Travel to Palma de Mallorca
Flying to Palma de Mallorca
Airlines offering flights from the UK to Palma include British Airways, easyJet, Monarch and Ryanair. Palma is an extremely popular destination in summer although airfares are cheap almost all year round. You can often find great bargains during the off-peak season such as November and December. If travelling from the USA, the quickest route is via Madrid.
Flight times
From London - 2 hours 25 minutes; New York - 10 hours 10 minutes (including stopover); Los Angeles - 15 hours (including stopover); Toronto - 12 hours (including stopover); Sydney - 25 hours 30 minutes (including stopover).
Travel by road
In Spain, traffic drives on the right and the minimum driving age is 18 years. Road conditions are excellent. Speed limits are 120kph (74mph) on motorways, 100kph (62mph) on dual carriageways, 90kph (56mph) outside built-up areas and 50kph (31mph) within towns, unless otherwise stated.
A valid driving licence and third-party insurance are required to drive in Spain. National licences from EU countries are accepted. An International Driving Permit is required for visitors from outside the EU.
Real Automóvil Club de España (RACE) (tel: +34 900 100 992; www.race.es) has reciprocal agreements with the AA and RAC in the UK and the AAA in the USA.
Emergency breakdown services
Real Automóvil Club de España (RACE) (tel: +34 902 112 222).
Routes
Palma is easily accessible by road, thanks to Mallorca’s highly developed road network. The island’s three motorways all merge on Palma’s Via Cintura (ring road): the Llevant motorway comes in from the west; the Ponent motorway from the east; and the central motorway from Inca and the northeast. It is easy to access all parts of Palma from the ring road.
Coaches
Transports de les Illes Balears (TIB) (tel: +34 971 177 777; www.consorcidetransports.org) operates regular bus services linking Palma to most main towns and resorts on the island. The information centre at Palma de Mallorca bus station, Carrer Eusebio Estada, can provide free route maps and timetables.
Time to city
From Inca - 25 minutes; Sóller - 30 minutes; Sa Pobla - 35 minutes; Alcúdia - 45 minutes; Pollença - 45 minutes; Manacor - 50 minutes; Capdepera - 1 hour 20 minutes.
Travel by Rail
Services
Palma’s railway station, Estació Intermodal, is located at Plaça d’Espanya. A narrow-gauge railway, the Ferrocarril d’Inca (Inca Railway), runs from Palma to Inca, Sa Pobla and Manacor every 20 to 25 minutes throughout the day, and takes approximately 40 minutes to Inca and one hour to Manacor.
An old wooden train, the Ferrocarril de Sóller (Sóller Railway) (tel: +34 971 752 051; www.trendesoller.com) runs from Palma to the mountain town of Sóller seven times a day, and takes about 55 minutes. Inter-Rail passes are not valid on either of the trains.
Operators
Trains in Mallorca are operated by SFM, Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca (tel: +34 971 177 777; www.trensfm.com). The operator manages the main train route on Mallorca as well as the metro system in Palma. As Mallorca is an island, train travel is obviously limited to within the island boundaries.
Transfer
From Inca - 35 minutes; Sa Pobla - 1 hour; Manacor - 1 hour.
