Mallorca Tours — Frequently Asked Questions
The questions that come up before a booking, grouped the way they tend to arrive: how the booking works, what happens on the day, the practical rest, and the island itself. Start with planning a trip if the trip is still open, or the map if you are working out where to stay.
Booking a tour on Mallorca
Do I need a tour to see Mallorca?
Not for everything. Palma is walkable, the beaches are public and free, and you can buy a Sóller train ticket at the station for €23. You need a boat for the coves that have no road, and a guide for the sea caves.
Which tour here costs the least?
The self-guided Gourmet Tapas and Wine Tour of Palma, at $65.11 per person, with five tapas and five drinks included. On the water, the Cala Figuera boat trip starts at $66.30 for nearly three hours.
How far in advance should I book Mallorca Spain tours?
In July and August, book before you fly. Several trips are flagged as likely to sell out and the small-group boats cap between eight and twelve people. In May and October a few days is usually enough.
Can I cancel if the weather turns?
Yes. Every trip listed here is free to cancel up to 24 hours before it starts, local time. Operators also cancel boat trips themselves when the sea is unsafe, and refund you when they do.
What does “per group” mean on some prices?
Four trips are priced for the whole boat rather than per person, from $236.77 for up to five people to $941.16 for up to eight. Split between a family that is often cheaper than buying seats. Check the fuel and cleaning lines before you compare.
Are there hidden fees on a private charter?
Sometimes, and they are worth reading. One charter excludes fuel at roughly €70–80 plus an €80 port and cleaning fee; another excludes fuel and cleaning without pricing them. The boat rental holds a €200 cash deposit that comes back undamaged.
How quickly is a booking confirmed?
Most confirm instantly. Four take up to 48 hours — the quad tour, the Valldemossa day tour, the private all-inclusive sailing and the Wonders and Wines experience — so leave a day's margin on those.
Are the tours in English?
Yes. Most also run in Spanish, ten offer German and nine French, with Italian on three. If you need a specific language, check that trip before booking rather than assuming it on the day.
On the day
Will my boat trip be cancelled if it is windy?
It can be. Operators here say so plainly: departures may be cancelled without notice for weather, one sea-caving trip moves to an alternative cave when the sea is dangerous, and on one sailing boat the sails go up only if the wind allows. Book early in your stay so you have a second chance at it.
What should I bring on a Mallorca boat trip?
Swimwear, a towel, sunscreen and a change of clothes for the way back. Snorkelling gear is included on most trips. Two boats do not allow your own food or drink on board, and one asks for passport details after booking.
What happens if I am late for the boat?
You miss it. Two operators state that boarding closes five minutes before departure and that the boat leaves on time. Allow more time to park than you think, especially at Cala Estancia and Club de Mar.
Can I swim on every boat trip?
On most, but not all. The trips that pass the coves without stopping say so in their own itinerary, and those pages say so here too. Where a swim stop is timed, the length is given — 45 minutes at Cala Màrmols, about 30 on the Bay of Palma catamaran.
Where do the tours actually leave from?
Palma has four marinas and a cruise berth used by these trips, and there are departures from Can Pastilla, El Arenal, Portals Nous, Magaluf, Santa Ponça, Peguera, Port d'Andratx, Cala Figuera, Manacor's east coast and Alcúdia. The map page lists every one against its trips.
Do I need to be able to swim?
Not necessarily. The kayaking operator provides life jackets and says knowing how to swim is recommended rather than required. The sea-caving trip is a different matter: it involves a swim to reach the cave and back.
Practical questions
Do I need a hire car?
Only if you are staying outside Palma and want to move around. Fourteen of the trips here start in or beside Palma, and the northern kayaking day includes pickup from Port de Pollença, Alcúdia, Playa de Muro and Can Picafort.
How long does it take to cross the island?
The island covers about 3,640 square kilometres. Palma to Alcúdia in the north is roughly an hour and a quarter by road, and Palma to Cala Figuera in the south-east about fifty minutes. That is the mistake people make when they book a trip on the far side of the island from their hotel.
Are the tours suitable for children?
Many are. The kayaking day is recommended from age five, the cooking class from six, and the Cova de Coloms sea caving carries a minimum age of twelve. Infant seats are offered on four trips and several allow infants on laps.
Is there wheelchair access?
Rarely. Twenty-one of these trips state they are not wheelchair accessible. The Wonders and Wines private experience is the exception and states that both its transport and its surfaces are accessible.
Do you sell bike or cycling tours in Mallorca?
No. Mallorca is one of Europe's great cycling islands, and the Sa Calobra climb in particular draws riders from all over — but none of the trips here is a bike or cycling tour, and sending you to the wrong product would only waste your time.
Is Mallorca expensive?
The trips here run from $65 to $941, and the wide end of that is a whole boat rather than a seat. Outside the peak fortnight in August the island costs about what mainland Spain costs.
Are gratuities included?
No. Nine listings exclude them explicitly and two more name tips for the crew or the host. Nothing here builds a service charge into the fare.
Do the tours include lunch?
Two do: the five-hour catamaran cruise serves a barbecue buffet, and the private all-inclusive sailing tour includes lunch on board. Most of the rest include snacks or tapas, and three exclude food and drink altogether.
Can I bring my own drinks on board?
Not on every boat. One catamaran states that your own food and drink may not be brought aboard and that smoking is not allowed. Where an open bar is included, the drinks it covers are named on that trip's own card.
The island itself
What is the Serra de Tramuntana?
The Serra de Tramuntana is the mountain range along Mallorca's north-west coast, about 90 km long and rising to Puig Major at 1,445 m. UNESCO inscribed it as a Cultural Landscape on 29 June 2011, under criteria ii, iv and v, covering 30,745 hectares with a further 78,617 as a buffer zone.
Why is the Tramuntana a World Heritage site?
For the farming, not the scenery. The inscription is about terraces held up by dry-stone walls and an interconnected system of channels, cisterns and mills built to work a mountain that has almost no water of its own.
Is the Sóller train worth it?
It is a wooden train inaugurated in 1912 and still in daily service. On its own it is €23 one way, €30 return, or €40 combined with the tram. A day tour bundles it with Sa Calobra and a boat leg you cannot reach by rail.
How much is the Sóller tram?
€10 per direction between Sóller and Port de Sóller, running every 30 minutes to an hour at peak times. The Valldemossa day tour excludes exactly that €10, which is the same figure the railway publishes.
What is Sa Calobra?
A cove at the mouth of the Torrent de Pareis gorge, reached by a road of stacked hairpins that loops beneath itself at the Nus de sa Corbata. One day tour drives it; the boat leg out of Sa Calobra is the other way in.
Why is Valldemossa famous?
Chopin and George Sand spent the winter of 1838 in its Carthusian charterhouse, and the village has traded on it ever since. Three of the land tours here stop there, for between one and two hours.
What is Es Pontàs?
Es Pontàs is a natural sea arch off the south-east coast near Santanyí, passed on the Cala Figuera boat trip. There is nowhere to land on it, so the water is the only way to see it properly. It is also the shape the logo at the top of this page is drawn from.
Is Caló des Moro as busy as people say?
In peak season, yes — the way down is a narrow set of steps and the cove is small. Arriving by boat skips the queue entirely, which is what the Cala Figuera trip does on its way to Cala Màrmols.
What is the Cova de Coloms?
A sea cave on the east coast, reached on foot along the shore and then by swimming in. The guided trip has a minimum age of twelve, asks for moderate fitness and swaps to an alternative cave when the sea is dangerous.
What languages are spoken on Mallorca?
Spanish and Catalan, the local form of which is called Mallorquí. English is widely spoken in Palma and the resorts, and every tour here runs in English.
Still deciding?
If the real question is which one, the comparison on Mallorca Spain Tours lays every trip out on price, hours, group size and what the fare covers. The guides take the same ground at length, and what travellers said is grouped trip by trip.
Book with the questions answered
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start time on every trip here.
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