Mallorca North & the Tramuntana
The wild side of Mallorca: the UNESCO Serra de Tramuntana plunging into the sea at Sa Calobra and Deià, the dramatic Formentor headland, and the sheltered bays of Pollença and Sóller.
North of Palma the mountains take over: an unbroken UNESCO World Heritage wall of limestone runs from Sóller to Cap de Formentor and drops sheer into the water. There is no superyacht marina here — only anchorages, cliff villages, and a handful of hotels that have quietly hosted Grace Kelly and Churchill for a century, on a coast the Douglas–Zeta-Jones family have called home since 1990. It is a coast for the tender and the eye, not the berth.
"Palma performs for the marina. Sóller and Formentor perform for no one."
The gallery
Signature anchorages
- Sa Calobra8–11m, rock/sand/posidonia (seagrass) · sheltered NE through SW, exposed to the north the Tramuntana rides in on · the Torrent de Pareis gorge opens straight into the anchorage.
- Cala Tuent2–10m, sand/posidonia (seagrass) · well sheltered NE through W · the quiet bay one cove south of Sa Calobra, walled in by the mountains.
- Cala Deià4m off the jetty, or 8–12m sand further out · exposed to northerly swell · Ca's Patró March built into the rock, a short climb below Belmond La Residencia.
- Cala/Platja de Formentormanaged buoy field to ~25m (reservation) or free anchor beyond the 15m contour, 3–5m sand · caution on SE–SW wind · fronts the Royal Hideaway's pine-backed beach.
- Cala Sant Vicençanchor at the bay's head, ~200m off, clear of an inshore reef · avoid N–NE wind · four linked coves behind an old fishing village near Pollença.
The scene
A coast of hotels, not clubs — the guest books do the talking.
Formentor, a Royal Hideaway Hotel
At the cape's tip. Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier honeymooned here; Churchill, Chaplin, Audrey Hepburn and the Dalai Lama all signed the book.
Belmond La Residencia
A 16th-century manor with its own art collection; recent guests on record include Princess Diana, Dua Lipa, Tom Hanks, U2 and Sting.
S'Estaca
Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones's 190-acre coastal estate between Deià and Valldemossa, with its own pier and vineyard, theirs since 1990.
Cala Deià & the coast road
Ca's Patró March featured in The Night Manager; Deià, Sóller and Valldemossa recur through The Mallorca Files.
Table & stay ashore
Es Racó d'es Teix
Deià — chef-owner Josef Sauerschell, a stone house with a mountain-view terrace, starred since 2002.
Béns d'Avall
Near Sóller — Benet and Jaume Vicens on updated Mallorcan cuisine, cliffside over the Tramuntana coast road.
Ca's Patró March
Cala Deià — fresh fish built into the cove's rock, boat access on calm days.
Belmond La Residencia
Deià — the 16th-century manor hotel, hillside above the village.
Formentor, a Royal Hideaway
Cap de Formentor — the 1929 original, pine forest to private beach.
Jumeirah Port Sóller Hotel & Spa
Clifftop above the port, Talise Spa, an adults-only infinity pool over the bay.
The week, sketched
Palma to Port de Sóller
Round the coast from Palma; first night in or off the port, dinner ashore at Jumeirah's Es Fanals or in Sóller town.
Sa Calobra
Cruise beneath the Tramuntana cliffs to the Torrent de Pareis gorge mouth; tender ashore, back to anchor for the night.
Cala Tuent
The quieter neighbouring bay — a slow day at anchor under the mountains.
Cala Deià
Anchor off the jetty, lunch at Ca's Patró March, an afternoon up in Deià village and Belmond La Residencia; dinner at Es Racó d'es Teix or Béns d'Avall.
Valldemossa
Ashore for the Real Cartuja, the former royal monastery where Chopin and George Sand wintered in 1838–39; back aboard by evening.
Cap de Formentor
Round the headland into the buoy field off Platja de Formentor; a shore afternoon at the Royal Hideaway.
Cala Sant Vicenç & Pollença
The last of the north-coast coves, or turn south back toward Palma to close the loop.
The near coast
The Sóller and Deià end of the coast only, skipping the run out to Formentor.
Palma to Port de Sóller
Round the coast from Palma; berth at the private Marina Tramontana or anchor off, dinner in Sóller town.
Sa Calobra
Beneath the Tramuntana cliffs to the Torrent de Pareis gorge mouth; tender ashore, back to anchor for the night.
Cala Deià
Lunch at Ca's Patró March, an afternoon up in Deià village past Belmond La Residencia; dinner at Es Racó d'es Teix.
Sóller, at leisure
A slow day at anchor off the port; the vintage train up to Palma for those who want the ride, or simply the bay and the Jumeirah's Talise Spa.
Return to Palma
Round the coast back south to close the loop.
Dragonera to Formentor
The whole coast, cape to cape, with the Douglas–Zeta-Jones shoreline and the royal monastery worked in.
Palma, round Sa Dragonera, to Sóller
Out past Sa Dragonera's protected headland — permission needed within 50m in season — then north to Sóller; first night at Marina Tramontana or at anchor.
Sa Calobra
Beneath the cliffs to the Torrent de Pareis gorge; tender ashore into the ravine.
Cala Tuent
The quiet neighbouring bay, walled in by the mountains, for a slow day at anchor.
Cala Deià & S'Estaca
Anchor off the jetty, lunch at Ca's Patró March; heading north, the wooded shoreline of S'Estaca — Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones's estate since 1990 — passes to starboard.
Valldemossa
Ashore for the Real Cartuja, the former royal monastery where Chopin and George Sand wintered in 1838–39; dinner at Béns d'Avall on the cliff road back down.
Cap de Formentor
Round the headland into the buoy field off Platja de Formentor; an afternoon at the Royal Hideaway, open since 1929.
Cala Sant Vicenç
The four linked coves behind the old fishing village near Pollença, anchored clear of the inshore reef.
Pollença & return south
A morning ashore before the long run back to Palma to close the loop.
Pair with
The year, measured
Monthly means at the heart of this water — daily maxima averaged, wind as mean daily peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air, day °C | 13 | 15 | 16 | 18 | 22 | 27 | 30 | 30 | 26 | 22 | 17 | 15 |
| Sea °C | 16 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 20 | 24 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 25 | 20 | 17 |
| Wind, peak kt | 10 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 10 |
ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo · 2019–2023 means · sea temperature 2022–2023
The yachts that run these waters
Profiles from the record — introductions via the harbour desk.
Read on: WAKE — the magazine · the guides · the glossary