Mallorca

Why go

For pretty much everything you could ask for from a Mediterranean holiday: good food, the sea, spectacular mountain hiking, elegant hotels, fiesta fun and ancient sites.

When to go

Mallorca claims 300 days of sunshine a year. Visit in spring for the wildflowers, cooler temperatures, cheaper prices and the beginning of the fiesta season. By mid-September high season is officially over and the temperatures start to fall again. In winter many places close and it can get very cold, especially in the mountains.

Best for

Sightseeing , Restaurants , Beaches

How to get there

Palma airport, 8km east of Palma, is served by several airlines daily from London’s Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and City airports.

Shopping

Mallorca has some interesting shopping opportunities, especially at its markets. Manacor (Monday), Sineu (Wednesday), Inca (Thursday), Binissalem (Friday), Palma (Saturday) and Consell (Sunday) are some of the best. Inca is also the home the now world-famous Camper shoes (dirt-cheap end-of-lines can be picked up from the outlet here).

Alternative Perspectives

Mallorca’s not best known for its wine, but since 2000, things have been slowly changing. Binissalem is the main growing area and some of the island’s most interesting wines are simply labelled Vin de la Terra – try the award winning Anima Negra’s An.

Must see

A drive along the twisting C710 west coastal road from Andratx to Sóller is one of the great Mallorcan experiences. You won’t find any more dramatic or sublime landscape in Europe than the dizzying pine-clad slopes plunging to the azure sea.

Family activities

Mallorca’s great for kids. Aside from the beach, there are three water parks, two aquariums, the cute narrow gauge Ferrocaril de Sóller and the miraculous Coves del Drac cave complex on the east coast.

Sports activities

Diving , Mountain Biking , Hiking , Sailing

Local customs

Tipping. Spaniards aren’t tippers and rarely do more than round up bills (in tourist areas there’s a greater expectation that you will tip though).

Smoking. Smoking is still popular, cheap and ubiquitously (bar public transport) allowed.