Majorca essentials

Entry: EES and ETIAS (checked 22 October 2026)

The EU Entry/Exit System (EES) started on 12 October 2025 and was rolled out over six months at the Schengen area’s external borders (European Commission). If you are not an EU citizen, your passport details, fingerprints and a photo are recorded the first time you enter.

ETIAS, the travel authorisation for visa-exempt visitors, is not yet in operation: the official site says no applications are being collected and that the start date will be announced several months ahead. When it starts it will cost EUR 20 (travel-europe.europa.eu). Never pay an unofficial website.

The Balearic tourist tax

The Impuesto sobre Estancias Turísticas is charged per person per night by hotels, holiday apartments and other tourist accommodation in the Balearic Islands; under-16s are exempt, and the rate depends on the type of accommodation and the season (Llei 2/2016 and Decret 35/2016, atib.es). Your hotel collects it.

Driving: the Formentor road

In summer the DGT restricts traffic on the Ma-2210 to Cap de Formentor. In 2026 the scheme ran from 15 May to 18 October, 10am–10pm: private cars could reach the Formentor beach car park only while spaces remained, and beyond kilometre 2 only authorised vehicles, including the shuttle bus, taxis and bicycles, could continue (dgt.es). Check before you drive.

Mountain roads in the Tramuntana are narrow and shared with cyclists; allow plenty of time.

Buses, trains and ferries

EMT runs Palma’s city buses, including the airport line; TIB runs the island’s buses; SFM runs the trains to Inca, Sa Pobla and Manacor and Palma’s metro; and the wooden Sóller train, opened in 1912, crosses the mountains to Sóller, with a tram on to the port.

Baleària gives Mallorca–Ibiza as about 2h 15min and Ibiza–Formentera as 30 minutes, with departures every 45 minutes (balearia.com). Ferries to Menorca leave from Port d’Alcúdia: check operators and times on their own sites.

From the mainland, Baleària gives Valencia–Mallorca as about 9 hours, Dénia–Mallorca as 5h 15min, Barcelona–Ciutadella (Menorca) as 5h 15min or about three and a half hours on its fast ferry, and Dénia–Formentera as 2 hours (balearia.com, read 22 October 2026). Some routes are seasonal.

Anchoring and the Posidonia

Anchoring on the Posidonia seagrass meadows is generally prohibited in Balearic waters; use sand or authorised buoys (Decree 25/2018, caib.es). In the Ses Salines natural park between Ibiza and Formentera, bathing in or using the mud of Espalmador’s lagoon is prohibited, and Cabrera National Park requires an authorisation for your own boat.

Health and emergencies

Call 112 for police, fire or an ambulance. The main public hospital is Son Espases in Palma; see our health page. EU visitors should carry their European Health Insurance Card; everyone should have travel insurance.

Questions and answers