Ibiza or Mallorca: which Balearic island suits your week
TLDR
- •Ibiza is small enough that where you sleep decides your entire week
- •Mallorca is large enough to hold several unrelated holidays at once
- •The north of Ibiza and the south of Ibiza are not variations on a theme
- •Mallorca has a real city in Palma; Ibiza does not
- •September water is warmer than June water on both
Both islands are about two hours from London and reliably warm from May to October. That is where the similarity stops, and the choice between them is a question about scale rather than about prestige.
Ibiza is small, and that is the whole point
Ibiza is compact enough that your accommodation decides your holiday. The south, around Playa d'en Bossa and San Antonio, is the island everyone has heard of. The north, around Sant Joan and Portinatx, is pine, red earth and small coves you walk down to. The interior around Santa Gertrudis is farmland with a Saturday market.
These are 40 minutes apart and they are genuinely different places. The useful consequence is that you can base in the quiet half and visit the loud half when you feel like it. Doing it the other way round does not work nearly as well, because the noise does not stay where you left it.
Mallorca is large, and that is its whole point
Mallorca holds several unrelated holidays. The Serra de Tramuntana along the northwest is mountain and cliff, with Deia, Soller and Valldemossa strung along a road that takes much longer than the map suggests. The southeast around Santanyi is flatter, sandier and easier with children. Palma is a working city with a cathedral, an old town and a food culture, and it deserves days rather than an afternoon on the way to the airport.
The size is also the trade. Mallorca absorbs a great many people without feeling overrun, and the price of that is that nothing on it feels undiscovered.
The question that actually decides it
**Do you want one thing done well, or several things available?**
If the answer is one thing, take Ibiza and pick your half of the island carefully. If the answer is several, take Mallorca, and accept that you will spend more time driving.
There is a second question underneath it. Mallorca has an unusually high rate of repeat visitors, people who return to the same village for 20 years. That means the best of the island circulates by word of mouth and very little of it is arranged for a first-time visitor. Ibiza, by contrast, is legible on a first trip.
When to go, for both
May, June, September and early October. September water is warmer than June water on both islands, which surprises people every year, and the crowds thin sharply from the first week of September.
Mallorca has a genuine second season that Ibiza does not: hiking and cycling in the Tramuntana runs through the months when nobody is on the beaches. If you want an island in March, it is Mallorca.
What we are not going to tell you
What either island costs. Rental pricing varies by property, week, agent and year in ways that no article can honestly generalise, and the version of this page that used to exist did generalise, with invented percentages. It has been taken down. Get quotes for your actual dates and compare those.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is better for families, Ibiza or Mallorca?
Mallorca, in most cases, because the southeast coast has sand and shallow water, Palma gives you a wet-day option, and the island has more variety when somebody gets bored. Ibiza works well for families if you base in the north, which many people do not realise is an option.
Can you visit both islands in one trip?
You can, by ferry or a short flight, but on a week it usually is not worth it. Both islands reward staying put, and the transfer eats a day at each end.
Which island is quieter?
The north of Ibiza is quieter than anywhere comparable on Mallorca. But Mallorca has far more places that are quiet, because it is much larger. It depends whether you want the quiet spot or the quiet island.