The Grand Spanish Tour
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Mallorca guide
Things to do in Mallorca
The sea, the air, Palma and the island's inland valleys, each arranged around your days.
By Ramin Jafari · Facts checked
In Mallorca, the sea comes first: a day on a private boat among the coves, a beach club above the water, or the island from a helicopter. Then Palma’s Cathedral and old town, the island’s potters and painters, a wine estate inland, a table at sunset and the orange groves of the Sóller valley. For each, here is what it involves, how long to give it, and what we can arrange.
At a glance
- Time on the island
- Five to seven nights, and two bases for mountains and coast
- We reserve first
- Boats, beach clubs and tables, which book up from July to September
- July and August
- Highs near 31°C (88°F): keep the middle of the day for the water
At sea and in the air
Three ways to see the island from off it, each arranged privately for your dates.
The north and south-east coasts
A day at sea
- Allow
- Half a day (four hours) or a full day (eight)
- The route
- Set on the day by the skipper, to suit the wind
A private boat with a skipper, out to the coves for a swim and snorkelling and lunch on board: north to the cliffs of Cap de Formentor, or along the south-east coast’s calas. Since 2018 boats in the Balearic Islands may not anchor on the Posidonia seagrass, only on sand or on authorised buoys, and the island’s marine reserves set limits of their own, so the skipper chooses the bay on the morning. On request, subject to availability.
Near Port d'Andratx, in the south-west
Cala Llamp, Andratx A beach club at Cala Llamp
- Allow
- A full day
- Season
- May to October
- Children
- From 12 in the sunbed area
On the rocks of Cala Llamp, Gran Folies has sunbeds above the sea, a pool, a restaurant and a bar, and a tender that meets boats anchored in the cove. We can book the day, and the way there by car or by boat, subject to availability. To stay close by, see our where to stay in Mallorca.
From Son Bonet, outside Palma
The island from the air
- Allow
- Thirty minutes to an hour, or the whole island
- Seats
- Up to three passengers
The shortest flight takes in Valldemossa, the north coast and Sóller; an hour adds Andratx, the high Serra de Tramuntana, Sa Calobra and the monastery of Lluc. A flight can include a stop for lunch at a hotel or a tasting at a wine estate. Arranged privately, on request and subject to availability.
Palma and the villages
The Cathedral and its old town, then the island’s crafts, in Palma’s hinterland and the mountain villages.
Palma's old town
Palma Cathedral, La Seu
- Allow
- About 90 minutes, with the old town around it
- Terraces
- March to November, hour-long visits
Mediterranean Gothic, built from the 13th century to the 1630s. Antoni Gaudí reordered its interior between 1904 and 1915, and the most recent work is the painter Miquel Barceló’s, in the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament. The terraces visit climbs among the flying buttresses, the great rose window and the bell tower, with the city’s skyline around you; from May, one evening a week, it runs as a guided visit at sunset, with few places, which we reserve as soon as your dates are fixed.
The Cathedral sells no private or after-hours visit, so we reserve your visit and add a private guide for Palma’s old town, whose Gothic streets run from La Seu to the 11th-century Arab Baths.
Pòrtol, Deià and Valldemossa
Potters and painters
- Allow
- Half a day
In Pòrtol, just outside Palma, the red earth has kept potters at work for generations, and at a family workshop you can sit at the wheel and make a piece of your own. In the mountain villages of Deià and Valldemossa we can arrange a visit to a working studio where an artist welcomes one, and Belmond La Residencia, in Deià, keeps a gallery and studios of its own. On request, subject to availability.
More of what we arrange on the island, from the Sóller train to the caves at Porto Cristo, is among the experiences on our Mallorca page.
Wine and the valleys
Wine, the table and the valleys
Inland Mallorca: a wine estate, a tasting menu at sunset, and the orange groves of the Sóller valley.
Inland, between Palma and the mountains
Santa Maria del Camí, in the D.O. Binissalem A wine estate in Binissalem
- Allow
- Two to three hours
- The D.O.
- Binissalem, recognised in 1990
- Grapes
- Manto Negro and Moll, the native varieties
Mallorca’s first wine designation lies inland, around the towns of Santa Maria del Camí, Consell, Binissalem, Santa Eugènia and Sencelles. A tasting at a family-run estate, with the island’s cheese and sobrassada alongside, and the winemaker to host it where one is free. On request, subject to availability.
Around the island
A table at sunset
- Allow
- Two to three hours
A tasting menu at one of the island’s Michelin-starred restaurants, timed for the evening light, with a table on the terrace asked for and a driver there and back. Tell us any dietary needs and we pass them on when we book. Where to eat is in our Mallorca food and cuisine guide.
Sóller and the mountain roads
A classic car through the Sóller valley
- Allow
- Half a day
Sóller lies in the golden valley of the Serra de Tramuntana, which grew rich on its oranges and lemons. A classic car with a driver takes the mountain roads around it, stopping in the villages for olive oil and for juice from the valley’s oranges. On request, subject to availability.
Mallorca guides
- Mallorca travel guide
When to go, where to stay, the food, Palma's landmarks and three days on the island.
- Mallorca food and cuisine
The island's table, where to eat, its two wine regions, and the markets and specialities.
- Four days in Mallorca
Four days, day by day, where to stay, and how to extend the trip.
- Best time to visit Mallorca
Season by season and month by month, with the festivals and the summer to plan around.
Further afield in Spain: Spain’s castles and palaces, the most beautiful coastal towns and Spain’s national parks, the Cabrera archipelago off Mallorca among them.
Plan your Mallorca trip
Tell us your dates and who is travelling. Everything else we can work out together.
Plan your Mallorca trip Our Mallorca page
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