Mallorca & Menorca

Spain · Europe · northern hemisphere

SwimmingLakes & CoastlineHiking

Mallorca & Menorca is at its best for hiking in March to May and October to November. Good but not prime in February and June. Crowds peak in June and bottom out in December.

	J	F	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O	N	D
Swimming	14	14	14	14	42	69	91	91	89	65	15	15
Lakes & Coastline	11	18	43	70	91	92	64	64	88	89	41	16
Hiking	17	69	88	91	96	65	12	10	42	95	84	19
Crowds

Swipe the table sideways for the rest of the year.

primegoodpossibleoff-seasoncrowds, on this place’s own scale

The short version

Two islands with opposite characters — Mallorca has a 90km mountain range along its north coast and Menorca is flat with better beaches. Both have a serious spring walking season that the summer crowds miss

What the walking is like

Day walks on stone mule tracks and coastal paths, with a refuge network on the long routes.

When not to come

Driving to a famous cala in summer — at several it is not allowed. Menorca bars cars from Cala Macarella, Macarelleta, Tortuga, Presili and Favàritx from 1 June to 30 September: bus, bike or on foot only. Mallorca’s Formentor road is closed to unauthorised private vehicles from 15 May to 18 October, 10am to 10pm. There is no advance beach booking system on either island — the restriction is a road ban, not a reservation.

Busiest

July and August, when northern Europe arrives en masse

With children

Straightforward. Menorca in particular has shallow, sheltered beaches, and the resorts are built for it. Mountain Mallorca needs a car and a head for hairpins.

Where to stay

The Tramuntana villages — Sóller, Deià, Valldemossa — are the good Mallorca and priced for it. Palma is cheaper, has the better food, and is thirty minutes from the mountains by the old wooden train.

Dates that matter

Sant Joan, Ciutadella (23–24 Jun) — horses rearing through packed streets, Menorca’s biggest night
Almond blossom across Mallorca (late Jan–Feb)
Nit de l’Art, Palma (Sep) — the galleries open late across the old town

Walks

GR221, the Dry Stone Route — Mallorca’s Tramuntana traverse, walkable in day sections with refuges
Torrent de Pareis — a dramatic gorge descent to the sea at Sa Calobra, summer only and never after rain
Camí de Cavalls — the 185km path around Menorca; low but not flat, with 3,000m of climbing in stages

The Tramuntana is a UNESCO cultural landscape of dry stone terraces and mule tracks. Spring and autumn are the seasons; July and August on those paths are too hot to enjoy.

Crowds, month by month

2421377077100100907141100

0 is this destination’s own quietest month and 100 its busiest. The scale never compares one destination to another. Source: Wikipedia — Palma de Mallorca

See everything else at its best in May

Elsewhere in Europe

Chamonix Zermatt The Dolomites Jungfrau Region Zakopane & the Tatras Chianti & Tuscany Douro Valley Rioja