The trip to Mallorca was one of the most spontaneous in our travel life, still it is one of the few that went on 100% smoothly. In fact it was wonderful. We are far from being the first to visit the island (did you know that every year Mallorca welcomes 9 million people?!), but we will be happy to share our experience of travelling around Mallorca by Vespa with you.

Funny enough, but Mallorca was the first destination we visited because we were inspired by travel bloggers who wrote a post about Ibiza, another island of the Balearic Islands. We checked the prices of the tickets, browsed couple of pictures to get an idea, and off we went – to Mallorca, even if three days before the departure the only thing we were expecting was eating pizza on the sofa.

Still, we discovered a beautiful place with fantastic nature, delicious food, paradise beaches and, if you manage to avoid the high season, warm and friendly atmosphere. It also proposes all sorts of activities to each taste: stunning hiking trails, cycling routes, lazy beach holidays, cultural and historic exploring, snorkeling and diving. All is up to you!

Dates of our trip to Mallorca: 22-28 of April

Off-season, of course. Famous for its summer resorts with an overcrowded beach line, Mallorca is a top destination for the mass tourism. Even if the biggest part of tourists aim simple beach holidays, they are still taking bus tours to the most beautiful points of the island, which makes Mallorca overcrowded in any case. However, we would suggest you to go there in the end of April or the middle of September. This way you will:

Have the beautiful spots all to yourself!

Get a chance to see some locals (if you are lucky lol)

Avoid troubles with parking

Enjoy the beach facilities for free

Have the scenic roads empty.

It’s one of the most visited places of Spain, so all these troubles can really spoil your holidays.

Following our experience in Ischia, we decided to explore the island by… Vespa Scooter. It was one of the cleverest logistic decisions we’ve ever made. Let me explain why.

You are flexible with the stops – due to the compact size you can stop whenever you like for a picture or a pause.

The same goes to the parking – scooter is almost as good as a bicycle, which means you can park easily out of the car parks, which will save you a fortune.

Navigating between the cyclists – indeed, Mallorca is a popular destination with the mountain cyclists, but we didn’t expect that there would be so many of them. Taking them over while on scooter is much safer and simpler than doing it by car.

You are 100% outdoors. Yes, there might be a risk of rain, but… no, actually there isn’t.

Navigating through the narrow streets of Mallorca’s towns. No idea how people manage it by car.

It’s a good price. The Vespa consumes less gasoline, which is not only cheaper, but more ecologic.

 The space for your bags is quite limited. However, I assure you that all our belongings fitted perfectly in the space provided – we just had to consider what we really needed in a trip. The bag itself we left in the Bullimoto office, stuffing everything else in the case and the space under the seat.

It might be a bit chilly. Finally we got an answer on the question: why the bikers are so heavily dressed up even in the summertime? Because it is cold despite the high temperatures. Still, the summer heat doesn’t disappear, so make sure you apply your sunscreen for the whole day outdoors.

We rented our shiny Vespa from Bullimoto – a family company with a very helpful and friendly staff, excellent communication and cozy rental stores in Palma and Soller. Bullimoto were ready to deliver Vespa to any place convenient to us and agreed to keep an eye on our bags. (Their website is also a nice change in comparison to all others rental services in Mallorca. Just saying!) By the way, in Mallorca your regular B category driving license is enough for renting a Vespa!

As it was a spontaneous trip, our main criteria for the accommodation was its…availability. After all it’s still Mallorca we are talking about, isn’t it? Booking day after day didn’t leave us too many options, but if ever you stay in Arta, we do recommend you a mini-hotel Ithaka right in the center of the town it offers an interior with an excellent taste, home-made orange juice, and its friendly owner will be happy to chat with you about anything you wish to know. For the most of cases, the quality-price balance wasn’t very honest, but again, we simply lack a gene that is responsible for an in advance booking. Don’t be like us!

Here is a short list of our expenses for the 6 (and a half!) days in Mallorca. Naturally, it’s manageable for cheaper or more expensive – everything depends on your standards, organization skills and comfort demands.

Vespa rental at Bullimoto: 30€ per day (depends on a time of year, check with the rental service companies)

Average bill in a restaurant: 30-35€ (we eat a lot!)

Glass of orange juice: 2€

Average cost for the night overall Mallorca: 55€

Cost of petrol for the whole trip: 16€

Mallorcan best spots are not hidden, on the contrary, due to the mass tourism, they are all known to the tiniest details. It’s just the matter when exactly come to see them all.

As far as travelling and visiting is concerned, Mallorca can be divided into two parts: West part, mountainous and dotted with picturesque villages and East part – completely flat, where most of the hotel resorts are located. Objectively the West part is more scenic and interesting, but I can’t say that the Eastern one left us indifferent at all.

Anyway, it’s all the matter of the approach and a degree of curiosity, isn’t it? However, you might want to dispatch the biggest part of your time for the western part as the intensity of the beautiful spots is higher and the roads are trickier than on the eastern plain.

Don’t forget that you can open the map with all the details in a full screen by clicking on the “full screen” button.

Palma de Mallorca was not the love from the first sight. It’s not a city there is much to be said about. Beautiful? Yes. Tidy. Clean. Not without historical monuments of a great value, but I can’t say we found it particularly interesting. Probably it’s because Palma is not the destination one comes to see in Mallorca at the first place so the impressions just got blurred. During the siesta hours, which are sacredly respected, Palma looks more like horror movie setting where there is only one person stayed alive – yourself. Dramatics aside, Palma comes back to life in the late afternoon – beautiful shadows, welcoming sea against pinky sky, cats on the beach and noisy tapas bars. This golden hours is the best time to walk around Palma’s main architectural sights such as Palma Cathedral, Royal Palace of La Almudaina (both can be visited), Llotja and all other basilicas and patios in the heart of the town in Palma. What we would love to see, but couldn’t were the Banys Arabs (Arab Baths) – an archaeological gift from 400 years under Moors. Ancient vaults and columns – tell us later how it was…

And the beach of course. A cycling ride on the promenade looks like a much promising way to spend your free time in Palma.

We didn’t consider any gastronomic option except for non-stop tapas and sangria. So if you look for delicious tapas for a fair price in the old town of Palma, try Bar Dia. Don’t expect a prompt service, but this place charms by its authenticity and sincerity.

If you look for fancy tapas with an “almost night-club” atmosphere, prepare for a long walk till Mercado Gastronómico San Juan. The biggest selection of tapas I’ve seen in my entire life. Probably a tiny bit more expensive than anywhere else, but the portion size is honest, and the tapas look (and taste!) so beautiful!

The most authentic tapas is still in Mercat municipal de Santa Catalina – for the lowest price you have a delicious tapas in the company of locals absorbed into a vivid conversation about football. Definitely love.

And an ice-cream, of course! Don’t leave Palma without tasting the “fig yogurt” flavor at Giovanni L

We had to spend an entire morning for the packing and repacking, renting a scooter, remembering how to drive scooter, being afraid of driving the scooter, finally leaving. Our first stop was at…

As soon as we turned from the highway (never take a highway on Vespa, NEVER!), all this beauty surrounded us. In Mallorca the nature along the road is as magnificent as the “must-see” stops for sure.

Sant Elm is a cute little village with a pleasant beach and turquoise water. Pretty touristy, but we came at a right moment. It’s a gateway for several hiking trails or a place to relax on the beach and contemplate (or even visiting!) the Illa Sa Dragonera – a natural reserve just in front of Sant Elm.

Our place for the night, Soller appeared to be a cozy town whose tramway connection to La Payesa (Port de Sóller) makes it special as it is the only tram line in the Balearic Islands. Vintage and nostalgic, passing through the very town centre, they add this particular charm to Soller aaand…we failed to photograph it. :D By the way, you will notice for sure a peculiar cake sold in the local bakeries. It is empanadas – a Mallorcan gastronomic specialty made from puff pastry and various stuffing. Try and tell us how you liked it (or not).

A very early wake up for an extremely intense day, which felt like forever – a compensation for the second day’s delay with our packing process. First of all, we had to come a bit back for catching up with what we had missed the day before.

A village whose shape reminds a wedding cake is a favorite place for luxury travel, probably due to its former popularity with artists. It is charming indeed, and you won’t help noticing loads of real estate advertisements of the local property for the price of a palace in the center of London. However, try to plan your itinerary in a way that you see Deia just before or after the sunset – it is magnificent in the glowing lamps under the purple sky.

But before entering Valldemossa go several kilometers in an opposite direction to see the magic field of the olive trees. Don’t they look like humans?

Valldemossa itself is the one of the most visited places in Mallorca which is clear due to the amount of the tourists during the low season. No worries though, as soon as you leave the main street, you will have the town all to yourself. Valldemossa is so popular these days thanks to a several months stay of George Sand and Chopin (who were, attention, unmarried lovers!), when they came here to improve Chopin’s health. It seems though that those who attracted so much interest to Valldemossa these days were not exactly welcome in a conservative catholic Spain almost two centuries ago… Anyway, you won’t leave Valldemossa without seeing the The Valldemossa Charterhouse (or Cartoixa de Valldemossa in Catalan), but make sure to take some time for strolling in the streets of the town.

Not far from Soller there is an old Spanish Manor opened for visiting. Absolutely do it. Immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the “true” old house with the real historic artefacts but, most of all, the gorgeous gardens. Even if recently one of its parts was ruined by the storm and will have to be repaired, it was still very good usage of 7€ per person. Well, probably I can’t not love a place where the turtles live!
Make sure to dedicate at least (!) an hour for this beautiful spot in Mallorca.

Yes, it’s still the same day! Fornalutx is considered as one of the most beautiful villages of the island, and probably it’s true, but I can’t say it was strikingly better than anything else we saw before. Walking no more than 1.5 km from Fornalutx you can also visit a neighboring village Biniaraix.
Note a good address for the lunch! Can Nantuna is a restaurant with a gorgeous view on the mountains, situated a bit further up the road which means not many tourists can make their way so far. We loved it!

First thing first. Plan your stop at Sa Calobra out of the tourist season or “opening hours”, otherwise you will miss completely one of the most beautiful roads we’ve ever seen in our lives as well as the beauty of the place itself. Loads of coaches with tourists come here every day and you wouldn’t want be dragging behind any of them. We succeeded to be there around 17h, which was not the best time considering the light conditions but still better than be stuck in a crowd. Once you come down 12 km down and enjoy the beach at Sa Calobra, make sure to walk to Torrente de Pareis – a different beach 5 minutes further curiously situated between two cliffs. Attention, quite windy there! Hiking trail is also available in the surrounding area.
Upon arrival to our guesthouse near Pollença we almost lost the consciousness out of fatigue.

There comes a moment when you stop making difference between the places you visit as they look a bit alike. However, Pollença has something that distinguish it from anything else – 365 steps of Calvari stairs leading to Eglésia del Calvari but, most of all, to the view on the whole town. And yes, while you will be climbing up losing 2 liters of liquid, there will be people casually running up the stairs as if it was just a running treadmill.

The Formentor peninsula is rich on natural beauties, cliffs and calas, culminating with a gorgeous view on the Lighthouse of Formentor. Cyclists, cars, buses – we were wrong with the timing, but still.

Passing the Cala Figuera we came to the Platja de Formentor which was…dead empty. Now honestly, this how the over touristy Mallorcan beaches looked for us.

Thus we passed to the Eastern side of the island, notorious for its beaches and one resort hotel on another. Well, be it. But we couldn’t help noticing how suddenly the scenery changed – it became completely flat, as if we arrived suddenly to another country.

Alcudia is an ancient town, surrounded by a medieval wall which you should walk on to see its roofs. Like any wall, it has beautifully decorated Gates (Porta des Mol and Porta Sant Sebastia).

Just for experience we booked a night in a resort hotel in Port d’Alcudia and you know what? It wasn’t so bad. :D Even if the place is everything but typical and authentic. Well, it’s typical in its own way.

Before moving on we spent an hour in the Parc Naturel de s’Albufera – free for the visitors, it’s a large natural reserve for the birds (we saw none of them). It was a nice change of scenery after all those hilly roads!

Arta itself is a cute town (yes, another one!) with a gorgeous church of Sant Salvador on the top of the hill which looks particularly good at the sunset. In Arta, as we say above, was our best accommodation of the whole trip!

If it happens that you are as insanely curious as we are, you should definitely pay a visit to Cala Ratjada. No, it’s not about its aesthetics, but quite on the contrary – about its complete occupation by German tourists. Believe it or not, but Germans call Mallorca their 17th Bundesland (state) – it gives an idea of how popular it is among German tourists. Cala Ratjada – is a place where you can have a decent German lunch, hear the German speech in 95% cases and, well, feel perfectly in Germany. How twisted is that! There is no other reason to go there, promised.

However, you can hit the road for 1.5 km further to the Lighthouse de Punta de Capdepera for somewhat wilder view.

One of the highlights of this trip happened exactly here. Empty beach. Several surfers. Blue water and high waves. Great view. Who cares that it was only +18? Good enough for us!

A silly caprice – I HAD to see the caves that inspired Jules Verne to write “Journey to the Centre of the Earth” (three years after we saw the Icelandic volcano which actually was an entrance to the Centre of the Earth according to uncle Jules). We were embarrassed by the entrance price (15€ per person, seriously?) so had to content ourselves with the faded postcards near the cave.

We had the longest distance to cover in order to get back to Palma, so we just had a stop in a Cala Varques (to discover a crowded beach without a hint of a shadow), but we couldn’t miss Cala d’Or.

Cala Varques

It’s not just another resort town, in fact it was built long time before the modern cement blocks – and namely in the 30s. White and minimalist, Cala d’Or is a pure aesthetic pleasure, and I wish we could spend there at least a day (cause the beach looks like a paradise!). The resort is very popular with family holidaymakers, mainly from the UK and Germany, so get ready to a real beach population grilled till the bones.