Spain
One island, or two or more in one journey.
Plan your Balearic Islands trip Explore the Balearic Islands
Clear shallows and an islet
Four islands in the western Mediterranean: Mallorca’s mountains and old towns, Menorca’s coves and prehistoric settlements, Ibiza’s walled Dalt Vila, and the clear shallows of Formentera. Avelia plans private, tailor-made time in the Balearic Islands.
A trip with us typically includes hotels, private transfers, guided days and restaurant reservations, and always support while you travel.
01Where to go
Mallorca and Ibiza have a guide of their own here. We arrange Menorca and Formentera just as readily, as a stay of their own or alongside the other two.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
The map is the whole archipelago, each island pinned at its main town: Mallorca and Menorca to the north-east, Ibiza and Formentera to the south-west. In a straight line Palma is about 130 km from Ibiza town and 140 km from Maó, and Formentera’s Sant Francesc is about 23 km from Ibiza town; the farthest pair, Maó and Sant Francesc, are some 280 km apart.
Island
Menorca
The second largest island, and a flat one, rising only to 358 m at Monte Toro; a biosphere reserve since 1993. Its Talayotic sites, built from 1600 to 123 BCE, have been World Heritage since 2023, and the Camí de Cavalls circles it in over 185 km. Best for walking and a slower pace.
Island
Formentera
The smallest and southernmost island, 83 km² and some 20 km end to end, with no airport: you arrive by boat from Ibiza. The beaches of Ses Illetes and Llevant, the La Mola plateau and its lighthouse, and a Starlight-certified sky. Best as a day from Ibiza, or a few slow days by bicycle.
02Inspiration
Each of these is arranged privately for your dates, subject to availability.
A day under sail along Mallorca’s or Menorca’s coast with swims in the coves, Menorca’s old coastal path on foot, and Ibiza’s north coast from a paddleboard at sunrise.
Menorca’s Talayotic sites with a specialist guide, Palma’s galleries and modernist buildings with an art historian, and Ibiza’s walled Dalt Vila as the sun goes down.
A tasting at a family-run Mallorca estate, a cooking class on an Ibiza finca, Mahón cheese with Menorca’s gin, and slower days: yoga at sunrise, a spa, a morning in the woods.
03Seasons
Warm and mostly dry: average highs of 18–20°C (64–68°F) in April and 26–28°C (79–82°F) by June, with rain on four to six days in April and one or two by June.
EventsSant Joan in Ciutadella, Menorca, on 23 and 24 June: riders and horses through the old town, in a festival that goes back to the early 14th century.
Hot, dry and sunny, with average highs of 29–31°C (84–88°F) and almost no rain in July: the season for boats, coves and long evenings outside.
Busy: the islands' busiest weeks, when the airports are at their fullest. We reserve boats, tables and the ferries between the islands well ahead.
Summer carries into September, with highs of 26–28°C (79–82°F); October eases to 23–24°C (73–75°F) and brings more rain, on about six or seven days.
EventsThe Festa des Vermar, Binissalem's grape-harvest festival on Mallorca, through September: grape-treading, a wine fair and a parade of floats.
Mild and quiet, with highs of about 14–17°C (57–63°F) from December to February and rain on five to nine days a month: the time for Palma and the old towns.
EventsSant Antoni on 16 and 17 January, with bonfires and dimonis in Sa Pobla, Manacor and Artà, then Palma's own feast of Sant Sebastià on 20 January.
Island by island and month by month: our best time to visit Mallorca and best time to visit Spain guides.
04Shape your trip
Each route is a starting point, tailored to you. For the islands inside a longer journey, see all our Spain itineraries.
4 days
7 days
10 days
from $27,200 per person
05Planning with Avelia
We start with which islands and in what order — one, or a pair, and how long on each — then choose the hotels, and only then fill the days. Ramin Jafari plans it from Málaga, where Avelia is based, and is your contact until you are home.
Tell us your dates, who is travelling and the pace you like, and whether Barcelona or Madrid belong in the same journey.
Before any payment, we send a written proposal with a quoted trip price and what it includes — such as a hotel or a villa on each island, the flights and ferries between them, and a skippered boat for a day — and refine it with you.
Once you approve the proposal and complete the agreed booking requirements, we confirm your arrangements. We coordinate the details and support you while you travel.
Financially protected. Your payments for a package trip are covered against our insolvency by a guarantee with AXA. Plan with peace of mind
Your proposal sets out the arrangements included in your trip.
When to go, where to stay, the food, Palma's landmarks and three days on the island.
Hotels for two, private experiences and a five-day plan.
When to go, our itineraries, and Spain's leading destinations and hotels.
06Questions
Every trip is priced individually. After discussing your plans, we prepare a tailored proposal with a quoted trip price and a clear outline of what is included.
A week is the usual length: enough to know one island well, or two that sit together. All four want ten days or more, or a week in which you move every day or two.
April to June, and September and October: warm days and fewer people than in high summer, with the sea warm enough for most swimmers from May. July and August are the hottest and busiest months, the season for boats and beaches. From November to March the islands are mild and quiet and some hotels close; it is a good time for Palma and the old towns.
Yes. Barcelona and Madrid are among the main routes from the airports of Palma, Menorca and Ibiza, so a few days in either city fits at one end of the trip — our ten-day route above begins in Barcelona. Our luxury trip planning page explains how a trip with several stops comes together.
All four, and they differ more than their closeness suggests. Mallorca has the mountains, the capital and the most variety; Menorca is quieter, with its coastal path and prehistoric sites; Ibiza is known for its nightlife but has its walled old town, coves and quiet country too; Formentera is small, flat and made for beaches and bicycles.
Light, breathable clothes and swimwear; something smart but relaxed for dinner and for an evening out in Palma or on Ibiza; walking shoes if you plan the Tramuntana or the Camí de Cavalls; and a light jacket for the wind on the water, as Formentera’s own tourism board advises.
Yes. Formentera is a ferry from Ibiza, about 30 minutes, with sailings all year; Menorca is a daily ferry of about two hours from Alcúdia on Mallorca, or a flight from Palma; Ibiza and Palma are linked by air. On each island we arrange a driver, or a car if you would rather drive, and on Formentera a bicycle, which is how the island itself suggests you see it.
Both. We plan complete trips, and we also arrange a stay on its own: a hotel matched to you, with transfers, a guide or a few reservations added if you wish.
Avelia suits travellers who want a private, well-paced trip planned around them: the right places in the right order, hotels chosen for them, guides who know the ground, tables and tickets taken care of, and one point of contact from the first conversation until they are home.
A week in the Balearics for one island or a pair, or ten days or more for all four: tell us your dates and who is travelling.
Plan your Balearic Islands trip
Usually answered within one business day.
