Are you planning your holidays but you’re still not sure about where to stay in Mallorca?
Well, sit down and take something to drink, here’s the solution! In this guide I’m going to show you the best areas to stay in Mallorca that can fulfill everybody’s taste, both people searching for parties and those searching for nature and relax! 🙂
Where to stay in Mallorca?
I’m going to start this guide with the areas to stay in Mallorca for young people and party animals, then following with the areas more suitable for who’s searching for relax!
Magaluf – Palmanova
Nightlife : 5/5
Relax : 2/5
Convenient to move around Mallorca : 5/5
If you’re a group of young guys you certainly already know about Magaluf.
Magaluf is a little town on south-west coast of Mallorca, famous for the most active nightlife around the island.
Here in Magaluf you may enjoy a long street full of bars and discos, most of them free to get in and open until the morning, where the age target is mostly around 18-20 years old.
If you choose Magaluf to stay in Mallorca, so that you can easily go to party at night by walking, I may encourage you to search both hotels in Magaluf and in the south area of Palmanova, the other small town sticked to Magaluf: Palmanova can be more cheap and less noisy at night if you need to sleep. 😀
If you choose the south area of Palmanova to stay in Mallorca you can then reach Magaluf’s nightlife in about 10-15 minutes walking. In Palmanova there are plenty of services and a couple nice beaches in front of it (that I’ll show you in my other guide about the best beaches in Mallorca).
If you’re in a hurry or don’t want to bother searching, I may suggest you the place I’ve been to, Ca’s Saboners in Palmanova, that’s located in a perfect place to walk both in the Palmanova and Magaluf areas and in September was the best value for money in the whole Palmanova.
It’s perfect if you’re travelling in group with 3 or more people to share costs: apartments are nice, wide, equipped with a full kitchen, balcony or garden depending on the floor your room is. A nice pool and free parking complete the set. You can book here also with free cancellation option.
Sleep at Palmanova or Magaluf and get a car rental (that I highly suggest!) to easily reach any other corner of the island and lots of nice beaches!
Some activities you may like, before going on with the article:
If you’re in a hurry give a try to some of these best choices:
- Ca’s Saboners a Palmanova where I’ve been, very nice and good for groups of 3-4 people.
- Aparthotel Ponent Mar : located on the noth-east side of Palmanova, so it’s more far from Magaluf but suitable for anybody searching for relax and a quality hotel: you can enjoy sea view here and a SPA.
- Tropico Playa : if you can find a free room it’s very cheap. Sea view, free parking, rooms for 2-3 people.
- Marina Palmanova Apartamentos : honest prices and good reviews, apartments up to 5 people, some of them with sea view and free parking.
- Apartamentos Aquasol : honest prices, apartments suitable for 4-6-8 people.
El Arenal – Playa de Palma
Nightlife : 4/5
Relax : 3/5
Convenient to move around Mallorca : 4/5
Another lively area you may consider to stay in Mallorca is called “Playa de Palma” or El Arenal (“S’Arenal”) depending on which side of this long beach you’re staying.
In this area, unlike Magaluf, most of the tourists are coming from Germany or Austria so that you’re going to find even some signs written in German 😆
El Arenal is a place to stay in Mallorca that’s definitely more wide than Magaluf, with a nice promenade in front of the sea and lots of bars, restaurants and discobars.
The nightlife you can find at El Arenal it’s a bit different than Magaluf, as here you can find german people of any age having fun. You may find guys, families or people in the middle of their 60s partying on the main streets sometimes together, with good quality beers.
If you choose El Arenal to stay in Mallorca keep in mind that nightlife is going to end before Magaluf, around 2 am the place is going to become quiet. This does not mean that you’re not going to have fun anyway, as some places here are literally impressive.
A couple places you really can’t miss out are MegaPark and BierKönig, two huge buildings half between a disco and a pub, where everybody is singing, dancing (sometimes on internationally known songs, sometimes on german only songs :D) drinking and having fun, all with free entry.
If you want to stay at El Arenal, you have a lot of choice because the area is wide. In front you have a long sandy beach with all the services.
- Hotel Gracia : a 3 star hotel 3 well kept really close to the beach,
- Hotel Teide : a 2 star hotel,
- Republicans House Casa Vacanza : holiday house in front of the beach that can host 8 people, with 4 bedrooms, wifi and air conditioning in the southern area of El Arenal,
- Hostal Atlanta : hostal provided with rooms with private bathroom,
- Iberostar Playa de Palma Hotel : 5 star hotel with sea view with pools, gym and wellness center.
Playa de Alcudia – Playa de Muro
Nightlife : 3/5
Relax : 3/5
Convenient to move around Mallorca : 4/5
Now let’s move on having a look at some better areas to stay in Mallorca for people who’s searching for a more laid back situation. Let’s start with Playa de Alcudia – Playa de Muro, a beach located on the northern side of Mallorca.
If you are going to choose this touristic but not too chaotic area to stay in Mallorca, you can enjoy a nice wide beach with lots of services on the west side, (Playa de Alcudia) that slowly transforms into a wild beach moving towards the east side (Playa de Muro).
You can read more about this beach in my guide about northern beaches of Mallorca.
Here you can find many hotels and restaurants, including some small bars with live music.
During the day, if you don’t want to move too far from here, you can visit the historical city of Alcudia and its cute city center, the roman ruins in Pollentia or reach Cap de Formentor, the top corner of the island.
It’s a destination suitable for everybody, except maybe for young guys that want to party.
- Sol De Alcudia, 4 stars hotel with rooms suitable for a maximum of 3 people that welcomes pets for free, with pool and wellness services or paid shuttle to the airport;
- Apartamentos Ferrer Tamarindos, one of the cheapest and with the best reviews;
- Studio Beach Point, even more cheap and with good reviews.
Alcudia
Nightlife : 2/5
Relax : 4/5
Convenient to move around Mallorca : 3/5
If you don’t care about staying in Mallorca in front of the sea, you may consider this historical town that can please you with its beauty: the city of Alcudia.
Alcudia,which foundation is about 700 years old, is still surrounded by almost all its old walls, well kept until today. You can even walk (for free) over a part of these wall, like an ancient sentinel.
The city center is really cute, because it is still alive, not abandoned and at the same time not too chaotic as cars are not allowed in most of the center.
Even if you choose to stay in Mallorca somewhere else, don’t forget to take 3-4 hours to come visiting this city, you won’t be disappointed.
Alcudia is not too far from the beach, within a few miles you can reach Pollença bay on one side and Playa de Alcudia on the other side.
- Apartamentos Carlos V : apartments with a view, hosting 2 to 6 people, with kitchen, air conditioning and good price;
- Hotel Can Simo : Classy hotel built inside an ancient Mallorquine house from XIX century highly renewed, with a unique style; for couples (or for romantic escapes!)
Playa Es Trenc – Colonia Sant Jordi
Nightlife : 2/5
Relax : 4/5
Convenient to move around Mallorca : 3/5
This quite village on the south-east side of the island may be the best choice to stay in Mallorca if you are searching for a laidback destination to relax and enjoy the nature.
Around Colonia Sant Jordi you can find many wide beaches with crystal water, with not much buildings around, like the well known playa de Es Trenc (article in italian language).
- the cheap Apartamentos Es Salobrar with rooms for two, free parking and paid shuttle to the airport;
- Hotel Marqués , 4 star hotel with seaview with rooms hosting up to 3 people, paid shuttle to the airport, pool, gym and bar;
- Hotel Villa Chiquita , 4 star with a seaview for couples, with wellness area and pools.
PortoColom
Nightlife : 1/5
Relax : 5/5
Convenient to move around Mallorca : 2/5
PortoColom is another nice place to stay in Mallorca on the east coast.
It’s a touristic village not too chaotic that may be a nice base to visit by car many little beaches on the eastearn coast of Mallorca, all with a stunning sea.
Porto Cristo and Cala Millor
Nightlife : 1/5
Relax : 5/5
Convenient to move around Mallorca : 2/5
Porto Cristo and Cala Millor are two villages on the north-east side of Mallorca, quiet but full of services to stay in Mallorca for people wanting to hang around the beaches in that area.
In the surroundings you’re going to find lots of tight rocky beaches and a few wider sandy beaches like Sa’ Coma and Cala Millor itself, and the famous caves “Coves del Drac”, that let you see one of the biggest underground lakes in the world.
- La santa Maria
- the cheap Cala d’Hostes
Cala Ratjada
Nightlife : 3/5
Relax : 5/5
Convenient to move around Mallorca : 2/5
Cala Ratjada is another village to stay in Mallorca similar to the previous ones, on the north-east corner of the island, again full of services and with a few beaches around.
Choosing Cala Ratjada to stay in Mallorca may be interesting compared to the previous ones because here there are also a few discos and nightlife in the summer, less chaotic than Magaluf or El Arenal.
The bad side of Cala Ratjada is that staying here you’ll need a lot of time to move in the other areas of Mallorca, especially if you plan a lot of visits to the south-west coast (for example for the beaches or to reach Palma city).
- Hotel Marbel : cheap but nice 2 star hotel that welcomes pets with pool, bar, restaurant, rooms hosting up to 3 people and paid shuttle to the airport.
- Son Moll Sentits Spa : a nice 4 star hotels literally on the sea with very bright rooms, coast view, terrace and wellness center.
Where to stay in Mallorca to party?
Summarizing it up, the best areas for party people and young guys are Magaluf, El Arenal (if you are ok about staying in a place where 90% are german), or Cala Ratjada for a less crazy nightlife.
Where to stay in Mallorca for relaxing in the nature?
You may choose Colonia Saint Jordi and go walking or bathing in the near areas, like the famous Playa d’Es Trenc, or try the north coast in the Playa de Muro area.
Last but not least, try one of the towns on the easterns coast to stay in Mallorca that we’ve been talking about in this guide and move around with your car to discover little comfy beaches!
Where to stay in Mallorca with children?
If you’re staying in Mallorca with families or children just avoid Magaluf, the other areas are good. Better options to chill out may be Alcudia, Playa de Alcudia, Colonia Saint Jordi or the towns on the eastern coast, that are laid back but provided with services.
Before saying goodbye…
I’m sure one of these areas to stay in Mallorca will fulfill your tastes and needs, but don’t forget anyway to open Mallorca map and have a look at the island before choosing one place!
This big island may please you with many other cute and quiet areas to stay! 🙂
Because Mallorca isn’t just nightlife!
“Why Palma city was not mentioned here?”
I personally wouldn’t suggest to stay in Palma city; while it’s a nice city to visit in a day (better on sunday when it’s less crowded, maybe jumping also to the Bellver castle to see the entire city from the top), staying in Palma would be stressing to find parkings, crossing streets, dealing with traffic and everything. You wouldn’t even feel on holiday!
Before leaving, don’t forget to have a look at the other guides about the beach beaches in Mallorca’s south-west, south-east and northern coasts! 🙂
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