Suggestions for Palma de Mallorca

[Billybob62]

Anybody have any suggestions as to how to best spend the day (6-7 hours) in Palma de Mallorca :) :). What are the highlights and can we do this on our own or do we need a guide? Thanks for any advice.

[tom_uk]

Depends on what you like doing.

 

If you like beach life, then get a bus (or a taxi) and head west from the cruise terminal - just a few miles - to the resort area of Palma Nova where you'll find a beach and all that goes with it. The resorts then extend for further 10 miles or so to the west.

 

If you like history/culture, however, then either head eastwards into Palma old town - behnd the Cathedral, which you really can't miss - and just wander around. There are plenty of restaurants, cafes and bars that will provide food & drink. Or go up to Castell Belver - best get a taxi, about 10 or 12 Euros - up above the town. It's the building that looks just like a castle that you can see on the skyline!

 

I don't know how Palma compares as a shopping centre, but I would imagine 'reasonably well'. There are a lot of shops in the area of the new city area, around Placa Espana and Placa Major, which again you can get to easily - either bus or taxi from the cruise terminal.

 

All the above you can do on you own, especially if you do some research. The bus company is called 'Transports Islas Baleares' or something like that, and they have a website.

 

But Mallorca is a very beautiful island away from Palma, and there may be excursions to places like Deia and Port Andratx, or Pollenca. They would be worth considering as well.

[Andee]

I agree with the idea of exploring the old city of Palma.

 

There is also a Bus Turustic that will give you a nice tour of the city, and you can get off at whatever stops interest you.

[Jane110]

We walked off the ship and negotiated a rate with one of the many taxi's waiting in a line. They had printed up forms with prices and places.

 

We hired a wonderful guide for the entire day and went up to Valdemosta ( a don't miss!) as well as other small towns. At the end of the day, he left us off in the downtown area so we had a couple of hours to walk around town.

 

Jane

[SheilaNC]

When will you be there. We're doing a week on Mallorca in March and I'll be happy to post when we return if the timeframe is right for you

[Billybob62]

Sheila: This is Billybob from Atlanta who got you the e-mail from the Marriott in Quito for your pottery. Guess we are following you all over the world. We will be in Palma in early May off the Noordam. Any info on your visit will be great; you were wonderful with your info in the Galapagos. What ship will you be on and what other ports are you visiting. Look forward to hearing from you.:) :)

[Billybob62]

Sheila: I should have read your post more closely; it does not sound like you are a cruise after all. Anyway, whatever info you have on how to best spend the day will be great.:) :)

[SheilaNC]

BillyBob,

So good to hear from you again. It's amazing how many of the Xpedition cruisers seem to chose the same itineraries. I'll be glad to post (or send you) our best choices in Palma and the rest of Mallorca. We're not doing a cruise this time - we will be at a Marriott timeshare for a week, so we'll have lots of time to figure out the best use of your day there. And thanks again for the pottery info from Quito...love it!

[Jayayeff]

Anybody have any suggestions as to how to best spend the day (6-7 hours) in Palma de Mallorca :) :). What are the highlights and can we do this on our own or do we need a guide? Thanks for any advice.

 

I was on a cruise last summer that spent a Sunday in Palma de Mallorca and I arranged a surprise day out for a couple from Florida that I 'met' through CC. In the morning we took a cab from the pier and then did a return trip on the Tren de Soller which is a very old narrow guage railway that runs through the mountains from Palma to the west coast port of Soller - well almost the last few kms of the journey from the train terminus to the actual port town is by tram. When we got back in the afternoon we did the hop-on hop-off open top bus tour of Palma, which we hopped off back at the pier to reboard the ship around 5p.m. As a Brit I had been to Mallorca several times before but this was a first for my American friends and they thoroughly enjoyed the day doing domething completely different to the usual bus/taxi/guided tour of the island.

[tom_uk]

In the morning we took a cab from the pier and then did a return trip on the Tren de Soller which is a very old narrow guage railway that runs through the mountains from Palma to the west coast port of Soller - well almost the last few kms of the journey from the train terminus to the actual port town is by tram.

 

One of the problems with a question like this is 'where to stop?'. I've stayed at Port de Soller - quite quiet, very beautiful. And Soller town is also well worth a stroll and a meal in the main square.

 

Another thing to think about is a drive along the top of the Serra de Tramuntana, the mountains along the north/north-east coast of Mallorca. There's a narrw, windy road along there. The Monastir de Lluc (just off the mountain road) is well worth a visit - again, quite quiet, spectacular location. But this is quite a long way from Palma, and driving along the mountain road is slow. You definitely don't want to end up trying to hurry back to Palma along that road!

[meicha]

How easy is it to get a cab from Castell Belver back to the ship or center of town? I've heard people say that you can walk to town, but that its a 30 to 40 minute walk. This is a bit on the long side for me.

[DrJay]

What was the time length of the tour....and how much did it cost?

[poss]

For those who know both, if you had a choice of either Soller or Valledemosa (sp?), which would you recommend? Our ship's excursions go to both, but not together. I've decided against Caves of Dracha since we've done them before, but I don't know either of the two places I mentioned above. I'm not real excited about little railways, but if Soller is the more handsome/interesting town, that's what matters.

Thanks.

[poss]

Shouldn't this post be on the Spain board?

[seastar2]

The train sounds interesting but does anyone have any other suggestions....We were here years ago but all we recall is the caves and shopping for pearls with our Mothers......:confused: