Driving in Mallorca as a Tourist: Do you Need a Car?

What’s it like to drive in Mallorca?

Basically, it’s easy. But there are a few quirks worth knowing before you pick up the keys:

What side of the road do you drive on in mallorca?

Right side, so super easy as an American. People drive very safely here too, way easier than driving in LA, in my opinion. There’s no aggressive lane changing, no horn happy culture, just normal, calm drivers going about their day.

I’ll admit I was bracing myself for chaos, because that’s a lot of what driving in Europe can be like. Instead I spent most of the first hour thinking “wow, this is lovely”.

Roundabouts are pretty common, especially near towns, but they’re small and slow and honestly easier than most American intersections once you get the hang of them. Give way to the left, take your exit, done.

Be ready for bikers

Road biking is huge in Mallorca. It’s a major destination for it (winding hills and gorgeous views draw them in), so you need to be sure to give bikers some room. We passed dozens of cycling groups on the mountain roads alone, lycra and all, clearly very serious about their training camp.

At one point we were behind a group of probably 15 cyclists climbing a hill and I was thoroughly impressed and not jealous at all. I prefer flat road biking in Mexico City, personally.

How big is Mallorca, really?

It’s really beautiful and really small. Not as small as Malta, but small.

A drive across the island took us just under two hours. That’s coast to coast. You can have breakfast on one side of Mallorca and be swimming on the other side by lunch.

I highly recommend taking a less efficient, coastal route if you can (I’ll share a custom route I took below), because the direct routes are nice but why not take an extra 30 minutes to drive along the coast or into the gorgeous Mallorcan hills?

Do you need an International Driving Permit in Mallorca?

Technically, yes. As a US driver, you’re supposed to have an International Driving Permit (IDP) along with your regular license to drive in Spain, which includes Mallorca.

That being said, no one asked us for it. Not at the rental counter, not anywhere (but we were lucky enough to not be pulled over).

But “technically required” is still required, and if you ever got into an accident or had any kind of issue with the rental company, not having one could come back to bite you, especially with insurance.

The annoying part is that you can’t do it online. It has to be a physical document, mailed to you, which means you need to apply through AAA before your trip and actually plan ahead for shipping time (we ordered one to Paris and it took about a week, but shipping was expensive).

If you’ve got a few weeks before you leave, it’s an easy box to check. If you’re booking last minute, it’s one of those things you’ll probably skip, just know that’s the tradeoff.

Parking in Mallorca

Street parking is busy but pretty cheap, around 2.75 euros. Parking garages in Palma (which are largely underground) will have lines to enter and exit during peak rush hour times in the morning and evening, so be wary of that if you’re trying to get somewhere on a schedule.

We stayed at Hotel Palladium and found street parking both days we were in Palma. It took a little circling (and one slightly tense moment where my boyfriend asked “are you SURE this is legal” while we debated if we could just move 10 feet up on the same block. Turns out you may not do this), but nothing dramatic.

If you’re staying right in the old town, double check whether your hotel has any parking arrangement, since some of the streets are pedestrian only and you’ll need to know where to leave the car before you arrive.

Also, pay attention to the green vs blue spaces. Green = eco-friendly/electric cars only. You will get a ticket if you try to park here (most of central Sóller, though we parked in a parking lot just fine).

Renting a car in Mallorca: be ready for a line and how to save money

I always rent through DiscoverCars because they have the best deals, and then I google the company to check out the reviews (they’re not always reliable on DiscoverCars itself, so a second look helps).

When you’re renting a car in Mallorca, you basically have two options. Cheap with a wait time, or more expensive with less wait.

• Cheap with a wait, Centauro: We rented our car from Centauro and it cost $156 for the entire week. That’s amazing!
  
  You walk out of the airport, see a bright yellow shuttle, and take a short ride to the rental car lot. However, the line was INSANE. You join a virtual queue on your phone, and I think we literally waited an hour and a half.
  
  We people watched, we questioned our life choices, we briefly considered just walking back to the airport and flying home (okay fine, not really).
  
  This is my number one tip. If you rent through Centauro, CHECK IN THE MOMENT YOU LAND on this link, it makes a real difference in where you land in the queue.
  
  
• Pricier with better service: You can also rent through one of the companies that are on site at the airport with far fewer lines, primarily Sixt or Europcar (which you can filter for here on DiscoverCars too). You’ll pay more, but you skip the shuttle and the virtual queue entirely.

Basically, you should either know to expect a wait, or be willing to pay a little more for better service. There’s no wrong answer here, it just depends on how you’d rather spend your first hour on the island.

If I’m being honest, knowing what I know now, I might pay the extra money next time. An hour and a half is a long time to stand around when there’s a whole island waiting.

One more thing on the rental side. Check what insurance your credit card already covers before you land. A lot of premium travel cards include rental car coverage, and skipping the on-site upsell can save you a decent chunk of that $156. I offer free card consultations here if you want a little help.

Rental car quick tip: the speed limits

There are speed limits in Mallorca and you should be a safe driver and follow them. But also, rental cars will now ding at you whenever you go over the speed limit at all, which when you’re driving for hours is annoying AF.

This is an EU regulation thing, not a Mallorca thing specifically, but it’s new enough that a lot of visitors get caught off guard by the constant little chime every time you drift a couple kilometers over. The first time it went off I thought something was wrong with the car. Nope, just Europe being Europe.

Fun fact: you can turn this off.

Depending on the kind of car you have, it’s probably buried in the settings menu under something like “Excessive Speed Warning,” which you can switch to off. Took us a few minutes (thank you ChatGPT) to find it, but once it’s off, the drive gets a lot more peaceful.

Still drive safely though. The chime is annoying, but the speed limits themselves are there for a reason, especially on the mountain roads where the curves come up fast.

Driving from Palma to Sóller: the scenic route

If you’re heading from Palma to Sóller your GPS will want to send you efficiently along the highway. Ignore it.

Instead, drive inefficiently along the coast and then through some very windey, very gorgeous mountain roads through the Tramuntana range. This was hands down one of my favorite parts of the entire trip.

You can use the version above or this version for your phone.

The road climbs through stone walled terraces and olive groves, then drops you down toward Soller with the kind of views that make you understand why people fall in love with this island.

You can also stop at Valldemossa and Deià on the way, and you simply must go to Es Taller for lunch (make a reservation!).

We pulled over so many times that what should’ve been a 45 minute drive turned into something closer to two hours, and I have zero regrets about that.

A few tips for this drive specifically:

• There are pulloffs along the mountain sections where you can stop safely to take photos, and you’ll want to use them, because there’s no shortage of moments where you’ll want to pull over.
• The road is narrow in places and shared with cyclists, so take it slow on the curves.
• Give yourself more time than you think you need, because you’re going to want it.

Getting around Mallorca without a car

If you’re only staying in Palma, or only going between Palma and Sóller, you don’t really need a car.

The Tren de Sóller is the obvious option here, and it’s very cute. It’s a vintage wooden train that’s been running the route from Palma to Sóller for over a century, departing from the Ferrocarril station near Plaza de España in Palma.

A one-way ticket runs around 23 euros, with a return around 30 euros, and the ride takes about an hour through farmland and into the mountains. I’d happily ride it even if it didn’t go anywhere in particular, the brass and leather seats alone are worth a look.

There’s also a very cute tram that runs between Sóller and Port de Sóller, but it’s 10 euros each way. Doable without a car, but we’re creeping close to the cost of just renting a car!

A couple of practical notes if you go this route:

• You can but tickets at the station ticket office if you don’t want to do it online, and they don’t always take cards, so bring cash.
• If you want to lock in a specific departure time, especially in peak season, you can book combined train and tram tickets online up to seven days ahead. Otherwise it’s first come, first served, so showing up 20 to 30 minutes before a popular morning train is a good idea.

Beyond the train, Palma has a solid public bus network that covers the city and a lot of the nearby beaches. For a single day trip without a car, between the bus network and the Soller train, you can cover a surprising amount of ground.

The Best Route If You Won’t Have a Car

If you’re going the no car route, a few things make it work a lot better.

• Stay in Palma. Use it as your hub for day trips, since pretty much everything radiates out from there.
• Download the TIB Mallorca app before you go and check schedules in advance, because that’s where the real time bus and train info lives.
• Start beach days early too, especially in summer, since the popular routes get crowded and the buses (and beaches!) fill up fast.
• Don’t plan tight connections. Buses here run on island time, and a “10 minute delay” can quietly turn into 25.
• And I wouldn’t rely on taxis for late night returns during peak season either, availability gets thin right when everyone’s trying to get back to Palma at once.

One thing I’d actually recommend even if you’re mostly going car-free: consider renting a car for just one day if you want to visit hidden coves. Those are so beautiful and very worth it, and they’re exactly the kind of spot public transit just doesn’t reach. Honestly, that one day might end up being the highlight of your whole trip.

Places in Mallorca you can easily reach by public transportation

By train from Palma:

• Sóller (the historic train)
• Inca
• Sa Pobla
• Manacor

By bus from Palma:

• Valldemossa
• Deià
• Port de Sóller
• Alcúdia
• Port d’Alcúdia
• Pollença
• Port de Pollença
• Cala Ratjada
• Cala Millor
• Porto Cristo
• Santanyí
• Es Trenc
• Playa de Muro
• Cala Mondragó

Beaches that are easiest without a car

If beach time is the priority and you’re skipping the rental entirely, these are your best bets:

• Playa de Muro
• Es Trenc
• Cala Major
• Illetas
• Palmanova
• Cala Mondragó

But if you want to see multiple regions of the island in one trip, the beaches on the west coast, the mountain villages, the southeast coves, that’s where having your own car really pays off. Public transit on Mallorca is built around getting to and from Palma, not necessarily between the other towns.

Driving in Mallorca: frequently asked questions