Last updated: August 2026
Inside La Seu, Palma’s cathedral on the seafront, a wrought-iron canopy shaped like a crown of thorns hangs over the altar. Antoni Gaudí designed it in 1904, then walked away from the job a decade later after a row with the cathedral’s own contractor. Majorca on a budget is still realistic: the cathedral’s exterior and the old town streets around it cost nothing to see. Twice a year, on 2 February and 11 November, sunlight passes straight through the building’s vast rose window and lands as a figure of eight on the wall opposite.
Majorca on a budget at a glance
- Flight timeAround 2 hours 15 minutes direct from London
- AirportPalma de Mallorca (PMI), about 8km east of Palma city
- CurrencyEuro (€)
- Time zone1 hour ahead of the UK (CET/CEST)
- LanguageSpanish and Catalan (Mallorquí)
- VisaNot required for UK travellers, up to 90 days
Direct flights run from around a dozen British airports, the old town is entirely walkable, and the resort strips further round the coast were built for a week on a fixed budget. This guide covers flights, where UK travellers really stay, eating well without the tourist mark-up, and the free sights worth building a day around. For the month-by-month breakdown of prices and weather, see Flight Tribe’s guide to the best time to visit Majorca, and for comparing holiday companies, see the guide to package holidays.
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"Everyone treats the island as the safe, easy option, and mostly they’re right, but easy doesn’t have to mean lazy. A flight from London lands you there in under two and a half hours, quicker than the train to Newcastle. Spend what you save on the flight on one proper dinner instead of a hotel buffet, and you’ll remember the trip."
Kate Acaster, Chief Editor, Flight Tribe
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Getting to Majorca from the UK
Palma de Mallorca Airport (PMI) takes direct flights from around a dozen UK airports, more than almost any other Spanish destination outside the mainland cities. Unlike some Mediterranean islands that rely on one or two London routes, Majorca is reachable from most major UK regions without a connection.
| UK airport | Airlines | Flight time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| London Gatwick | easyJet, British Airways, Jet2, TUI | ~2h 15m | Most routes and the best year-round frequency |
| Manchester | easyJet, Jet2, TUI, Ryanair | ~2h 30m | Widest airline choice outside London |
| London Luton | Wizz Air, Ryanair, easyJet | ~2h 15m | Usually the cheapest headline fares |
| Bristol | easyJet, Jet2, TUI | ~2h 20m | Best option for the South West |
| Edinburgh / Glasgow | easyJet, Jet2, TUI | ~2h 45m | Seasonal timetables, book early for summer |
| Leeds Bradford | Jet2, TUI | ~2h 30m | Jet2’s home base, strong summer frequency |
Most UK flights land at Palma in the middle of the day, which leaves time to reach a first beach or a first plate of tapas before the evening. The airport sits close enough to the city that a transfer rarely eats into the holiday the way it can on a larger island.
When to book Majorca flights for the cheapest fares
May, outside the last week of the month, is consistently the cheapest time to fly to Majorca from the UK, with September and November close behind. July and August carry the biggest premium of the year, often 50 to 100 per cent above shoulder-season fares, because the island is one of the busiest British family package destinations in the Mediterranean. Flight Tribe’s full month-by-month breakdown, including exact UK school holiday overlaps, is in the guide to the best time to visit Majorca.
Getting from Palma Airport and around the island
A city bus links the airport to Palma’s centre for a few euros each way, taking around 20 to 25 minutes. A taxi costs roughly €20-25 for the same trip. Resorts further round the coast, such as Alcúdia in the north, sit 45 to 60 minutes away by road. A taxi there runs closer to €70-90 unless booked in advance as a fixed-price transfer, which usually works out cheaper.
| Option | Cost | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Airport bus to Palma | A few euros | Around 20-25 minutes into the centre, frequent departures |
| TIB regional buses | Free in 2026 | The Balearic government has kept interurban buses and trains free islandwide throughout 2026 |
| Sóller train | A paid heritage line, separate from TIB | A vintage wooden train from Palma through the Tramuntana mountains |
| Taxi, Palma city | €20-25 from the airport | Metered, worth it late at night or with luggage |
| Hire car | Varies by season | Worth it for the Tramuntana mountains and quieter beaches; unnecessary if basing yourself in Palma |
A hire car earns its cost if the plan includes the Tramuntana mountains or the quieter beaches in the south east, since public transport thins out away from the main resort towns. For a trip built entirely around Palma and one resort, the free TIB network and the odd taxi cover everything most visitors need.
Palma or the resorts: where UK visitors actually stay
Most UK package holidays land in the resort towns rather than Palma itself, and the two experiences are different enough to plan around deliberately. Palma suits a city break: a cathedral, an old town, a proper restaurant scene, and beaches within easy reach by bus. The resort towns suit an easy week by the sea, and each has its own character.
| Base | Best for | What it’s like |
|---|---|---|
| Palma city | City breaks, food, couples | Cathedral, old town, a real dining scene, beaches a short bus ride out |
| Alcúdia | Families | A medieval walled old town plus a long, flat, sandy bay; calmer than the southwest resorts |
| Palma Nova & Magaluf | Nightlife, younger groups | Busy strips with bars and clubs, close to the airport, best known for a lively evening scene |
| Cala d’Or | A quieter, upmarket week | Whitewashed architecture and small coves in the southeast, calmer than the west coast resorts |
For a first visit or a family beach holiday, the resorts do the job with no real planning required. For a second visit, or a trip built around food and walking rather than a pool, Palma and the Tramuntana villages give you something the resort strip cannot.
Palma Nova and Magaluf sit a short taxi ride from the airport, which is part of why they became the island’s original package-holiday strip. The beaches themselves are wide and well maintained, and the nightlife is the main draw rather than a side effect.
Free and cheap things to do in Palma
Palma’s old town does most of the heavy lifting for a budget trip. Its best features cost nothing to see, and its paid attractions are cheap by Western European standards.
| Attraction | Why it’s worth your time |
|---|---|
| La Seu cathedral, exterior | Free |
| La Seu cathedral, interior | €9-12 |
| Banys Àrabs (Arab Baths) | Around €3, cash only |
| Castell de Bellver | A few euros, free on some Sundays |
| Old town streets | Free |
| Es Baluard modern art museum | Free on Tuesday afternoons |
Bellver sits close enough to the centre for a walk up, though the road climbs steadily and a taxi or bus is a fair option in summer heat. The reward is a view over the whole bay, the cathedral included, from a fortress that has spent time as both a royal residence and a prison.
Where to stay in Majorca on a budget
Alcúdia in the north gives a good spread of budget, mid-range and upper-tier options. It sits within easy reach of a genuine old town and a long sandy beach, and works as a fair proxy for the resort towns generally. Palma’s own hotels tend to sit at similar prices to the mid-range tier below, with the old town and airport transfer both on the doorstep.
Three hotels to book on Expedia
| Hotel | Tier | Location | Why book it | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hostal Alma | 2-star Budget | Alcúdia old town | Simple, well-rated rooms inside the walled old town, a short walk from the beach | |
| PortBlue Club Pollentia Resort | 4-star Mid-range | Near Alcúdia beach | Family-oriented, direct beach access, pools and watersports on site | |
| Zafiro Tropic | 4-star Worth it | Near Alcúdia Port | Spa, four outdoor pools plus an indoor pool, and two on-site restaurants, a genuine step up for a special-occasion week |
Where to eat and drink in Majorca on a budget
Pa amb oli, bread rubbed with tomato, olive oil and salt and topped with local ham or cheese, is Majorca’s own everyday dish, and it appears on nearly every bar menu for a few euros. Tapas bars in Palma’s old town, away from the cathedral-facing terraces, still charge close to mainland Spanish prices.
Three places to know in Palma
| Restaurant | Price range | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Bar Dia | Most dishes under €10 Budget | A long-standing bar in La Llotja serving traditional Mallorcan tapas, no-frills and reliably good |
| Bar España | Tapas from €3-8 Mid-range | A traditional spot near Plaça Major, popular with locals as well as visitors |
| Celler Sa Premsa | Mains around €12-20 Worth it | A large, wine-barrel-lined dining room serving Mallorcan cooking since the 1960s |
A shared paella between two, ordered thirty minutes ahead as most kitchens require, usually works out cheaper per head than two separate mains. Away from the seafront terraces, a weekday menú del día, a fixed-price lunch menu of two or three courses plus a drink, is the best-value meal on the island and rarely costs more than €12-15.
Beaches and day trips
The Serra de Tramuntana is a mountain range running the length of the northwest coast, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is the single best reason to leave the resort strip for a day. The vintage Sóller train runs from Palma through the mountains to the coastal town of Sóller. Valldemossa, the village where Chopin spent a difficult winter in 1838, sits a short drive further along.
The GR 221 long-distance path, also called the Dry Stone Route, runs the full length of the Tramuntana. It’s best walked between October and April, once the summer heat has cleared the lower trails. A hire car is the practical way to reach the range from Palma or the resorts, since public transport thins out considerably once you leave the coast.
The southeast coast, around Cala d’Or and Porto Colom, trades the long sandy bays of the north for smaller coves cut into pale limestone cliffs. Es Trenc, further southwest, is the beach most often compared to the Caribbean for its pale sand and shallow turquoise water, and it gets busy early in high season as a result.
How much does Majorca on a budget cost per day
Keeping costs down here does not mean skipping good meals or sights. A traveller who picks a menú del día for lunch, sticks to free sights and beaches, and treats one paella or cellar dinner as the day’s main expense can manage comfortably.
| Traveller type | Per day estimate | What that covers |
|---|---|---|
| Budget | €55-75 (~£47-64) | Budget hotel, a menú del día lunch, free sights, buses |
| Mid-range | €100-150 (~£85-128) | Mid-tier hotel, a full tapas dinner, Bellver Castle and cathedral entry, occasional taxis |
| Comfortable | €200-300+ (~£171-256) | A seafront hotel, dinner at Celler Sa Premsa, a hire car for the Tramuntana |
Anyone over 16 staying in paid accommodation also pays the Balearic Sustainable Tourism Tax. It runs from around €1 to €4.40 per person per night in high season, depending on the accommodation’s star rating, and is usually added at check-out rather than at booking.
Staying safe in Majorca
Majorca is a safe destination by any normal measure, and the main risk for most visitors is petty theft rather than anything more serious. Pickpocketing clusters around the cathedral, the main shopping streets and the busiest resort strips in peak season, where a crowded bar or beach is the easiest place for a bag to go missing unnoticed. Keep valuables zipped away rather than in a back pocket, and check the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office’s travel advice for Spain before you go.
Best time to visit Majorca at a glance
Timing a trip around the UK school calendar matters more here than the weather alone, since this is one of the busiest British family package destinations in the Mediterranean.
| Season | Verdict |
|---|---|
| Spring (Mar-May) | Best value |
| Summer (Jun-Aug) | Peak everything |
| Autumn (Sep-Nov) | Best overall |
| Winter (Dec-Feb) | Cheapest, city-focused |
For exact dates, school holiday overlaps and a full month-by-month breakdown, see Flight Tribe’s dedicated guide to the best time to visit Majorca. Browse the full set of guides on the destination guides hub.
Frequently asked questions
Is Majorca cheap or expensive to visit?
Majorca on a budget is realistic all year round. Flights run from around £15-30 each way outside peak summer, the old town and cathedral exterior cost nothing to see, and a fixed-price lunch rarely tops €12-15.
How do I get from the UK to Majorca?
Direct flights to Palma de Mallorca Airport (PMI) run from around a dozen UK airports, including Gatwick, Manchester, Luton and Bristol, with easyJet, Jet2, TUI, Ryanair and British Airways all flying the route. Flight time is around 2 hours 15 minutes from London.
Where do most UK holidaymakers stay in Majorca?
Most package holidays land in the resort towns: Alcúdia in the north for families, Palma Nova and Magaluf in the southwest for nightlife, Cala d’Or in the southeast for a quieter week. Palma city suits a food-and-culture break instead.
Is Palma’s old town free to visit?
Yes, walking Palma’s old town, including the cathedral streets, the old Jewish quarter and the Parc de la Mar, costs nothing. Only specific paid sights, such as the cathedral interior and Castell de Bellver, charge a few euros each.
What is the tourist tax in Majorca?
The Balearic Sustainable Tourism Tax applies to anyone aged 16 or over in paid accommodation, from €1 to €4.40 per person, per night, in high season. It is usually added at check-out, not at booking.
Is Majorca worth visiting outside summer?
Yes. Spring and autumn bring warm weather, lower prices and thinner crowds, and the Tramuntana mountains are best for walking from October to April. Winter suits a Palma break, though some resort hotels close.
Do UK travellers need a visa for Majorca?
No, UK passport holders can stay up to 90 days within any 180-day period without a visa. Passports must be valid for at least three months beyond the departure date and issued within the last 10 years.
Is Majorca safe for tourists?
Yes, it is a safe destination overall, with pickpocketing in crowded tourist areas the main practical risk rather than serious crime. Keep bags and valuables secure around the cathedral, shopping streets and busy resort strips.
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Kate Acaster is Chief Editor at Flight Tribe. She writes about practical travel planning, budget airlines, baggage rules, city breaks, beach holidays and good hotels that do not cost daft money.
Kate has travelled through Europe, South America and beyond, usually with a notebook, a half-formed plan and a strong opinion on airport snacks. At Flight Tribe, her work focuses on helping UK travellers understand what is included, what costs extra, and whether a trip is worth booking at the price shown.
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Kate checks the details that can change the value of a trip, including cabin-bag rules, airline fees, hotel location, seasonality, travel dates and booking conditions. She is especially interested in offers that look useful on the surface but need a proper reader-first check before they are worth recommending.
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