airillusion

We are attending a wedding on Mallorca at the end of May and the couple suggested we either stay in Palma or Sineu. We are not party people at all and tend to prefer quiet and peaceful to noisy and active. As we have never been to Spain, let alone Mallorca, and have heard it is quite the party island, we are hoping someone who knows the areas quite well can help us choose.

We do hope to do some sightseeing while there so another consideration would be transportation options and proximity to the sights.

These are the hotels they suggested:

Sineu
Hotel Can Joan Capó (an adults only hotel)
Ten Mallorca (an adults only hotel)
Hotel Can Serrette (family friendly)
Villa Sa Barcella (family friendly)
Hotel Son Cleda (family friendly)

Palma
Fleming Hostel Albergue Juvenil (low/adventurous option)
Fil Suites (mid-range)
El Llorenc Parc de la Mar (higher-end)
Posada Terra Santa (higher-end)

Are any of these places going to be quieter/less of a party place?

Rubicund

The first thing to realise is that Mallorca, apart from a small area around Palma Nova and Magaluf is not a party island. The rest of the place is lovely, scenic and peaceful. Sineu is right in the centre of the island, tiny and quiet and Palma itself is a beautiful city with a stunning cathedral and is quite Spanish. Sineu has a good supermarket, a small outdoor market and a small choice of restaurants. It has a rail station connecting to Palma via the town of Inca, a little of a circular trip, but Inca has a big market and is worth a visit. Sineu market is on Wednesdays and Inca is Thursdays.

Which of the two locations you choose is up to you, depending on what you want from your location. Palma's markets are daily and as the capital has a big choice of hotels and restaurants. As Sineu is in the centre of the island, it's easy to head in any direction for exploring and the Joan Capo looks very good.

airillusion

Thank you Rubicund! This makes me feel a bit better about our trip.

Rubicund

You'll love it. Mallorca has a bad reputation for a tiny part of what it offers, when 99.0% of the island is lovely. If you have the time, see some of Palma, Andratx, Soller and Valdemossa. Drive across to Pollensa and Alcudia and the weird experience of the Caves of Drach.

jc_uk

I've been travelling to Mallorca for many years, often twice a year and still haven't explored it all. It is, by far, my favourite place to visit. Mallorca has a reputation that has been sullied by one place......Magaluf. Fortunately, this tiny party town is easily avoided and the people who visit there have no interest in visiting the rest of the island so it's a well contained, avoidable town. The rest of the island offers so much in terms of scenery from the mountains in the north to the flat, dry nature parks of the south to the plethora of delightful hidden coves dotted all around the coast.

Palma is by far my favourite Spanish city. It is the capital of Mallorca and therefore is the busiest part of the island but by no means is it 24/7 parties and noise. It's very cosmopolitan, very historic and full of great sites to visit. Parking however is difficult if you're staying in the city but if visiting there is a huge underground parking lot at the entrance to the city and within a short walking distance of the cathedral.

I will disagree with Rubicund's advice to visit the Caves of Drach. This is a real tourist trap and rather than take in the natural wonder of the caves you are hurried down to watch a rather naff musical rendition with musicians passing by on a boat on the underground lake. The caves at Arta are a far better experience and the nearby town of Arta is a great destination in itself.

I love the villages in the mountains such as Deia, Valldemossa, Soller et al and also Port de Pollenca and nearby Alcudia (avoid Port de Alcudia). Santanyi, Campos and Cala D'or in the southwest are a good choice and are relatively close to Palma although nowhere on the island is more than 1.5 hours drive away.

Rubicund

jc_uk, I fully agree about the Drach experience and I did say it was weird and some do like it, but not us. However we have been surrounded by other nationalities who seemed to enjoy it and described the music as "beautiful". Naff is a good word but isn't it one of those naff experiences that you have to have just once?

jc_uk

Not at the expense of time and money that I wasted. Because we were at the front of the line for our timed slot we were rushed through the caves and ushered into the arena where we sat for 45 minutes waiting for it to fill up before the very brief show would begin. 45 minutes I would have preferred to have spent viewing the caves.

airillusion

Thank you jc_uk and Rubicund! This is really helping me figure out what I'm going to do on Mallorca.

jc_uk

A very popular attraction is the old wooden train from Palma to Soller. It was originally used to transport citrus fruit from Soller and surrounding areas to Palma but is now operated solely to transport people to and from the two places. The journey includes a very scenic ride through the mountains and once in Soller you can also take the wooden tram down to the port. You can either board at Palma or further along the route at Bunyola. The beauty of boarding at Bunyola is that it is a very quiet station with free parking and it's pretty much at the beginning of when the journey starts its ascent through the mountains. The only risk is not finding a seat if it's a particularly busy time.

airillusion

Wow jc_uk!! That sounds amazing!! We will definitely have to do that!

jc_uk

You're welcome,it's a bit pricey but worth every penny.

You may also find this website useful: www.abc-mallorca.com/ultimate-guide-mallorca/

We've been to Mallorca in December, February, May, June, August and October. May and June are definitely the best times. We're going in August this year, we know it'll be very hot but we're going for pool and beach time followed by barbecues in our villa garden or late night lazy meals in the local town square when it's a bit cooler.

The pace of life is slower than mainland Spain, including the driving! The food and wine is superb, the people friendly, the views and nature are spectacular. There is nothing I dislike about the island, I even like Magaluf and S'Arenal (the German equivalent of Magaluf) because I know where to avoid and it's all self contained.

If you do decide to take the wooden train to Soller and depart from Bunyola be sure to visit the nearby Jardines de Alfabia, a fantastic old house and gardens. Jardines de Alfabia | Tourist and Cultural Attraction in Mallorca | About Us

MyriamC

I don't know if you'll have a car, but what I enjoyed most on our last trip in April 2019 was the road trip in the Serra de Tramuntana, from Cap de Formentor in the utmost north along many hairpins all the way to Andratx in the south. It's only about 100 kms but we did it in two days, stopping along the road for short hikes and numerous photos. Mallorca's westcoast is magnificent with its rough coastline. Especially Sa Calobra will be forever in my heart. So very pretty ...

airillusion

Thank you jc_uk! That all sounds fantastic!

MyriamC, we might just have to rent a car to experience that!

Jessica_Moore

We visited Mallorca and stayed in Palma. It was a great vacation! Palma is a very beautiful city. Mallorca has many must-visit places, so if I were you, I would rent a car and go where I wanted. By the way, we used mallorca car hire company and were pleased with its service, so I can recommend it, in case you haven't chosen another company yet. Speaking about places to visit, I liked (except for Palma) Alcudia (that is great for diving), Platja de Muro, The Caves del Drach and Deią. Have a good trip!