Palma- What did you do, or what will you do?

[maidut]

Trying to figure out what to do on Palma. The trip we had planned was cancelled, so now I am re-thinking what I am doing.

 

Any suggestions, ideas, expertise, etc will be greatly appreciated.

 

Some ideas...rental car, hire a driver, HOHO, train to Soller, cave of Ham or Caves of Drach, the beach...???

[tom_uk]

We've been to Palma a few times, both n holidays & on cruises. Here are mu thoughts:

 

a) do Palma old town. Especially, visit the Cathedral (gothic, which is a surprise in the Med, and one of the very biggest anywhere); wander round the lanes in the old town; visit a museum or two (we loved the studio/gallery/museum for the painter J Torrents Llado);

 

b) visit Castell Belver, high above the city. There's an interesting museum inside on the history of Palma;

 

c) as you suggest, do the train ride to Soller, and then the old tram to Port de Soller. Get the bus back.

 

d) go to the beach! - that's what Mallorca is famous for. There are many beaches and resorts, but you can get a bus from near the cruise port to a good beach at Illetes.

 

e) for longer trips you'll need to hire a car. Possible targets for day trips would include Port de Soller, Valldemosa & Deia on the NW coast; the Monastir de Lluc, way up in the mountains (but beware of the mountain road with hairpin bends and very steep drops....); Pollenca & Alcudia up in the NE of the island.

 

There are lots of choices on Mallorca. Here are a couple of website that might be useful:-

TIB, for buses around the island;

EMT, for buses in Palma.

[maidut]

Thanks for the great replies. I will look into those options.

 

Did you reply on public tranpsort, or hire a car? (when there for a day w/ a cruise?)

[tom_uk]

Thanks for the great replies. I will look into those options.

 

Did you reply on public tranpsort, or hire a car? (when there for a day w/ a cruise?)

 

When we were there for the cruise we were in fact only there for about 6 hours, so we got a taxi straight to Castell Belver, then walked from there down the hill (along a path winding through bushes & trees) to the main road and then into the city, where we enjoyed a drink & an ice, then got a taxi back to the port.

 

Since then we've had a holiday on the island, and we spent some days at a hotel in Palma and a few more days up at Port de Pollenca. We used public transport, both city and island-wide buses during our time in Palma, and hired a car for the later days at Port de Pollenca. We thought the city buses especially were very good: modern buses with electronic displays of the next stop inside, and a flat fare of €1 per person per trip when we were there. (The #1 bus, from the airport through the city to the cruise port, has a flat fare of €2.) But the island-wide buses, the TIB buses, were also very good - we've used them quite a few times. Depending on the route they can be quite slow, however: we went from Palma to Port d'Andratx on the west coast, which isn't many miles, and it must have taken nearly two hours because the bus visits a lot of small resorts on the way. However the direct bus from Palma to Port de Soller (the route described as 'tunel' - it goes through a tunnel under the mountains) is quite fast - I think the scheduled time is just under 40 minutes.

 

So my view is that public transport on the island is worth using, and safe to use.

[MightyQuinn]

Tom-UK: can you offer any comments on Bellver Castle? Would you say it's a don't miss? I understand it's in the opposite direction of Old Town & most other attractions on Palma, so we're not sure whether to go there or not. Thanks!