Driving in Mallorca: My Top 5 Tips

Driving anywhere in Europe can be quite a culture shock from the States, and Mallorca is no exception. Driving through mountains, tight towns, and on country roads all require you to stay alert and on your toes. Here are my top five tips for driving in Mallorca.

1. Rent as small of a car as possible

Everything in Europe is a little bit smaller than we’re used to in the states. This includes parking spaces and streets! You’ll want to reserve as small of a car as possible when driving in Mallorca. Not only will it help you in towns or with parking, but it will be much easier to navigate and get around. When booking your rental car, try to choose “Economy” or “Compact” classes. It may be tempting to book a larger SUV for some comfort, but it will only be a pain- trust me!

2. Be mindful on tight roads

Other than the highways, you’ll find just about every street in Mallorca to be TIGHT. Roads in towns are very narrow and buildings hug the sides with no shoulder. Often times, there are cars parked on the streets too which adds another level of difficulty. Country roads are just as narrow, but this time they are often lined with stone walls to mark people’s property. Country roads also tend to have very sharp, 90 degree turns throughout. Go very slow around these curves- I almost got into a few accidents!

A lot of the time on these streets, I was convinced I was on a one-way street (judging by the size), but was surprised to find out they were two way. I was surprised to find that two cars could fit, but it was close. Be extra mindful on these streets and get as tight to the side as you can if you see oncoming traffic.

Tip: to help mentally prepare, try using Street View on Google Maps. Here is an example of the streets in the town of Sóller.

3. Confirm (and then confirm again) if you need automatic

All throughout Europe, manual cars are the norm, and Mallorca is no exception! Coming from the states, we are very used to automatic cars. In fact, I could probably count on one hand the number of people I know who can drive a stick shift. It doesn’t make renting a car abroad tricky, but you will want to confirm you’re reserving an automatic car at booking. Then again at pickup, it’s always worth confirming with the agent that your car is an automatic before packing up the car. Driving in Mallorca involves many hills (especially on the Western side), so unless you’re very confident in your manual driving abilities, I would stick to automatic.

4. Reserve your car well in advance

If you’re visiting in the off season like I did, reserving a car is not too much of a headache. They had plenty of availability in many different class levels. However, the agent explained to me that if you plan to visit in the peak tourism season (May-September), the rental car should be the very first thing you book! Even before airfare! They are always sold out, and since getting around Mallorca without a car is incredibly difficult, they are in high demand. As a bonus tip, always book directly with the rental car companies rather than travel sites like Priceline or Expedia. Should anything go wrong, you have more protection and access to customer service if you booked directly. Since you’re relying on your car so heavily for a great vacation, you don’t want this to go wrong!

5. Have change handy for parking meters

Just about everywhere in Mallorca takes credit cards, including many parking meters. However, parking meters happened to be the only place I ever had any trouble. There were a few times where the credit card machine on the meter was down and only accepting coins. Since on this trip I only was using credit cards, this was a bit of a problem! Parking tends to be pretty cheap, so you won’t need more than a few Euros, but do make sure you have them on hand.

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