Mallorca offers more variety than most visitors expect: a UNESCO-listed mountain range, a capital city with genuine cultural depth, some of the most secluded coves in the Mediterranean and a coastline that looks completely different depending on whether you’re seeing it from the shore or from the water. This guide covers the best things to do in Mallorca organized by type of experience, so you can build a trip that actually reflects what you’re after rather than ticking off the same list everyone else follows.
If exploring the coast by sea is on your radar, Naizur’s premium yacht charter in Mallorca fleet starts from 620€/day for groups of up to 12, with options ranging from motor yachts to sailing catamarans.
Explore Palma before anything else
Palma is one of those cities that surprises people who arrive expecting a resort town. The historic center, known as the Casco Antiguo, is genuinely beautiful: narrow streets of golden sandstone, wrought-iron balconies, and a rhythm of life that slows down considerably once you get away from the main tourist drag.
The two non-negotiables:
- La Seu Cathedral. One of the great Gothic buildings in the Mediterranean, built over four centuries with interior interventions by both Antoni Gaudí and Miquel Barceló. The view from across the Parc de la Mar at dusk is one of the best in any European city.
- Bellver Castle. One of the few circular Gothic fortresses in Europe, 3km from the center. Offers the best elevated view of the bay of Palma and houses the city’s history and archaeology museum.
For food, the Santa Catalina neighborhood has become the most interesting place to eat in the city. The covered market is excellent for breakfast or a mid-morning stop, and the surrounding streets have a good density of restaurants that serve Mallorcan produce without the tourist markup.
The coast: beaches, coves and what lies between them
Mallorca has over 200 beaches and coves, but they are not all equal and not all equally accessible. A few worth knowing by zone:
Southeast (Santanyí area): Cala d’Or, Cala Llombards and Cala Pi. Visually spectacular, with the kind of turquoise water that looks edited in photos but isn’t. More sheltered and with better clarity than the western coast.
Northeast (Alcúdia and Pollença): Longer sandy beaches and calmer water, better suited to families. Less dramatic scenery but easier to reach and more comfortable for a full beach day.
East coast: The stretch between Cala Mondragó and Portocolom holds some of the finest coves on the island. Many are only reachable on foot via a long descent or by sea, which is worth keeping in mind when planning how you want to spend your time.
Seeing the island from the sea
The experience of arriving at a cove by boat rather than on foot is categorically different. The water is deeper, cleaner and more transparent from offshore. You anchor in places where there are no sun loungers, no beach bars and often no other people.
What a day or multi-day charter from Palma can cover:
| Duration | What you can reach |
|---|---|
| Half day | Cliffs of Cap Blanc, coves west of Palma |
| Full day | Southern coast, Cala Vells, open sea swimming |
| 2–3 days | East coast coves, Cala Mondragó, Cap de Formentor |
| Full week | Circumnavigation of the island, including Tramuntana coastline |
This is also where the practical difference between a skippered and a fully crewed charter becomes clear. On a skippered charter, you handle provisioning and make your own decisions about where to eat. On a fully crewed boat, the chef prepares meals onboard, the crew manages the water toys and the only decision you need to make is where to drop anchor next. For more detail on how both formats work and what they cost, the guide on how to charter a yacht covers the full process from scratch.
Naizur has operated in these waters for over 40 years, which means the team knows which coves are best at what time of year, which anchorages get crowded in August and which rarely appear on any public itinerary.
The Serra de Tramuntana: Mallorca beyond the shoreline
The Serra de Tramuntana was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011, one of only a handful of cultural landscapes in Spain to receive that designation. The mountain range runs along the entire northwest coast and is a completely different world from the beach towns in the south.
The villages worth the detour:
- Valldemossa. Where Chopin spent the winter of 1838. Small, well-preserved and genuinely atmospheric outside of peak summer hours.
- Deià. A hilltop town that has attracted writers and artists since the 1930s. Remains beautiful without being overrun.
- Sóller. The most complete town in the range, connected to Palma by a narrow-gauge train from 1912. Worth a full day, including a stop at the port.
Hikers have hundreds of kilometers of marked trails, including the GR-221 or Dry Stone Route, which crosses the full length of the Serra and takes around seven days end to end.
Food, wine and local markets
Mallorcan food has its own character within the broader Mediterranean tradition. Two dishes that appear on almost every local menu and are worth trying properly:
- Pa amb oli. Bread rubbed with tomato and olive oil, the island’s most honest dish and the baseline by which you can judge any local restaurant.
- Sobrassada. Soft cured sausage made from black pig. Better than it sounds when made well, especially paired with local honey.
The island’s wine scene is centered on two DOs: Binissalem in the central plain and Pla i Llevant in the east. The local grape Manto Negro produces reds worth trying. Wineries in Binissalem offer visits and tastings and make for a solid half-day trip from Palma.
For markets, two stand out above the rest: Sineu on Wednesdays and Pollença on Sundays. Both combine food, craft and livestock in a format that hasn’t been sanitized for tourism.
What to do in Palma de Mallorca cruise port
If you’re arriving by cruise and have a single day in Palma, proximity is everything. Here’s a practical breakdown:
Within walking distance of the port (under 20 minutes on foot):
- La Seu Cathedral
- Royal Palace of La Almudaina
- Casco Antiguo historic center
- Parc de la Mar waterfront
Worth the short trip:
- Santa Catalina neighborhood for lunch (15 min on foot or 5 min by taxi)
- Es Baluard contemporary art museum (10 min on foot from the port)
For something different from the standard city tour, a half-day boat trip from the port can take you to the coastal cliffs and coves west of Palma that are invisible from land. Several operators offer day charter departures from the area specifically for cruise passengers with limited time ashore.
If time is truly limited, the practical priority is La Seu, the Casco Antiguo and a lunch stop in Santa Catalina. That fills a good six hours and gives you an accurate picture of what the city actually is.
How to make the most of your time in Mallorca
A week is enough to cover Palma, the Tramuntana, the southeast beaches and one day at sea. Two weeks allows you to go deeper into each without feeling rushed.
The biggest mistake first-time visitors make is basing themselves in a resort in the south and never leaving it. Mallorca’s most interesting parts are in the northwest and along the coasts that aren’t serviced by the major hotel chains. Renting a car for at least part of the trip, or spending a day or two on the water, expands the experience considerably.
For those who want to organize the nautical part properly, Naizur’s premium yacht charter in Mallorca team works with you on the itinerary in advance, including provisioning, crew selection and day-by-day planning based on your group size and the time of year. There’s no fixed route: the boat goes where you want it to go.
