01
Mallorca
Suits: Short journeys, families, spring and autumn
Two islands in one: the Tramuntana in the north-west with mountain villages and cool evenings, the south with coves and light. Everything is under an hour from the airport.
Mallorca
Destination
Spain
A country that is one journey in spring and quite another in August.
Spain
Spain is often reduced to an island or a city. Both fall short. Andalusia in April, Mallorca in October and the Basque Country in November are three entirely different journeys — in pace and in what you pack.
We plan Spain from the season outwards. The region then almost chooses itself.
Why we recommend it
- Because the flight is short and the infrastructure dependable — good for first journeys and for families.
- Because the houses here often grew out of fincas and monasteries, and so carry a calm new-build cannot.
- Because spring and autumn give the country two windows in which nearly everything works at once.
Regions
Which region suits which journey
Four regions and the season in which each works.
02
Andalusia
Suits: Spring, culture, journeys by car
Seville, Granada and Ronda make a week nobody forgets — from March to May. In summer everything moves to the water or up into the sierra.
03
Costa del Sol and Sotogrande
Suits: Families, golf, longer stays
For guests who want infrastructure: golf, riding, short distances and dependable weather from April to November.
04
The Basque Country
Suits: Autumn, food, three or four nights
San Sebastián and its hinterland are a destination in themselves — green, cooler, and the most interesting corner of the country at the table.
Hotels
Houses we recommend
Houses we recommend in Spain — island, inland and coast.
Mallorca
Cap Rocat
A nineteenth-century fortress on the bay of Palma, cut into rock and converted so carefully the intervention barely registers. Not a house for people who need a beach — one for people who want silence.
Why this house
A fortress above the sea, twenty minutes from the airport — the easiest very good short journey we know.
- Suits
- Couples who want to be twenty minutes from Palma and still entirely alone.
- Season
- May, June, September and October.
Deià, Mallorca
La Residencia
Two sixteenth-century manor houses above the artists' village of Deià, among olive groves and citrus. The combination of art collection, Tramuntana light and long house history exists nowhere else on Mallorca.
Why this house
Deià in the Tramuntana: olive terraces, art in the house, cool evenings. Best in spring.
- Suits
- Families and couples who want to move between walking, painting and doing nothing.
- Season
- April to June and September to October; Deià is quiet in winter but much is shut.
Puigpunyent, Mallorca
Son Net
A 1672 country estate in the Tramuntana, run after long restoration as a house rather than a resort. Art on the walls, terraces under old trees, almost no noise.
Why this house
A country house inland for guests who want Mallorca without the coastal traffic.
- Suits
- Travellers who want the island inland, with occasional runs to the sea.
- Season
- April to June and September to October.
Santanyí, Mallorca
Can Ferrereta
A seventeenth-century town house in the quiet south-east, with sandstone, cool courtyards and a walled garden. More restrained than almost anything on the island.
Why this house
The quiet south-east, small and pleasantly unassuming — bearable even at the height of summer.
- Suits
- Couples who want to stay on foot in a real town rather than inside a resort.
- Season
- May, June and September. Santanyí holds its market on Saturdays.
Casares, Andalusien
Finca Cortesín
An Andalusian estate between Marbella and Sotogrande with unusually generous rooms, mature trees and one of Europe's more demanding golf courses. Quiet, despite the Costa del Sol address.
Why this house
Andalusia for longer family stays: golf, a beach club, plenty of space and good organisation.
- Suits
- Families and golfing travellers who need space and still want privacy.
- Season
- April to June and September to November.
Related journeys
Andalusia drives well; the distances are short and the cities sit close together.
- Andalusia by Road
Seville, Ronda, Sierra de Grazalema, Cádiz
Best time to travel
When to go
In Spain the month decides the region, not the other way around.
March to June
Andalusia is in flower, Mallorca green and empty. The best time for cities and landscape; the sea only warms from June.
July and August
Hot and busy, extreme inland. Worthwhile on the coast, in the Tramuntana or in the cooler north.
September to November
Warm sea into October, quiet houses, mild evenings. The Basque Country is at its best now.
Our Recommendations
If we could only name a few places
When is Mallorca really worth it?
From mid-April to early June and from mid-September to late October. The roads are clear, restaurants take you without a booking and the houses are half full. In July and August the drive to the north coast doubles — travelling then, stay in the south or inland.
Noted by Pure Voyage
Common questions
What guests ask us about this
- Mallorca or the mainland?
- Mallorca when sea and short distances matter — especially in May, June and September. The mainland when cities, landscape and food should carry the trip. Both together need at least two weeks.
- How busy is Spain in August?
- On the coast, very. Inland, in the mountains and in the north it stays surprisingly calm — that is where we prefer to plan August trips.
Continue through Pure Voyage
Where to go from here
Not a catalogue, but a next step: the houses, routes, countries and essays we would mention at this point in a conversation.
Hotels
Addresses that belong beside this page.
Journeys
Routes that open up this region.
Recommendations
What we suggest for this occasion.
Journal
Further reading before you decide.
An Invitation
Once a month: hotels, new openings and travel ideas
One hotel that convinced us, with our advice on suite and season. The openings that actually matter. And a destination at its best right now. No offers, no advertising.