Mallorca · Backpacking
ON A BUDGET
Palma is cheap out of season and the Tramuntana coast is the reason to come — island buses reach most of it.
Santa Catalina, Palma
Hostels sit around Plaça Major and in Santa Catalina. Santa Catalina has the market and the bars; the old town has the cathedral five minutes away.
What a day costs
Dorm €22–40 in season and under €20 in winter, a menú del día €12–16, island bus fares €2–8. Around €50–85 a day, roughly $55–95.
Getting around cheap
TIB buses run island-wide on a rechargeable Intermodal card, EMT covers Palma, and the wooden Sóller train crosses the mountains for a tourist fare.
Free by day
The cathedral seen from the Parc de la Mar, the old town lanes, and every cove — Cala Deià, Es Trenc — since Spanish beaches are public.
Mercat de Santa Catalina
The market bar counters in the morning and the surrounding streets at night; hostels post trips to Cala Deià and the Tramuntana from here.