Where to stay in Mallorca: A guide to Mallorca for first time visitors + map

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Are you planning a trip to the Spain and want to know where to stay in Mallorca ?

When it comes to sun holidays in Europe, few are more popular than Mallorca. With sunshine throughout the year, some of Europe’s best beaches and an idyllic road trip too, Mallorca has a bit of everything.

We have just come back from a trip to Mallorca and one of the most difficult parts of planning was deciding where to stay. When it comes to where to stay in Mallorca, it ultimately comes down to the type of holiday you would like to have. Mallorca is great for beaches, family holidays, quiet retreats, city breaks and for a party atmosphere with each region offering something different.

In this Mallorca guide, we will take you through everything you need to decide where to stay in Mallorca. This guide will take you through each of the key areas, why you should stay there and recommended hotels in Mallorca for each of these areas.

SUMMARY MINI GUIDE

Where to stay in Mallorca

Best places to stay in Mallorca

• Alcudia/Cala D’or (Family)
• Palma de Mallorca (City)
• Soller (Relaxing)

Must do Activities

• Catamaran Cruise
• Sunset Boat Tour
• Quad Bike & Snorkelling

When to visit Mallorca

The best time to visit Mallorca is either May or August/September where you will get great weather, more affordable accommodation and smaller crowds than June/July

How to get Around Mallorca

Before we get into where to stay in Mallorca it is important to note that public transport is fairly limited in Mallorca. If you use Palma as a base you can definitely reach most of the other main attractions by bus. However, if you want to see the best beaches in Mallorca, as well as fully experience the island, we would advise you to rent a car.

Car rentals are very popular during peak season so we would advise booking your car well in advance of your stay to avoid any difficulties. The roads in Mallorca are quite good overall, however, it can be quite tricky to drive around some of the mountainous areas like Deia/Valldemossa. For anyone visiting from Ireland/UK, it’s also important to consider that you will be driving on the right side of the road and the steering wheel is on the left side of the car.

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How to spend a day in Palma

This guide will take you through everything you need for planning the perfect trip to Palma de Mallorca. The one day itinerary includes how to get around, where to stay and restaurant recommendations for the city.

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Where to stay in Mallorca

Choosing the best place to stay in Mallorca will hugely differ depending on the type of holiday you would like. We will break this down below based on stays in Mallorca for families, beach lovers, city life, relaxing stays and nighlife.

Where to stay in Mallorca for families

There are two main places that families tend to choose when visiting Mallorca – Alcudia & Cala D’or. As Cala D’or is also surrounded by the best beaches in Mallorca, we will start with where to stay in Alcudia.

Why stay in Alcudia?

Alcudia is one of the most family friendly areas of Mallorca. There are a huge range of hotels in Alcudia to choose from, many of which are beachfront and offer all inclusive options etc. We found Alcudia to be very suitable for young children as all restaurants have high chairs and changing facilities.

The beaches in Alcudia are also very accessible for young children, as the water is shallow and doesn’t generally have a strong tide. As we were travelling with a toddler, we chose to stay at a hotel in Alcudia, Innside by Melia on our recent stay. This part of Mallorca is around an hour from Palma and is easily accessed by motorway.

One thing with Alcudia is that it is a little bit spread out, which can make it slightly more difficult with young kids but still very manageable. This is also an advantage in a sense too as you can mix up your days a bit between the Old Town, Ciutat Bianca/Playa de Muro and the Port area so you will never feel like you are very limited to the same area. The buses also run throughout this area every 15 minutes or so.

Things to do in Alcudia

There are two main areas that you will likely spend time at while you are in Alcudia – Port D’Alcudia and Alcudia Old Town. These two areas are where you will find the majority of bars and restaurants an are generally considered to be the nicest areas to visit in Alcudia.

Visit Alcudia Old Town Markets

Every Tuesday and Sunday, there are street markets held in the Old Town and this is a great way to experience some of the local culture, as well as purchasing some nice locally produced items. The markets are quite busy so we would advise going there quite early on these days.

Beyond that, the Old Town is worth spending some time in anyway and some of the best restaurants in Alcudia can be found here. You can get here by bus quite easily but they do tend to be busy on market days. If you are taking a pram on board you will also be asked to fold it up so just bear that in mind before taking the bus with a young child.

While you are in the Old Town we would highly recommend going to Basico restaurant for dinner, which has a beautiful outdoor terraced seating area. The specialty here is steak and the chef cooks the steaks on a barbecue pit in the courtyard itself. We would also recommend going for a coffee at Malloria, which again has a really nice outdoor seating area.

Beaches in Alcudia

The best beach in this area is definitely Playa Muro. This beach is a bit further down the coast towards Can Picafort but you can easily get there by bus from Alcudia in around 10 minutes. The water here is crystal clear, there was no strong tide when we visited and the water stays shallow for at least 50 metres, making it very safe as well. One of the best beach clubs in the area is also located along this beach, NuMa Mallorca, which is worth visiting on any beach day.

The other main beach is Playa Alcudia, which runs up to the Port, where many of the best restaurants in Alcudia are found. This beach is great for families, with designated areas for storing prams, as well as being wheelchair accessible. The sand here is quite compact, there are a huge amount of loungers available and there is a playground available for families alongside the beach.

Where to stay in Mallorca for beaches

Cala D’or & Santanyi

The southern part of Mallorca is just as good as Eastern Mallorca for families but would also be very appealing to couples etc. We found Cala D’or to have the best balance of activities for children with bars and nightlife for adults. Cala D’or is less spread out than the Alcudia, with the bars, restaurants and beaches all within short walks of one another.

There is a wide range of bars and restaurants to choose from in Cala D’or but the area doesn’t have the same variety as the Alcudia area.

Best beaches near Cala D’or & Santanyi

If you are looking for the best beaches to visit in Mallorca, this is the area to stay. In Cala D’or itself there are 3 main beaches, Cala Petitta, Cala Esmerelda and Cala Gran beach.

Outside of Cala D’or, we would suggest visiting the beaches below. All of these beaches are within a one hour drive from Cala D’or and Santanyi depending on whee you stay. A couple of things to consider before visiting though are that many are not reachable by public transport so you will need to rent a car to get there. Secondly, a number of these beaches involve using steps/uneven ground meaning they are quite difficult to access with either a pram or wheelchair so please take this into consideration before visiting.

• Cala Llombards
• Cala Mondrago
• Cala des Moro
• Cala S’Almunia

We would recommend staying Cala D’or between these two and renting a car to make sure you can explore some of the incredible beaches in the region.

Where to stay in Mallorca for nightlife

The best areas for nightlife in Mallorca are found on the East coast of the island. While alot of the West and South of Mallorca are geared more towards family holidays, many of the resorts on the East cater for bars, nightclubs and nightlife. The main 3 places in this area that people will tend to go to are Santa Ponsa, Magaluf and Palmanova.

Our personal suggestion between those 3 would be to stay in Palmanova, which provides easy access to the other two but generally has a bit more of a balance between nightlife and a slightly more relaxed fee during the days.

Palmanova also provides easy access to Palma city, with buses running throughout the day that will take you to the city in 30 minutes.

Where to stay in Mallorca for a city break

If you are visiting Mallorca for a city break, there is really only one option – Palma de Mallorca. Palma is the main hub connecting all of Mallorca and provides direct access to the other regions via public transport.

There is alot to see and do around Palma itself, including the iconic Seu Cathedral. The city also has lots of great shopping and being a port city means you can do some great boat trips and catamaran cruises like this one. You can read our complete guide to how to spend a day in Palma here to help ou plan your trip.

Where to stay in Palma

There are a wide range of hotels in Palma available to suit every budget. We would recommend choosing a hotel near Palma Cathedral as that will be one of the main attractions you visit in the city.

Where to stay in Mallorca for a relaxing holiday

Soller, Valldemossa & Deia

These relaxation hubs are less than an hour from Palma and probably offer the most authentic way to experience Mallorca like a local. Perched into the mountains in Northern Mallorca, these 3 places provide a more rural setting but still offer lots of things to do and see during you stay.

Things to do in Soller, Valldemossa and Deia

For Soller, the first place to start is by booking tickets for the vintage tram that runs through the town – either to Port de Soller or you can also take it directly to Palma as well. The journey to Palma takes around 50 minutes and costs €30+ each way. The tram tickets often sell out in advance during peak season so w would advise purchasing before you arrive in Mallorca.

Port de Soller

One of our favourite places we visited in all of Mallorca was Port de Soller . This charming port was like a small slice of the French Riviera, with bars and restaurants lining the strip it is a great place to sit outside for the day to relax. The beach here is nice as well and has a similar feel to The Amalfi Coast as well, with colourful houses built into the mountains providing the backdrop.

Even if you don’t decide to stay here, we would highly recommend visiting. We took this tour which covered all 3 of these places in the same day and would definitely recommend adding it to your stay.

For the perfect place to watch the sunset in Soller, go for dinner at barretes restaurant which has beautiful views of the surrounding area.

Deia is very small but there are two things we would recommend doing while you are there. The first, is to have a meal at the restaurant Ca Patro, a beautiful restaurant built into the sea and on the same day, visit Cala Deia.

For Valldemossa, this is a beautiful town to simply wander the streets, similar in style to Alcudia Old Town with lots of cobbled streets and the characteristic orange hue of the buildings in the area. If you are a coffee fan, we would recommend going to Barbaflorida for a coffee. Go inside and grab a window seat which provides a really nice view of the surrounding areas.

Of these 3 areas, we would recommend staying in Soller/Port de Soller as it offers the most to do and easiest access to Palma.