Palma de Mallorca
Discover Palma de Mallorca
Palma de Mallorca is the chief city of the island of Mallorca, and the capital of the entire Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean. With a population of 423,000 in 2022, it's home to half the people of Mallorca, and in summer feels like it contains half the people of Europe. A swathe of boxy hotels stretches out for 20 km on either side, and its airport is the entry point for all the resorts on the island. Yet for all the modern mediocrity, Palma retains a fine Old Town, with the highlights its cathedral and royal palace. Palma is also the admin centre for the uninhabited Cabrera islands 20 km south of Mallorca. They're a national park; boat trips visit but they're not described here.
Taste of Palma de Mallorca...
High season is July to September, when Mallorca is mobbed by visitors from Germany, the UK and Ireland. Many hotels close in winter. As of June 2024, Palma has 4G from MasMovil/Yoigo, and 5G from Movistar, Orange and Vodafone. Take great care of valuables, as the town centre has pickpockets a-plenty. Flower girls, street touts and other "distractors" may be working in cahoots with them. Old Town and El Terreno can be sleazy at night. There are lots of drug misusers, and drink-spiking is not uncommon. The people of Mallorca regard themselves as Catalan, not Spanish. Respect this, though your roto attempts to speak mainland (Castilian) Spanish will earn more kudos than insisting on English.
Essential Information
Getting There
Multiple Options39.5516752.7388081 Palma de Mallorca Airport (PMI ) (9 km southeast of Palma), ☏ +34 913 21 10 00. A large busy airport, with daily flights from many European cities, the UK, North Africa and within Spain. Opened in 1960, it shares its two runways with Son Sant Joan air force base. For practical purposes it operates as a single terminal, then after check-in and security your departure is from one of four "modules". Typically Module A is non-Schengen, B is small planes to Ibiza and Menorca, and C is Schengen, but check the screen. The airport has the usual facilities including car hire. (updated May 2024) Onward transport: EMT buses are blue, white and green and run year-round. Bus A1 runs to city centre (Porta des Camp, Sindicat Interchange, Railway Station, Alemanya Interchange and Passeig Mallorca) every 15 minutes from 06:15 to midnight then at 01:00, 02:00 and 03:00. Bus A2 runs southeast to S'Arenal hourly from 06:15 to 22:15. In 2024 the single adult fare for either is €5....
Getting Around & Staying
Getting Around
Buses within Palma city and its beach strip are run by EMT and are frequent. Bus CC orbits city centre M-F every 40 min and is free. Standard fares in 2024 are €2 within the city, €3 to the sea port and €5 to the airport, pay on board, no transfers permitted. A prepaid card for ten trips within the city is €15. These can be found from green vending machines around city centre bus stops (such as Plaza de España), and supposedly in news agents - though they're few and far between. Buses run by TIB do not allow journeys within the city limits. Trains to Inca and the Metro to Son Sardina and UIB make several stops in the north suburbs, but these are residential and industrial areas of no interest to most visitors. The inner streets are too narrow and crowded for comfortable cycling, but bike is a good option further out along the beach. There are eight bike rental shops in city centre and half-a-dozen more down the eastern strip beyond the airport.
Where to Stay
High season is July to September, when Mallorca is mobbed by visitors from Germany, the UK and Ireland. Many hotels close in winter. As of June 2024, Palma has 4G from MasMovil/Yoigo, and 5G from Movistar, Orange and Vodafone. Take great care of valuables, as the town centre has pickpockets a-plenty. Flower girls, street touts and other "distractors" may be working in cahoots with them. Old Town and El Terreno can be sleazy at night. There are lots of drug misusers, and drink-spiking is not uncommon. The people of Mallorca regard themselves as Catalan, not Spanish. Respect this, though your roto attempts to speak mainland (Castilian) Spanish will earn more kudos than insisting on English.
Money & Budget
As on the mainland, you need to be an EU citizen, and to have reasonably fluent Spanish. Speaking German is a plus as so many jobs in Palma are in the hospitality sector. High season is July to September, when Mallorca is mobbed by visitors from Germany, the UK and Ireland. Many hotels close in winter. As of June 2024, Palma has 4G from MasMovil/Yoigo, and 5G from Movistar, Orange and Vodafone. Take great care of valuables, as the town centre has pickpockets a-plenty. Flower girls, street touts and other "distractors" may be working in cahoots with them. Old Town and El Terreno can be sleazy at night. There are lots of drug misusers, and drink-spiking is not uncommon. The people of Mallorca regard themselves as Catalan, not Spanish.
Safety Information
Safety Overview
Take great care of valuables, as the town centre has pickpockets a-plenty. Flower girls, street touts and other "distractors" may be working in cahoots with them. Old Town and El Terreno can be sleazy at night. There are lots of drug misusers, and drink-spiking is not uncommon. The people of Mallorca regard themselves as Catalan, not Spanish. Respect this, though your roto attempts to speak mainland (Castilian) Spanish will earn more kudos than insisting on English.