When my and my best friend Alexandra decided to go for a little holiday we struggled to find a good location that would also suit our preferences. Since we live in different countries it is nice to catch up on a holiday! We wanted to go in the end of October/beginning of November but still wanted a bit of sun. The final decision stood between Croatia and Mallorca. So the more affordable flights to Mallorca sealed the deal.
And it turns out a November trip to Mallorca was a brilliant idea!
Good to know
What hotel did you stay at?
We stayed at the Barcelo Albatroz Illetes located about a 30min bus ride from central Mallorca. It was so easy to get here from the airport as well as you just have one stop and the buses stop at the same stations. I’m talking more about the hotel in the last section of this guide.
How much is the bus in Mallorca?
The general bus was €1.50 for a single journey.
When we arrived we got the bus from Airport to Palma No 1 for €5 and then No 3 till Illetas for €1.50.
What was the weather like at the start of November?
I spent a lot of time worrying about the weather – would it still be warm at this time of year? I really wanted to be able to swim outdoors but it turned out I’d been worrying for nothing. Except for a few sudden rainfalls and a few cooler gusts of winds it was warm enough to be outside in the sun in our swim suits and also to swim in both the pool and the sea!
Is everything open in the low season?
No. If there is a specific place or activity that you are wanting to do I would recommend looking them up in advance as certain shops, activities and restaurants aren’t open in low season.
Pros & Cons
Pros of traveling to Mallorca in the beginning of November:
Much quieter than high season. We didn’t have to rush to get sun chairs or bookings at restaurants which was very nice.
Cons of traveling to Mallorca in the beginning of November:
Almost too quiet as some different places had closed down for the season, like restaurants, beach clubs and other activities.
The top 5 things we did during our trip
1. Our visit to the vineyards with Mallorca Wine Tours. Such a lovely experience and it felt really genuine. The food and wines were really enjoyable!
2. Our balcony chats alongside some local cheeses and charcuteries with bottles of cava. And being able to have breakfast outdoors everyday with a stunning view of the ocean!
3. Swim in the ocean – I can’t tell you how much I constantly long to be able to swim outdoors.
4. It might a slight clichè by now but the food at La Perla was really enjoyable – some lovely pasta and good atmosphere!
5. Shopping in Palma – just strolling along the streets and stopping wherever we felt like it.
The VIP Finca Experience with Mallorca Wine Tours
Our experience with Mallorca Wine Tours was such a lovely one that I dedicated a separate blog post entirely to it. Click here to read!
Trying the local flavours
One of the things I definitely think you should do when you’re anywhere is to buy some local drinks and foods and just chill. Preferably outdoors or on a balcony if you have one. We got some Cava, local charcuteries and cheese which was the perfect afternoon snack.
Maybe get a face mask as well to hydrate after the flight but primarily just enjoy some catching up with your company. Since me and Alex live in different countries this holiday was the perfect time to catch up on everything we have missed the last few months.
Bubbles with a view.
Cheese & orange marmalade is just lovely. And this photo makes both the marmalade and cheese look huge! But they’re of a smaller size to suit snacking.
There’s something so lovely about just staring out over an seemingly endless ocean.
White sangria and peanuts was our go-to poolside drink & snack.
Going for a swim
I’m always so happy whenever I get to be in or near water. Even though it was November the water was comfortably cool and nice. Both in the ocean and in the pool. And when it started to rain we just either went for lunch covered by a roof or down to the spa area.
Even managed to get a sunburn – definitely underestimated the sun in November…
Shopping in Palma
We also took the bus in to Palma to explore the city. Had some gelato, did some shopping (actually got my puffer winter jacket here) and enjoyed some nice food and drinks.
There’s lots of different alleys so my recommendation is to see where you feet takes you. Also check out the cathedral by the water!
We found our best shopping along the street Carrer de Saint Miguel.
A secret bar in Palma
One of the days we visited Bar Abaco which I’d found on some Mallorca guide blogs. It’s kind of a hidden bar near the palace. They have a fairly big cocktail menu if you want something a bit different. There’s also lots of little singing birds in this courtyard. It was very quiet however so it would’ve maybe been slightly more enjoyable if there were more people around since the atmosphere was similar to that in a library.
I had a lovely banana daiquiri-esque drink.
Dinner at La Perla
After busy days in Palma we returned to the hotel. One day we took a 30min walk to La Perla for dinner and another night we walked the opposite direction and had dinner on a pier close by.
La Perla is quite known in Sweden due to the Ingrosso family owning it. I’d previously heard good things about it and I must say we had a nice evening here. Some of the food was slightly too spicy for my taste but I’m just super sensitive to that.
Our hotel in Mallorca
We stayed at the Barcelo Albatroz Illetes, located about a 30min bus ride from central Mallorca. It was so easy to get here from the airport as well as you just have one stop and the buses stop at the same stations.
I really enjoyed staying here as it felt more calm and nice to not be in the centre of things. The breakfast was also nice with lots of different options and you could even get Cava if you felt like it.
The breakfast view wasn’t bad either and we had no problem getting a table outdoors on the balcony most days.
The hotel also has a private beach where you can go in to the sea, or if you prefer there’s a ladder further out as well.
As a bonus we also discovered there was a Swedish supermarket five minutes from the hotel which was a pleasant surprise for me who hadn’t had Marabou Milk Chocolate in ages!
Miscommunication?
The only thing that kind of didn’t go to plan is that I had asked the hotel before we arrived if it was possible to buy an all inclusive package for a day only, which they said was no problem. But when we went to buy it they suddenly said it was only possible to buy for the entire duration of the stay. I’d also asked about SUPs and kayaks which they said they had at the hotel but when we also asked about that they showed us a brochure to a rental place at a nearby beach so I’m not sure if that was a miscommunication due to a language barrier or if they had different rules for low and high season but it was very windy for our last few days anyways so we wouldn’t have been able to go out anyways.
Next time
Next time I’m here I’d love to explore the island more and maybe take a ferry over to the other surrounding islands, do some SUP or go on the Sunset Boat trip or the Palma Wine Tour with Mallorca Wine Tours.
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