VAN-COMPARATOR Guide
Hiring a campervan in Mallorca: the Tramuntana from Palma
Mallorca by van: what makes the island magical (and demanding) — Tramuntana mountain roads, scarce campsites, regulated overnight parking, and the right vehicle for it.
Mallorca is far more than its beaches: the Serra de Tramuntana, a UNESCO site, offers some of Europe's finest mountain roads. By van the island is magnificent — provided you know its particular rules, which differ sharply from the mainland.
What changes in the Balearics
First peculiarity: campsites are very scarce — a handful across the whole island, where the mainland lines up hundreds. Second: overnight parking is strictly regulated in most coastal municipalities, with genuine enforcement in summer. The strategy that works: alternate the few campsites and authorised areas, book early, and favour a compact vehicle that parks like a car. Free camping is not a plan in Mallorca — it is fine territory.
The right vehicle: compact, genuinely
The Tramuntana roads are narrow, hairpinned, sometimes length-restricted — the famous Sa Calobra road forgives nothing above mid-size. The obvious choice: a compact campervan or mini-camper (under 5.5 m), rented on the spot in Palma at 80-140 € per day in summer, distinctly less in the shoulder months. A-class motorhomes and long RVs should stay on the mainland.
The one-week itinerary
- Days 1-2: Palma and the south-west, coves and hillside villages.
- Days 3-5: the Tramuntana — Valldemossa, Deià, Sóller, the Puig Major pass — sleeping in the Sóller valley.
- Days 6-7: the north, Pollença and the Formentor peninsula (summer access by shuttle: park the van, the system is designed for it).
When to go
April-May and October are perfect: 20-25 °C, open roads, more relaxed parking. July-August stacks heat, crowds and maximum restrictions. Budget 900-1,400 € for a week for two in the shoulder season, all in. Ferries from Barcelona and Valencia do let you bring a van across, but for a single week, renting on the island is almost always cheaper. Van-Comparator compares the vehicles available in Palma across Yescapa, Goboony and Indie Campers — the compacts go fast, book two to three months out.