Palma de Mallorca · 7 min read
Things to do in Mallorca: eight days without rushing
A realistic pace for a group — what earns a full day, what you can skip, and how it all fits together.
The usual mistake is trying to see the whole island in a week. Mallorca is 3,600 square kilometres with mountain roads. Better to pick four things and do them properly.
The day on the water
If you do one thing, make it this. A sunset catamaran runs around €50 a person for three hours, with a stop to swim. For a group of six to eight, a private boat with a skipper works out at roughly the same per head — and you go where you like.
Book at least a week ahead in July and August.
Serra de Tramuntana
The mountain range in the north-west, UNESCO listed. Valldemossa, Deià and Sóller in one day, by car. The road is spectacular and narrow — if anyone in the group gets carsick, put them in the front.
It takes a full day. Don't try to combine it with anything else.
One walk
Cap de Formentor, along the cliff, with the lighthouse at the end. Not technically hard, but it's three hours with no shade. Start early and take more water than you think you need.
The city, slowly
La Seu cathedral is worth the guided entry, mostly for the north rose window at the hour the light hits the wall. The rest of the centre takes two or three hours of walking, with no plan.
Eating
Book one good meal in advance and leave the rest to chance. A paella class with a market run beforehand takes four hours and is the best way to spend a rainy afternoon.
How the eight days fall
Arrival and the neighbourhood. A day on the water. A day in the Tramuntana. A beach day with no plan. The clifftop walk. A day in the city. A free day for whatever went well and you want to repeat. Departure.
Seven full days and one spare. That way you come home rested instead of wrecked.
