Ibiza or Mallorca

[Toomanysquishmallows]

Hi , I would like some advice please . I’m 50 and dd1 is 24 . We were looking to go away for a few days next summer and were wondering if Ibiza or Mallorca would be better. We both love old towns and nice ( vegetarian) food , another point is neither of us drive . We would be looking for a mid price range hotel . I would be grateful for any advice, thank you in advance.

I don't know Ibiza. I've been to Mallorca and Menorca, and my experience was that Menorca was more chilled and the two cities there are lovely to wander, eat and shop in. Cuitadella is at the west side and is an old beautiful small city, lovely architecture and markets and near to good beaches. Mahon a bigger port city, great for shopping and wandering and lots to see and do

@Vinoveritass , thank you , that sounds like exactly the sort of thing we are after .

Just to add have you considered Malta, loads of history, beautiful food and the best travel, bus system, boat trips etc it would suit you both 100%

Thank you @wellthisisakward , we honestly hadn’t considered Malta , we will take a look .

Mahon was recommended to me on here as well last year for a trip with my daughter and it worked very well.
The two cities are very nice to walk around and there are lots of little boutique shops.
We took a cruise around the harbour and also a trip across to Isla del Rey to the modern art installation which we both really enjoyed.
It is easy to get around by bus to the main towns so no need for a car.
In the summer (from July) there are buses to some of the more remote beaches, although it is best to pre-book a seat (easy to do via an app) as these ones are quite small buses due to the roads in those areas.

Ibiza is more expensive than Mallorca on the whole due to the number of people drawn to the island for the famous nightlife. I love Ibiza and the accessibility to beautiful Formentera (short ferry from Ibiza town) but think I’d prefer a break away with my mum in Palma.
The public transport in and around Palma is excellent; you can track the buses on your phone. There’s also a train station so you can easily catch a train to other lovely towns. You’d most likely enjoy going to Soller on the historic train through the breathtaking scenery https://trendesoller.com/eng/routes/train.php?register_vars%5BckAnalitica%5D=1

Shopping in Palma is excellent - from high end designer (good people watching at the coffee shops opposite) to high street favourites like Zara. There are also lots of museums, including the beautiful cathedral. We had a city based hotel with a rooftop pool which I recommend.

Other posters have mentioned Mahon. I agree it’s beautiful, but you can see it all in a couple of hours meaning you’d spend more time having to use public transport to get around. There’s also no train. For that reason, we hired a car and it took 40ish minutes to get to Citudella - would be much longer on the bus!!

I think Palma would be your best choice.

I agree with @countdowntonap and go to Mallorca. Whilst I really liked Ibiza I think Mallorca has a lot more going on.

Palma is a great and quite sophisticated city and taking the wooden train out to Soller is a fabulous day trip.

Ibiza old town is lovely but to get the most from Ibiza you’d need to drive to go to the cool little towns. It’s good for veggie food

@Toomanysquishmallows valleta is gorgeous. We stayed at this rather fabulous boutique hotel called the Roselli - rooftop pool , right in the heart.

Of your choices I would stay in Mallorca in Palma itself or in illetas or portal Nous or paguera . The reason being it has a terrific regular bus service along that coast , lovely beaches and if you hit a poor day you can just pop into Palma easily and cheaply. I personally love staying in Palma itself (fabulous restaurants) and popping 'out' to beach resorts ( easy on the bus) also from Palma you can easily get to Valdemossa on the bus or Soller (also lovely) on the beautiful old train that goes thru the mountains.

Thank you all so much for your help , I will discuss all the suggestions with my daughter.

Any of the Balearics would fit the Bill. Personally I’d say Mallorca is easier for getting about by bus and seeing lovely places. Palma is a great base but agree with trips to Valldemosa, Soller, Port de Soller plus also Port Andratx, Alucudia old town, Pollensa and Porto Cristo. Or base yourself I’m a resort close to Palma.

We stay here in Palma OP- it's a quiet area, quite funky, great Japanese across the road and 5 to 10 minutes walk to the main shopping area- lovely rooftop pool and bar- they do a very mean Aperol spritz!! -

protur-hotels.com/en/hotels-in-majorca/protur-naisa-palma