Majorca, Menorca or Ibiza? Choosing from Belfast
Three islands, one hour of flying time apart from each other, and genuinely different holidays. Most people pick on reputation, which is how they end up in the wrong one.
- Flight time
- 2h 50m – 3hfrom BFS
- Season
- May to October
- Direct from Belfast
- Yes
Side by side
| Majorca | Menorca | Ibiza | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airport | PMI | MAH | IBZ |
| Transfers | 15 min – 1h | 10–45 min | 10–50 min |
| Size | Large | Small | Small |
| Best beaches | North and south east | South coast coves | West and north coves |
| Hotel choice | Enormous | Limited | Moderate |
| Nightlife | Available if you want it | Almost none | World-famous, if you go looking |
| Cost in August | Moderate | Moderate | High |
| Needs a hire car | Helpful | Close to essential | Helpful |
Choose by what you actually want
A beach holiday with small children
Majorca, north coast. Alcúdia has a two-kilometre shallow sandy bay where you can walk a long way out and still be standing, and the density of family hotels around it means real competition on price. The transfer from Palma is about fifty-five minutes, which is the one drawback.
The best beaches, and you will work for them
Menorca. The south coast calas are the finest in the Balearics and several of the best have no road to them — you park and walk ten to thirty minutes through pine woods. That walk is exactly why they are still worth reaching.
A short transfer and somewhere interesting in the evening
Ibiza. Ten minutes from the terminal to the beach, and Dalt Vila, the walled old town, is a UNESCO site and the best evening on any of the three islands. The clubbing is entirely optional and geographically contained.
Something other than a beach
Majorca again, for the Tramuntana. A UNESCO mountain landscape of terraced hillsides, stone villages and a 1912 railway, all within an hour of the airport. Neither of the other islands has anything comparable.
The one thing that applies to all three
They have a hard season. From November to March, resort Majorca, Menorca and Ibiza genuinely shut — hotels boarded, restaurants closed, beach bars gone. The weather in those months is mild and pleasant, and there is nothing open at the other end.
The single exception is Palma, which is a real city of four hundred thousand people and works all year. If you see a cheap February flight to the Balearics, that is the only place worth landing.
Mistakes people make
Picking Ibiza off its reputation, in either direction. People book it expecting non-stop nightlife and find a quiet family resort, or avoid it entirely and miss the best old town of the three.
Booking November because the flight is cheap. All three islands close down. Palma keeps going; almost nothing else does.
Assuming Menorca is Majorca with fewer people. It has a different landscape, different beaches and far less infrastructure. That is either the appeal or the problem.
Ignoring the transfer difference. Palma to Alcúdia is an hour. Mahón to almost anywhere on Menorca is half that. With small children it matters.
Frequently asked questions
Which Balearic island is best for families?
Majorca's north coast, for the shallow sandy bay at Alcúdia and the volume of family hotels. Menorca is the better beach island but needs a car and more walking.
Which is cheapest?
Majorca, because supply is enormous. Ibiza in August is by some distance the most expensive.
Which has the shortest flight from Belfast?
There is almost nothing in it — all three sit around two hours fifty. The differences are on the ground.
Can I visit more than one?
Ferries connect them, but it costs the better part of a day each way. On a week's holiday, pick one.
Before you book
- Guide
What actually fits in hand luggage
Why bags that fit at home fail at the gate, and the measurement everyone gets wrong.
- Explainer
Flight only, or a package?
What the bundle is really worth, and the protection you lose by booking the parts separately.
- 2h 50m
Majorca
Under three hours from Belfast and the shortest transfer list in the Mediterranean. Majorca's problem is not getting there — it is that four completely different holidays are sold under one island's name.