Balearic Islands Cruise Ports
Made up of Majorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera, each island is a tourist destination in its own right and thanks to been small islands in one of the world’s busiest cruise regions, it is no surprise that the Balearic Islands are also popular with cruise ships.
Its main port is the port of Palma de Mallorca which acts not only as a popular port of call but also as one of the leading turnaround ports in the Mediterranean, which makes it a great starting port for those who want to spend time exploring the islands before or after their cruise holiday.
The Balearic Islands offer a chance to experience a unique experience when cruising in the Western Mediterranean as the islands offer a mix of Catalan and Spanish culture, but each also offer their own twist.
That makes each worth visiting, if you get the chance to island hop whilst cruising the region and whilst they often get a poor reputation as party islands, away from the big resorts there is a great amount of history, culture, natural beauty and great attractions just waiting to be explored.
Cruises To The Balearic Islands
Cruise Holidays in Balearic Islands
The Balearic Islands can give some people thoughts of family holidays in big seaside holiday resorts or holidays with friends spent bar hopping and clubbing but something that often get overlooked are the historic capitals of the islands that are where the locals reside.
With each island the perfect size to explore on a day ashore, you can go anywhere you want to whilst off of your ship, so no matter if you want a day at the beach, a day shopping or a day visiting attractions or exploring, you can all of that and more in the Balearic Islands.
Our Visit
I have visited the region many times down the years but my first cruise to the islands came in October 2023 when we called in Palma on Mallorca and Ibiza Town on Ibiza as part of a repositioning cruise between Southampton to Barcelona onboard the Norwegian Prima cruise ship.
In both ports we would simply walk around the city centres and in Ibiza Town we would head up the fortress, whilst in Palma, we would walk around the outside of the Cathedral.
In both ports, you dock quite some way from the attractions of been there with a shuttle bus needed in Palma and whilst that was offered in Ibiza Town, we would take a ferry boat across the harbour to the old town.
Balearic Islands Cruise Guide
The Balearic Islands are easy to explore via cruise ships with each of its main islands offering a cruise port cable of hosting a wide variety of cruise ships whilst its small islands can easily be visited via a regular ferry service from the cruise ports.
Popular Ports
The only turnaround around port in the region is on the island of Mallorca and its capital city of Palma de Mallorca.
It is a popular choice for cruise and stay operators, allowing cruisers to spend time in one of the islands beach resorts before or after their cruise to enjoy all that Majorca has to offer.
Far away from the beach resorts and nightclubs so often associated with the island of Ibiza, its capital city of Ibiza Town is full of history, culture and offers a must more authentic day ashore.
Mahon is the capital of Menorca and is its main cruise ship that makes it simply to enjoy exploring the capital on your own or for setting off for a day of exploring all that the island has to offer.
Balearic Islands Cruise Destinations
The island of Mallorca, most commonly spelt in English as Majorca, is one of Spain top tourist hot spots with millions heading there for its sun, sea and beaches.
There is much more to the island of that including some incredible scenery, lots of history and Catalan culture and of course its famous Cathedral in the capital city of Palma.
The island of Ibiza is known as a party island but there is so much more to it than that and thankfully, from our point of view anyway, you are far from the party resorts and in a beautiful part of the island that is great to explore.
Menorca is an often-overlooked holiday destination in the Balearics and the same can be said for those heading there on a cruise.
It is often only smaller or more luxurious cruise ships that visit the island but if you are lucky enough to go, that lack of been over commercial really helps and you can have a much more authentic Balearic experience.
Popular Cruise Lines
Just about every cruise line that operates in Europe offers itineraries calling into at least one of the islands in the Balearics with the likes of Cunard, Royal Caribbean, Seabourn, MSC Cruises, Marella Cruises, Oceania Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Regent Seven Seas, Explora Journeys, Silversea Cruises, Princess Cruises, Virgin Voyages, Celebrity Cruises, Costa Cruises and P&O Cruises all offering a wide range of trips there.
Balearic Islands
Location: Mediterranean Sea
Capital City: Palma
Currency: Euro
Language: Catalan, Spanish
Demonym(s): Balearic, Balear
Top Ports: Palma, Mahon, Ibiza Town
The Balearic Islands is a small archipelago in the Western Mediterranean that is an autonomous community of Spain that is culturally part of Catalonia.
The island group receive autonomy from Spain in 1983 and declared Palma on the island of Mallorca as its capital city.
There are 4 larger habited islands that are popular with holidaymakers (Majorca, Ibiza, Menorca, Formentera) and there are a number of small islands that are hard to even visit (Cabrera, Dragonera, S’Espalmador).
The islands offering year around sun, great beaches and are know for there huge nightclubs and for been party islands but away from those all-action resorts, there is lots to see and do.
Best Time To Visit
The Balearic Islands are a year around destination and offers warm weather throughout the year, so any time is really a great time to visit.
In the winter, you can get a lot of storms in the region and the summer months see millions of holidaymakers from around the world head there to take advantage of the sun which can lead to all of the cities you dock in been very crowded.
With that in mind, we would recommend visiting either May-early July or September to October to take advantage of the sun and calmer seas.
Resort Cruises From The UK
If you want to visit the port directly from the UK, you can do and there are a wide range itinerary sailing there from multiple cruise ports around these shores.
Cruisers can choose from round trips, and take away the need for flying, or you can do repositioning cruise and spend more time into one of the great turnaround ports in the region.
Resort Cruises From Southampton
The port of Southampton offers the widest range of itineraries, lines and ships sailing between the UK and the Balearics.
Here at CruiseHols.co.uk we bring you all of the information you will ever need to choose the right cruise destination for you and your family.
Our destination guides include everything from ports to attractions and excursion to the positives and negatives of the destination.
