Mallorca cycling advice

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colster
Posts: 98
Joined: Wed Aug 08, 2012 11:02 pm
Location: West Yorkshire, UK

by colster

Planning my summer cycling holiday and am thinking about finally sampling Mallorca, since almost everyone I know seems to rave about it.

Does anyone have any good tips for where best to base oneself for good riding and/or classic routes? Also any tips on good places to stay? Am on a slim budget so no 5* hotels with pools for me, just somewhere to lay my head for the night.

FYI will be travelling by myself, taking my own bike, and will not be renting a car so riding out and back every day from wherever am based.

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NS
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Joined: Wed Nov 05, 2003 7:27 pm
Location: Manchester, UK

by NS

If you want to ride in company you should look at the north of the island Pt Pollensa - Pollensa Park/Duva lots of organised groups from this area and easy access to the Mountains, Sa Colobra and some of the Plains.

If you want short transfers from the airport then go with Playa De Palma/Can Pastilla. Busy, still plenty of cyclists little bit further to the northern mountains but nice riding on the west side round Deia - Andratx

Cant believe nobody else has weighed in on this Leviathan is from Mallorca

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Lewn777
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Joined: Thu Mar 09, 2017 5:35 am

by Lewn777

Depends if you care about being by the sea. Some of the nicest places are by the sea, but some of the ugliest architectural places are by the sea. Also it can make it hard for you to explore fully. I was based in Port Andratx and it meant I missed out on Cap de Formentor because it was out of range. Personally I'd always choose a green area inland in the mountains near Deia, Soller etc and within 30kms of Puig major and Sa Colabra.

Honestly though I think Mallorca is fantastic in terms of riding accessibility with cheap flights from Northern Europe and reasonably priced accomodation but all in all it's over-rated and overpopularized as there are other places in Europe and the World just as good sometimes better and less crowded, some even almost unknown, that is if you can still enjoy yourself without so much cycling and non-cycling infrastructure.

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Leviathan
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Location: Mallorca, Spain
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by Leviathan

If you mean Summer as in mid summer, its not ideal - temps are around 35 degrees mid day and all available accomodation is either very expensive or full
Leaving aside that, basing your self in the north of the island (Pollenca/Alcudia/Can Picafort) requires you to do the same 2 hours every day. Yes there are group rides but they are pretty pedestrian. You can, however, use the Mallorca Shuttle to take you and your bike somewhere else for you to ride back to the north coast.
Personally Id base myself round Lloseta, Inca, Binissalem, Santa Maria or Selva. All quite small villages (the first three have the advantage their are on the train line so easy to get to Palma, for example) but a number of hotels - booking.com or airbnb will have them all. You may like to look at the can Calco hotel chain near me which is quite reasonable, for mallorca, for summer.
My tip - dont laugh- is the first week of November, Roads are EMPTY (April and May here are just reallt UNBEARABLE for cyclists), weather is still very nice, at least the last 3 years, and prices are dirt cheap.

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otoman
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Joined: Wed Sep 17, 2008 6:25 pm
Location: Nashville

by otoman

Lloseta and Inca are not great towns, boring roads with crappy farms on nondescript terrain.

I flew into Palma, rode my bike from there up to Port de Soller for the first half of my week there. It was a good location as we could go west to Andratx or up the Piug or around to Orient etc. I’d look at Bunyola, it is a quaint, picturesque town with some good food options and in a nice central location for the big climbs.

Have fun!
Age and treachery shall overcome youth and skill

harvsurrey
Posts: 31
Joined: Sat Dec 16, 2017 8:18 pm

by harvsurrey

We always stay at the Duva in Porte Polencia.

Some great rides but agree summer is hot.
We go April and October, did may last year and it was toasty at times


A nice Majorca shot below , was looking for the square in Petra packed with cyclists but my phone has failed me Image

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the jackel
Posts: 129
Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2007 7:44 pm
Location: London

by the jackel

I came back from Mallorca last week and we stayed in Soller. It's a nice, not overly touristy town that is in the middle of the mountains making rides North and south viable. The only downside is being surrounded by the mountains means very ride starts with a climb.

As mentioned Inca/losesta/alaro are not great towns but at least offer some flat choices to start your day while still giving good access to the main climbs. Passed through Bunyola a few times and agree with Otoman, seemed pleasant and would probably be my choice for a base next time I go.

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Leviathan
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Location: Mallorca, Spain
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by Leviathan

Bunyola is a lovely town. But it has one 7 bed hotel, rooms start at 140€ a night...so the reason I proposed the others is there are more accommodation choices. Soller I doubt will have anything left over the summer but agree it’s a nice base if you don’t mind an early morning climb....
And Lloseta has 2 of the best restaurants on the island!

colster
Posts: 98
Joined: Wed Aug 08, 2012 11:02 pm
Location: West Yorkshire, UK

by colster

Thanks for the input guys, I am actually now thinking of making the trip to Mallorca later in the year (prob late Sept/early Oct) and doing my mid-summer cycling trip to Scotland instead.

I go on cycling holidays to hunt out new climbs so definitely inclined toward the north of the island, may seek out accomodation in Soler.

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otoman
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Joined: Wed Sep 17, 2008 6:25 pm
Location: Nashville

by otoman

Good point Leviathan.... now that you say it, I did have a very nice lunch in Lloseta. I must have been a little hangry as I was rolling through there haha
Age and treachery shall overcome youth and skill

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themidge
Posts: 1528
Joined: Fri Jan 13, 2017 4:19 pm
Location: underneath sweet Scottish rain

by themidge

colster wrote:
Thu May 17, 2018 9:53 pm
...and doing my mid-summer cycling trip to Scotland instead.
Good plan! If it isn't raining, it gets very nice here in Scotland, especially on the west coast, which tends to be warmer in summer than the east. It may be tempting to go somewhere really remote, but while it may be beautiful, there are often quite few roads which don't join up very well. I've heard Mallorca is nicer in Spring/Autumn too, as its cooler and less busy.

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JKolmo
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Joined: Sat Feb 10, 2007 2:00 pm

by JKolmo

colster wrote:
I go on cycling holidays to hunt out new climbs so definitely inclined toward the north of the island, may seek out accomodation in Soler.
Then you should check out Sobremunt!

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fromtrektocolnago
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Joined: Sat Dec 07, 2013 10:15 pm

by fromtrektocolnago

i did Mallorca in 2014 & 2015 and stayed in Alcudia and Port Pollenca. It's good if you want to cycle up Cap de Fomentor and still be able to hit Puig Major and Sa Collabra. It's a resort area though so it will not feel very authentic at all. The group I rode with has since moved their base to Soller which gets you closer to Valdemossa but farther from Cap De Fomentor.

Not to hijack a thread but after two years of cycling in Mallorca I've gravitated toward Girona which I prefer. Mallorca has some things going for it and Cap De Fomentor and Puig Major are classic rides. The island is just a tad busy with cyclists.
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