I’m finally sharing the last of our Spain photos and a travel guide for Mallorca today (I also wrote up travel guides for Barcelona and Madrid), also known as Majorca, the largest island within the Balearic Islands! I’ll be giving you the rundown of all the best places to visit in Mallorca and all the best things to do.
To be honest, I hadn’t really heard of Mallorca before we started researching Spain, but when I saw photos of the island and the beaches there, I thought it would be a great way to end our trip. Mallorca is just a 30-minute flight from Barcelona and the turquoise water and little sandy beaches are so beautiful.
Here’s our itinerary of the top tourist attractions in Mallorca, with the caveat that relaxing at the beach is pretty much all there is to do in Mallorca, so it’s pretty much recommendations for the best beaches! I honestly even recommend going on day trips to Mallorca if you’re visiting Spain—like this day trip guided boat tour.
Places to Visit in Mallorca: Day 1
Check-in
Mallorca is a pretty small island and you can drive from one side to the other in under two hours, which means that any spot is doable in a day trip no matter where you stay. We did receive one piece of advice before the trip, which was not to stay in Palma, and I’m definitely glad we listened to that since the city capital Palma is pretty rundown.
If you’re looking for hotels to stay at in Mallorca you can check them out here.
Booking.comAlthough they do have the gorgeous beach, Cala Figuera, with the bluest water. We decided to stay about 20 minutes west of Palma in a teeny town called Santa Ponça so that we’d be able to easily get to the airport for our morning flight back home.
Another tip if you’re visiting Mallorca—you’ll definitely want to rent a car, as buses and cabs can be sparse. It’s easy to get around if you have your own car, although fair warning, people pretty much drive 20 under or 20 over the speed limit, with no in-between.
Cala Varques
During our first full day in Mallorca, we drove to the east side of the island to hang out at the secluded beach at Cala Varques. It’s a bit of a pain to get to—if you park on the road it’s about a half-hour walk to the beach.
You can also test your luck and try to park along the gravel path to cut down on your walking time. But either way, you will have to walk down some rocky paths.
In my opinion, the trek was worth it since we stayed all day and it was beautiful. There are some fun caves to explore and there were a couple of guys running a little bar for drinks and snacks (although I’d recommend bringing your own food too, because who knows if they are there every day).
I also recommend trying to book a day sailing excursion to explore more of the island and its top attractions—they’re usually around $100 per adult.
Oh, P.S., it’s a nude beach, so be prepared to see a lot.
Ca’n Manolo
After spending the day at the beach, we drove back towards Santa Ponça (but had to pull over on the highway on our way to catch an incredible sunset!) and stopped for dinner in Palma.
We hadn’t had paella in Spain yet, so I had been Googling “best paella in Mallorca,” and found Ca’n Manolo.
You guys, the paella was insane. So, so delicious. If you’re in Mallorca, you have to go here for paella!
Places to Visit in Mallorca: Day 2
Alcudia Old Town
On our second day, we went up to the north part of the island to visit Alcudia a fishing village. We started our day out in the old town, which is absolutely adorable.
We strolled through it and popped into some shops and had tapas there for lunch.
Platja de Sant Joan
We then staked our spot at the nearby beach called Platja de Sant Joan, where you can rent a couple of lounge chairs under an umbrella for fairly cheap (I think it was ~10 euros).
There’s also a little restaurant and bar so you can enjoy food and drinks beachside.
Port d’Alcudia
We caught the tail end of the sunset here and I would highly recommend coming here to watch the sun go down. The reflections on the shallow water are stunning!
We had dinner by the water at Sa Gavina and had some yummy Italian food. There’s a fishing port in Port d’Alcudia, which is why all the seafood tastes so fresh.
If you’re planning ahead, Sa Roqueta kept popping up in my searches as one of the best restaurants in Alcudia, but they didn’t have reservations available for the night we were there.
Places to Visit in Mallorca: Day 3
Illetas Beach
Ah, another day at the beach! This time we stayed close to Santa Ponça and spent the day at Illetas, which I found listed as one of the top 20 beaches in Mallorca (there are so many beautiful beaches, so I guess that’s saying something!).
There were two restaurants so there are plenty of food and beverage options.
Iberostar Suites Jardin del Sol
We stopped by this pretty little boutique hotel to watch the sunset and enjoy a couple of drinks before heading out to dinner.
Appetite
For dinner, we went back to Palma and ate at this Asian fusion spot. It was super tasty and the perfect casual dinner we were looking for.
That’s it for our Spanish adventures! Mallorca was a great way to unwind after lots of jam-packed sightseeing in Madrid and Barcelona.
If you plan on staying more than 3 days in Mallorca, I highly recommend visiting the Tramuntana Mountains and looking at the Tramuntana Mountain Range that runs along the North West coast.
You should also try visiting the town Sóller, it’s super cute and vintage looking (great photo op)!
If you’re a fan of Robert Graves (the famous British poet and historical novelist), you can visit his home and see where he lived a tranquil life. I also wish that we would have tried one of the guided tours like a bike tour or boat trip around Mallorca.
If you’ve been to Spain and have recommendations for other cities, I’d love to hear them @wtfab! We’d definitely love to go back someday.
Like this travel guide? Be sure to check out my other travel guides here.
FAQs
The drive is around 127 kilometers long and can be completed in about 4 hours.
Yes, Mallorca is a great place to visit all year long with great weather conditions.
Yes, it is recommended to have a car in Mallorca. Having a car will make things a lot easier for you to get around and explore.
Elise Armitage is an entrepreneur and founder of What The Fab, a travel + lifestyle blog based in California. At the beginning of 2019, Elise left her corporate job at Google to chase her dreams: being an entrepreneur and helping women find fabulous in the everyday. Since then, she’s launched her SEO course Six-Figure SEO, where she teaches bloggers how to create a passive revenue stream from their website using SEO. Featured in publications like Forbes, Elle, HerMoney, and Real Simple, Elise is a firm believer that you can be of both substance and style.
