Palma’s cathedral, the Drach caves, and a boat to every cove in between.
Which catamaran stops long enough to swim. What the wooden train to Sóller costs once the tram is added. Whether Drach or Hams is the cave worth the coach ride. Reviews of the tours you can book on Mallorca.
La Seu, a catamaran out of Palma, the Drach caves, the Sóller line.
Four bookings most Mallorca weeks are built around, with what each one costs and what the people who took it thought.
01The first morningCathedral of Mallorca Skip-the-Line Entry TicketPast the queue on the steps into the three naves, the rose window and the canopy Gaudí hung over the altar.
02The day on deck5-Hour Catamaran Cruise with Lunch & SwimFive hours along the south coast from Palma, a swim stop in a cove like Portals Vells, then a barbecue on board.
03UndergroundCaves of Drach Day Trip & Optional Caves of HamsFour caverns near Porto Cristo and the short concert on Lake Martel. The long version adds the Hams caves.
04The classic loopIsland Tour with Boat, Tram & Train from the SouthOver the mountains to Sa Calobra, a boat round to Port de Sóller, then the old tram and the wooden train.
Mallorca from the water: catamaran, dolphin boat, or one you skipper yourself.
Half the island’s best beaches have no road worth taking. Four ways onto the water, and the cheapest seat on each.
★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 5-Hour Catamaran Cruise with Lunch & Swim · from $69
Catamaran daysA swim ladder, shade on deck, lunch in a cove.
Dolphin morningsEarly starts out of Alcúdia, Can Picafort and Palma.
Sunset sailsPalma Bay turning gold with a glass in your hand.
Skipper it yourselfSmall boats you can take out by the hour, no licence needed.
All 113 boat trips on Mallorca →
On Mallorca the harbour nearest your hotel decides the day out.
Boats leave from the closest port and the coaches start their pickups there too. Six bases round the island, and the best of each.
Palma: La Seu at opening time, tapas round La Llotja after dark.
The cathedral is quietest the minute it opens, before the cruise groups walk up from the port. Spend the morning in the lanes behind it and the Arab baths, and keep the evening for the bars between La Llotja and the Born.
Palma, every tour →
What Mallorca books first.
All Mallorca tours →The days out more travellers take than any others on the island, and what each one does well.
1
Cathedral of Mallorca Skip-the-Line Entry Ticket
Enter Palma’s La Seu Cathedral with a mobile ticket and take your time among its three naves, vast rose window, Gaudí additions, and Miquel Barceló’s Santísimo Chapel. The ticket covers cathedral entry, not the terraces. Check the weekday and Saturday opening hours before you go, and dress modestly for this active place of worship.
Seats from · $12
Read our review →
2
5-Hour Catamaran Cruise with Lunch & Swim
from $69
3
Porto Cristo: Caves of Hams Entry Ticket
from $21
4
City Sightseeing Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour
from $32
5
Island Tour with Boat, Tram & Train from the South
from $117
6
Catamaran Cruise with Swimming and Snorkelling
from $47
7
Caves of Drach Day Trip & Optional Caves of Hams
from $62
8
Quad Bike Tour, Snorkeling, and Cliff Jumping
from $62
Snorkel, paddle or swim into a sea cave: the Mallorca coast at eye level.
The limestone coast is undercut with caves and the water stays clear to the sand. Paddle into an arch on a kayak, jump from the rocks on a coasteering morning, or try a first dive in the Santa Ponsa marine reserve.
- 1Catamaran Cruise with Swimming and Snorkellingfrom $47
- 2Quad Bike Tour, Snorkeling, and Cliff Jumpingfrom $62
- 3Palma Boat Tour & Snorkeling with Drink Includedfrom $40
Three Mallorca days you will not find anywhere else in the Med.
Every island has boats and beaches. Only this one has a 1912 wooden train over its mountains, a concert on an underground lake and a lighthouse road cut along a cliff.
The Sóller Train
The line opened in 1912 to carry the valley’s oranges to Palma, and the wooden carriages still run it: 27 kilometres, thirteen tunnels and a short stop at a viewpoint over Sóller. At the station the open-sided tram takes over for the last stretch down to the port. Ride out in the morning; the late trains back fill first.
- 1Island Tour with Boat, Tram & Train from the South★★★★★★★★★★ 4.4 · 3,888 reviews
- 2Mallorca in One Day Sightseeing Tour with Boat Ride and Vintage Train★★★★★★★★★★ 4.0 · 1,096 reviews
- 3Island Trip by Train, Tramway, and Boat★★★★★★★★★★ 4.4 · 753 reviews
The Caves of Drach
Four caverns run under the east coast near Porto Cristo, lit to show columns that took thousands of years to form. The walk ends at Lake Martel, where you sit in the dark while musicians drift past on boats playing a short classical set. Entry runs on set times, so every coach tour is planned around a slot.
- 1Porto Cristo: Caves of Hams Entry Ticket★★★★★★★★★★ 4.2 · 6,548 reviews
- 2Caves of Drach Day Trip & Optional Caves of Hams★★★★★★★★★★ 4.3 · 2,720 reviews
- 3Dinosaurland and Caves of Hams Combined Ticket★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 1,167 reviews
Cap de Formentor
The peninsula at the island’s northern tip climbs straight out of the sea, and the road along it was cut into the cliffs in the 1920s and 30s to reach a lighthouse lit in 1863. In high summer cars are restricted on the last stretch, which makes the boat from Port de Pollença or Alcúdia the easy way to the beach.
- 1Alcudia: Formentor Beach, Lighthouse Cruise, and Small Group★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 882 reviews
- 2Cap de Formentor: Market, Beach, and Alcudia Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.3 · 620 reviews
- 3Alcudia: Boat Trip to Cap de Formentor and Formentor★★★★★★★★★★ 4.1 · 569 reviews
What a day out on Mallorca costs.
Every tour on the site sorted by price. Plenty of the island’s best mornings cost less than lunch on the Paseo Marítimo.
Cathedral and cave tickets, glass-bottom boats, old-town walks and an hour on a Segway.
Catamaran days, dolphin boats, the Sóller train loop and sea-cave kayaking.
Balloon flights, private sailing, winery days and the trips you take once.
- 1Discover Scuba Diving for Beginnersfrom $176
- 2Sunrise or Sunset Hot Air Balloon Flightfrom $215
- 3Spanish Cooking Experience in Mallorcafrom $157
Five Mallorca bookings to make before you land.
Most days on the island can be sorted the evening before. These run on timed entries, small groups or a flat sea, and the good slots go first.
- 01Cathedral of Mallorca Skip-the-Line Entry TicketClosed to sightseers on Sundays, and on a cruise-ship morning the queue runs down the steps. Book the slot and go at opening.
- 02Caves of Drach Day Trip & Optional Caves of HamsEntry runs on set times with a cap on each group, and every coach on the island is aiming for the same morning slots.
- 03Cova des Coloms Caving Trip with Hotel TransferGroups are kept small and the cave is reached by swimming, so trips only run on calm days. Book early in the week to leave room for a new date.
- 04Sunrise or Sunset Hot Air Balloon FlightFlights go at sunrise or before sunset when the wind allows, and move when it does not. An early booking leaves time for a second try.
- 05Sóller: Boat Trip to Sa Calobra and Torrent de PareisBoats from Port de Sóller only sail on a flat sea, and summer departures fill with people avoiding the hairpin road down.
August heat, a north wind, a grey day: Mallorca’s plan B is underground.
A wind from the north can cancel the boats out of Alcúdia and Pollença at an hour’s notice, and July afternoons are too hot for the old-town lanes. The caves hold around 21 degrees all year, the cellars round Binissalem pour by the glass, and Palma’s tapas bars open late.
Palma, the mountains, the north, the caves: one loop round Mallorca.
Palma
Valldemossa
Sóller
Formentor
Porto CristoBy place: Palma, the mountains, the resorts
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