that your hotel and the restaurants around it are open.