Where to Stay in Mallorca

01
Palma old town
Best for a first visit
The city, the cathedral and the restaurants on your doorstep, with the airport twenty minutes away. The base to choose if you want a city as well as an island.
Walk to old city
You are in it
At night
Medium
Nearest metro
Bus A1 to the airport, 20 min
02
Sóller and Port de Sóller
Best for the mountains
Inside the Tramuntana rather than driving to it each morning. Orange groves, a working town, and the mountain villages within half an hour.
Walk to old city
40 min between town and port
At night
Quiet
Nearest metro
Train to Palma, about 1 hour
03
Pollença and Port de Pollença
Best for the north
A stone town inland and a calm bay on the coast, at the northern end of the mountains. The best base for Formentor and the northern beaches.
Walk to old city
6 km between town and port
At night
Quiet
Nearest metro
Bus to Palma, about 1 hour
04
Alcúdia
Best for families
A walled medieval town with a very long shallow beach beside it. The resort development is real but the old town keeps its own life.
Walk to old city
Old town is compact
At night
Quiet in the old town
Nearest metro
Bus to Palma, about 1 hour
05
Cala d’Or and the east
Best for the coves
Purpose-built around a string of small coves. Quiet, and genuinely dependent on a car — the bus service along this coast is thin.
Walk to old city
Between coves on foot
At night
Quiet
Nearest metro
Car essential

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Where not to book

01
Magaluf and Palmanova unless you specifically want that. They are purpose-built resort strips west of Palma, and they have nothing to do with the island most visitors picture.
02
Booking two bases for a five-day trip. Moving costs half a day each time, and the island is small enough to day-trip from one good base.
03
Anywhere on the east coast without a car. The coves are beautiful and the bus service along that coast is thin enough to strand you.

Common questions

Which part of Mallorca is best to stay in?

Palma old town for a first visit and for anyone without a car. Sóller if the Tramuntana is the reason you came. Pollença or Alcúdia if you want the beaches and a quieter base.

Is it better to stay in Palma or the north of Mallorca?

Palma if you want a city, restaurants and no car. The north if you want beaches and quiet — but budget an hour each way whenever you want the city, and a car for anything off the main road.

Where to Stay in Mallorca

Palma old town

Sóller and Port de Sóller

Pollença and Port de Pollença

Alcúdia

Cala d’Or and the east

Where not to book

Common questions

Where to next