Palma Cathedral's Gothic facade and spires rising above the old city walls under a clear blue sky

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Mallorca in 5 days

Mallorca in 5 days

Two nights in Palma, a Sóller tram ride and a mountain drive to Alcúdia, with time to enjoy each stop.

Length: 5 days, 4 nights
Stops: 3 bases
Getting around: Car + historic tram
Best months: Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct

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A small island with more than one holiday in it

This route gives Palma two nights for the cathedral and old city, then uses one night in Sóller to make the Tramuntana feel like a place rather than a drive-through. Alcúdia gets the final night for the walled town and Roman Pollentia. Those are four hotel nights; the fifth day ends at Palma airport.

The main route uses a rental car from the third morning to departure, with the first two days spent walking in Palma. The Sóller tram is a separate town-to-port outing, so you can enjoy the wooden carriages without losing the vehicle needed for the journey north. There are two hotel changes, one substantial mountain drive and no compulsory lighthouse excursion. The worked example runs Monday 19 to Friday 23 October 2026, for two adults sharing a double room and leaving on an evening flight.

This suits a first visit focused on architecture, a harbour afternoon and the island’s mountain landscape. It leaves out the eastern coves, the longer Tramuntana hikes and most resort beaches. If swimming all day is your aim, the same four nights will be more relaxing in one coastal base. If you enjoy moving on but want longer evenings in each place, add a night in the north rather than squeezing another town into the driving day.

Palma is more than the airport

The old city, cathedral and waterfront are enough to justify two nights before you collect a car. The contrast is inside La Seu: Gothic architecture shares the building with changes by Antoni Gaudí and Miquel Barceló.

Sóller is the Tramuntana pause

Sóller gives the trip its valley-and-harbour afternoon. The wooden tram passes homes and citrus groves before reaching the port.

North Mallorca is a different finish

Behind Alcúdia’s medieval gates are pedestrian streets and manor houses; just outside lies a Roman town with houses, a forum and a rock-cut theatre. The final base works well with an evening flight from Palma. A morning departure calls for a different final night near the airport.

Best for

First-time visitors who want city, mountains and sea in one short trip
Drivers comfortable with bends and a slower journey through the Tramuntana
Couples or friends who enjoy historic towns as much as time beside the water

Think twice if

Three bases in four nights leave little time for a resort stay or a long hiking programme. Travellers who prefer to unpack once, or who dislike mountain driving, should use the simpler Palma-and-Sóller alternative below.

StartBooker answer

How should you spend five days in Mallorca?

Give Palma the first two nights for La Seu and its old quarter. Follow with a night in the Sóller valley and your last night in Alcúdia. Use a car for these later stages; the wooden town-to-port tram is an afternoon excursion rather than a substitute for the drive north. Pause at Lluc on the mountain-road day, then visit Roman Pollentia before returning south for an evening flight. The four-night plan leaves longer beach outings or Formentor for an extended stay.

Night split: Palma 2, Sóller 1, Alcúdia 1
Main transport: Walking first, then three days with a car
Heritage ride: Sóller–port tram, about half an hour

The three bases

Two nights in Palma, one in Sóller and one in Alcúdia. Each base serves a different part of the island; town and beach addresses are not interchangeable.

3 stops · swipe

1

Palma
2 nights

La Seu, the old city, markets and a powerful waterfront setting

For a first visit, the old quarter around Passeig des Born and Plaça de Cort places La Seu, the town hall and the waterfront on the same walk. You can explore the lanes around Santa Eulàlia and La Portella between meals rather than travel in from a resort each morning. The cathedral-side streets rise above the sea, and their narrow lanes mean the last part of an airport transfer may be on foot. Santa Catalina, west of the old walls, is a useful alternative when evening restaurants and the food market matter more than being beside La Seu. It puts the market and nearby dining streets close to your accommodation, with a longer walk back to the cathedral. Staying near Plaça d’Espanya instead gives priority to the airport bus and the historic railway station; it suits the car-free variation better than someone whose favourite part of Palma is the waterfront.
Read the Palma guide →
2

Sóller
1 night

The historic railway and tram, orange groves, harbour sunsets and Tramuntana access

For this one-night stop, stay in Sóller town near Plaça de la Constitució or the adjoining streets around Sa Lluna. The square’s Sant Bartomeu church and former bank have modernist facades, and the tram can carry you from the town towards the bay without another drive. This is the better base if you want a town walk before and after the harbour outing. Terrace activity and passing trams make the main square livelier than the surrounding lanes. Port de Sóller offers a different overnight stay: the Es Través waterfront and the beach by the bay are outside the door, but the valley town becomes a separate tram ride or drive. Choose the port if an unhurried dinner beside the water matters most. The tram journey between the two takes around half an hour, so sleeping by the port does not put you in the town centre. Use parking on the approach rather than driving through the main square.
3

Alcúdia
1 night

A walled old town, Roman Pollentia, long bays and the Formentor side of the island

Alcúdia finishes the route with history rather than another anonymous resort strip. Sleep in or near the walled centre around Carrer Major and Sant Jaume for an evening among stone houses, gateways and restaurants. The archaeological site is just south of the old town, making this a good one-night address when Roman history is the last morning’s main interest. The centre is pedestrian in character; use accommodation access instructions or parking outside the walls rather than treating a gate as a through-road. Port d’Alcúdia, beside the bay, is better for direct beach access and a waterfront meal. You give up having the medieval streets outside your door, and visiting the old town becomes another short journey. With a single night, choose one of those two settings. This itinerary uses the old town; beach-focused travellers can sleep by the bay and replace Pollentia with a morning on the shore.

Day by day

Palma has a full sightseeing day; the two moving days leave time for an afternoon walk and a rest.

1 Day 1 Arrive in Palma and find the waterfront On foot

Check in on foot-friendly streets near the old centre or waterfront. Use the first evening for the Parc de la Mar, the lanes behind the cathedral and a relaxed dinner instead of trying to make a rental-car handover and a mountain road happen after a flight. From Palma de Mallorca Airport, the EMT A1 bus runs towards central Palma; the ordinary cash fare is €5 per adult. Its airport boarding area is on the arrivals level. Match the central stop to your accommodation using the operator’s route map, then finish the journey on foot or by taxi if that is easier with your bags. An airport taxi from the official rank is also a sensible arrival option for a late flight; it is additional to the bus-based budget below. The waterfront walk shows how La Seu sits above the old sea wall, with the park and its pool below. If you have energy, continue uphill into the lanes around La Portella. Nothing with a paid entry is scheduled today, so a delayed flight can simply mean dinner and a shorter look at the cathedral exterior.

The cathedral above Parc de la Mar
A first walk through the old city

Overnight: Palma

2 Day 2 La Seu and the old city On foot

Give the cathedral its own timed visit, then roam the old city, a market or the waterfront. La Seu’s interior is the main visit: the scale of the nave, the stained glass and the interventions by Gaudí and Barceló offer more than another exterior photograph. The ordinary adult ticket is €11 and includes the Museum of Sacred Art. The published October tourist hours are Monday–Friday 10:00–17:15, Saturday 10:00–14:15 and closed Sunday. A morning slot fits this Tuesday example. Entry is through the cathedral museum entrance at Plaça de la Seu. Tickets cannot ordinarily be changed or refunded, and travel suitcases or bulky bags are not admitted; there are no lockers. After the visit, the lanes towards Plaça de Cort make a short old-town walk. Leave the afternoon for Santa Catalina’s market and nearby restaurants, or return to the waterfront if you would rather sit by the sea. The market stalls trade Monday–Saturday until 15:00, with food services generally continuing until 17:00. For a market lunch, arrive before the stalls close; otherwise choose a restaurant outside. The cathedral terraces are an optional €25 product replacing the basic ticket, not another visit required to complete this day.

La Seu’s interior, including Gaudí and Barceló
Cort and a market lunch in Santa Catalina

Overnight: Palma

3 Day 3 Palma to Sóller, then down to the port Car

Collect the car after your two Palma nights, then travel to Sóller using the tunnel route described below. The morning is for the move and a town lunch. Plaça de la Constitució gives you the church and old bank facades together; Sa Lluna adds a short pedestrian shopping walk rather than another attraction booking. Once in Sóller, use the tram to Port de Sóller and keep the day small enough for the bay at sunset. Board near the railway station at Plaça d’Espanya. The town-to-port journey takes about half an hour, passing through the square and orchards before reaching the waterfront. Single tram tickets are €10 per adult in each direction and are sold on board. Leave the car at your base or its parking place; the tram outing returns you to the same town, so the onward journey is unaffected. At the bay, the Es Través promenade is the main experience. Have a drink, sit beside the boats or spend some time on the beach if conditions suit. Return to Sóller by tram before dinner, then choose a restaurant around the square or nearby lanes. The Palma–Sóller historic train is a different journey; it belongs to the car-free alternative rather than being added to today’s car transfer.

Sóller’s modernist square
The wooden tram and Port de Sóller waterfront

Overnight: Sóller

4 Day 4 Across the Tramuntana to northern Mallorca Car

Drive north with one main stop: the sanctuary of Lluc. The Ma-10 runs into the Tramuntana’s mountain landscape, where dry-stone terraces and water-management works explain its UNESCO cultural-landscape status. The road is part of the experience; you do not need a detour down to Sa Calobra to see why this side of Mallorca feels different. Lluc makes a useful break for lunch and a stretch of the legs. Its basilica and courtyards are the main draw; a small botanical-garden walk is an optional addition. The basilica opens daily 08:30–19:30, and the garden has free entry with voluntary donations. Services take priority inside the church. Allow roughly an hour or two for the stop, including a meal, then continue towards Pollença and Alcúdia. The mountain museum, a long walk and Pollença’s hilltop steps are all separate choices, rather than commitments on this transfer day. Reach Alcúdia during the afternoon, with time to rest before walking the gates and old streets. Porta des Moll gives a particularly clear view of the medieval defences: twin towers and the passage into the town. Continue inside towards Carrer Major and Sant Jaume, then find dinner in the centre. Thursday is not the town’s regular Tuesday-or-Sunday market day, so the attraction here is the streets themselves.

Lluc as a mountain-road lunch break
Alcúdia’s medieval gates and old streets

Overnight: Alcúdia

5 Day 5 Roman Alcúdia, then Palma airport Car

Use the morning for Pollentia, then have lunch before the return south. The Roman site lies just outside the medieval centre, opposite Sant Jaume. Houses in the Portella quarter, the forum and the rock-cut theatre give this last visit a different character from Palma’s cathedral and Alcúdia’s walls. Allow around an hour to ninety minutes at the site; the museum in the old town is an optional extra if you would like to see objects from the excavations. The ordinary adult admission is €4. Go early in the morning. The municipality’s posted 2026 summer calendar lists Friday opening 09:00–13:00, with last entry one hour before closing; seasonal hours should be checked on the linked operator calendar for an October visit. If the site is closed or you would prefer more time by the sea, replace it with a town breakfast and the bay rather than adding another distant excursion. Alcúdia to Palma airport is roughly an hour’s drive in normal conditions via the Ma-13, Ma-20 and Ma-19. Leave the north early enough for fuel, the rental return and your airline’s check-in time. The price example reserves airport return for 16:00 on Friday and fits an evening flight after 19:00; that leaves the morning and lunch unhurried. For an earlier flight, shorten the morning or change the final overnight base before booking. There is no fifth hotel night in this route.

Pollentia’s houses, forum and theatre
A direct return south for an evening flight

Base: Alcúdia

The two moves

The first move uses the Sóller tunnel; the second follows a slower mountain road. These approximate driving durations exclude collecting the car, meals, sightseeing and parking.

2 transfers

Palma Sóller

Car Travel time: About 1 hour from the airport

For the worked example, take the A1 back to Palma airport on the third morning and collect a car there. This keeps both collection and return at the same location and avoids driving through Palma’s old centre. A city collection can work too, provided your chosen company allows airport return or your flight plan includes the journey from its city office. From the airport, use the Ma-19 and Ma-20 towards the Ma-11, then the tunnel to Sóller. This is the straightforward approach, rather than the bends of the old Coll de Sóller road or a western detour through Valldemossa and Deià. Count the airport handover separately from the drive and aim for Sóller around lunchtime.
Sóller Alcúdia

Car Travel time: About 2 hours driving, plus Lluc

Take the Ma-10 north from Sóller past the mountain reservoirs towards Lluc, then continue along the Ma-10 towards Pollença and use the Ma-2200 and Ma-2201 towards Alcúdia. The approximate two hours is time at the wheel, not the whole outing. A lunch stop at Lluc and a relaxed start make this a half-day transfer, with the afternoon still available in Alcúdia. This is the bend-heavy driving day, suited to someone comfortable sharing a mountain road with cyclists. In sustained rain, poor visibility or if the driver is not enjoying those bends, leave Sóller through the Ma-11 tunnel and use the Ma-20 and Ma-13 to the north instead. You give up Lluc and the mountain scenery, but keep the same overnight base and gain a simpler drive. Do not take the Sa Calobra turn-off as part of either transfer.

Use the Consell’s current road information for closures or exceptional weather; the timings are planning estimates.

A five-day budget for two

Allow about €1,450 for two adults sharing one double room over 19–23 October 2026, with four nights, one driver aged over 30 and a small manual car for the last three days. Flights are outside this example. The six components below total €1,369; add €26.40 for the illustrated hotel tax and a chosen €30 reserve, giving €1,425.40 before rounding the headline. The €520 room component is based on INE’s October 2025 Mallorca-wide ADR of €116.76 per occupied room: four nights plus 10% hotel VAT comes to €513.74. This historical benchmark covers all hotel categories and booking channels, not just four-star properties or these three town centres. It describes room-only double occupancy and does not guarantee a room for the 2026 dates. Breakfast, sea-view upgrades and central boutique hotels can change the bill. The rental example was observed on 7 October 2026: VIMA listed a manual Renault Clio/Seat Ibiza category or similar at €174 with Premium cover, unlimited kilometres and 21% VAT, collected at Palma airport on 21 October at 10:00 and returned there on 23 October at 16:00. That period is billed as three days. The figure uses the pay-at-destination price, without the advertised advance-payment discount, and is not a reservation or a required provider. For ordinary four-star hotels in May–October, the illustrated tourist tax is €3 per adult per night before 10% VAT: two adults over four nights pay €26.40. Other hotel categories differ, including four-star-superior properties; from November to April the statutory base tax is reduced by 75%. The tax allowance here is separate from the room benchmark.

Four room nights Island-wide October 2025 room benchmark with hotel VAT; room-only, not a dated offer for these bases.: About €520
Three-day car rental Small manual car, airport collection/return, Premium cover and VAT; the quoted dates are an example, not a booking.: €174 observed
Food and drinks A chosen €50 per adult per day, including breakfast and drinks; increase it for premium dining.: €500 allowance
Fuel and parking Chosen fuel €40, overnight/visit parking €30 and airport pickup parking €15; costs vary with the car and stays.: €85 allowance
Airport–Palma buses Two adults on A1 on arrival and again to collect the car: four ordinary €5 cash tickets. Taxis are extra.: €20 for two
Main visits and tram La Seu €22, Pollentia €8 and four €10 tram rides. Optional terraces, museums and boat trips are extra.: €70 for two

Booking tips

The illustrated rental’s Premium rate allows free cancellation more than 48 hours before collection; its cheaper Standard rate does not. Read the quoted category’s conditions before paying. VIMA requires the main driver’s physical credit card unless the paid no-credit-card option is selected; a €120 fuel hold can still apply, even with Premium cover. That hold is not part of the trip’s spending total.
Use the hotel’s actual tax category when replacing the room benchmark with your booking. The fuel and parking component is a spending allowance, not a cap: VIMA’s airport pickup ticket is separate, and its FAQ gives a maximum of €15 for pickup within office hours. Additional-driver or age charges, optional products and extra nights depend on your own booking.

Live prices for the route's two-night beginning. A walkable Palma base lets you enjoy the cathedral and old city before the driving part of the trip starts.

Search more stays in Palma →

Palma on the map

Use the map to choose a first base near the old city or waterfront, then decide whether you need a car before moving into the Tramuntana and north Mallorca.

Questions about this Mallorca route

Can this Palma–Sóller–Alcúdia plan work without a rental car?

The three-base plan above is designed for driving; taking the historic train on day three does not provide a vehicle for the mountain leg. For a simpler car-free holiday, spend two nights in Palma and two in Sóller, then return to Palma by train before the airport bus. You retain the cathedral, valley town and harbour, but leave Alcúdia for another trip. The railway currently lists €23 for a Palma–Sóller single, €30 for its return product and €40 for the combined train-and-tram excursion. Those products do different jobs: for overnight stays, confirm the travel-date validity rather than assuming a day-trip return covers several days. Be at the railway departure station thirty minutes early. Trains connect Palma and Sóller; the tram connects Sóller and its port.

What months suit this route best?

Late spring and early autumn suit the mix of walking, mountain scenery and time beside the bay. Summer puts more emphasis on beach time, while the older towns and valley walks can be uncomfortable in the afternoon heat. At Palma airport, AEMET’s 1981–2010 normals give average July and August daily highs of 31.2°C and 31.3°C. October is milder: the same station records an average high of 23.9°C, low of 13.1°C and 62 mm of monthly rain. Those are historical figures from a low-altitude airport, not a forecast for Lluc or proof of swimming weather. A city-and-town trip still has plenty to offer on a cooler day; a week built around swimming needs different expectations. In winter, confirm that the particular heritage-rail journey you want operates on your dates.

Where does Formentor fit into this short trip?

Formentor is a separate northern outing, rather than a stop on the airport return. If its cliffs and lighthouse are a priority, add a northern night and give it half a day. Otherwise this five-day plan already has a mountain drive, a harbour and a Roman visit. The published 2026 traffic restrictions run 15 May–18 October inclusive, 10:00–22:00. The lighthouse section beyond kilometre 8.7 is restricted to authorised vehicles; beach parking before that point is capacity-controlled. During the regulated season, TIB 334 links Alcúdia and Port de Pollença with the peninsula, including the Colomer viewpoint and lighthouse. This October example starts after that period. For a separate outing, use the current access notice and bus timetable; a reduced-mobility vehicle needs advance authorisation.

How would you adapt the route for children or slower walkers?

Keep the shorter versions of each outing: a cathedral interior visit, a town square and the tram, then Lluc’s courtyards or garden. There is no need to climb Alcúdia’s walls or add a mountain hike to enjoy the route. On a hot or tiring day, a seated lunch and a rest can take the place of an optional walk. The cathedral terraces are unsuitable for reduced mobility, vertigo or relevant cardiorespiratory conditions, and require visitors to be older than nine. Those restrictions concern the terrace route, not a blanket exclusion from the cathedral floor. If two changes of accommodation would be hard work for your family, use the two-base variation instead; this driving itinerary is not presented as an accessible or toddler-specific package.

Which stop deserves an extra night?

Alcúdia gives an extra night the most obvious purpose: time for the bay or Formentor without putting either before a flight. The existing overnight and morning cover the historic centre and Pollentia; a second night makes a separate coastal day possible. Sóller is the better addition if you want valley walks and a longer stay beside the harbour. An early flight changes the answer. Put the final night in Palma or near the airport, even if that means giving up the northern overnight. You can retain four nights by using two in Palma, one in Sóller and one back in Palma, but that is a different route from the three-base plan above.

Sources and review

Reviewed by StartBooker editorial Route planning and destination research

Last reviewed 2026-10-07

Updated 2026-10-07

How this route was checked: Airport and heritage-transport operators, municipal visitor calendars and road information support the route. The pair budget combines an October 2025 occupied-room benchmark, an observed October 2026 airport rental example and labelled food/fuel/parking allowances; the transport examples are not required bookings.

37 references reviewed

Key sources