Getting Around Majorca Island

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Car
Having our own vehicle was very convenient because we saw many parts of the island the way we wanted but most important when we wanted. We could stop at view points or just relaxing on a village. Of course we could have seen some of the places we visited anyway by using public transport but we that could take double money and double (maybe more) time.
We booked our car in advance, the prices online are lower of course, we payed about 50euros for 4 days. The car was waiting for us at the airport but there are also rental offices in other areas (city of Palma etc).

Driving in Mallorca was easy, signs with directions were very useful for most places we used the main roads but also some smaller ones for some villages.
We felt safe in general except the narrow windy road in Formentor.
we felt stressed inside the city of Palma. Palma was also tricky when we needed a free parking space, every street in the center is all covered with blue areas (you have to pay), or yellow areas (parking isnt allowed), It was hard but not impossible.
You have to pay daily 9.00-14.30 and 16.30-20.00, on Saturdays 9.00-14.30, free on Sundays.
What we did was to get away from Palma in the morning and return in the afternoon.
and yes you could pay in advance, for example we parked the car in the afternoon we payed for 2 hours and the ticket was valid 9.00-11.00 the next morning so some days we could sleep a bit longer ;)

buses
Palma is connected with numerous smaller of bigger towns with a big bus network, the starting point is Plaza Espana where you also can catch the train to Soller. There are also bus routes along the coast. In any case plan ahead with a small research on the web to see what bus is available and the timetable because in some cases there are only a few buses per day.
We used this site for information on timetables: http://www.consorcidetransports.org/en/web/ctm/inici

Bus #15 is very popular as it goes from Palma’s centre to El Arenal. By the way you cant get into the bus without tshirts no matter if you just return from the beach :)

Organised Tours
There are also many tourist buses that will take you to specific spots, usually a guide will be on the bus giving information. These tours are more expensive but less stress for you and very convenient and usually they take you directly from your hotel for half or full day trips to specific popular sites like Caves del Drach, Cap de Formentor etc Sometimes they also include a stop at a Pearl Store.

By plane
The airport of Mallorca (PMI) is located 9km east from Palma. It’s a big modern airport covering hundreds of flights from all over Europe.
You can take a taxi from the airport, choose a shuttle bus or take the local bus #1 for 2,5e if you just going to the city of Palma. Renting a car is also a good option if you want to tour around the island. Taxi is also a good option if you have booked a hotel anywhere between S’Arenal and Palma, the airport is in the middle.

By boat
Mallorca is also accessible by boat with other Balearic islands (Ibiza, Menorca) but also with mainland Spain (Barcelona, Valencia) if you can be in a boat for about 8 hours. Transmediterranea, Balearia and Iscomar are the main companies with super fast ferrys, normal ferrys and cargo and car ferries.

Check the following site for ferries from Palma
http://www.directferries.co.uk/balearic_islands.htm

But check also some flight offers, we used AirBerlin from Mallorca to Ibiza and the ticket was cheaper than the boat :)

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Getting to the Island is usually made by plane, flying from far, but those coming from Spain have alternatives to plane, either from Barcelona or Valencia. It takes half a day each way, and may be boring.

You can go to Sòller by train. The railway from Palma de Mallorca to Sòller has connected the two towns since 1912.

The journey from Palma de M. to Soller takes about one hour.

You can buy a ticket for an ordinary journey or a "touristic" one. The only difference between these is that on the "touristic" journey the train stops for some minutes, so you can enjoy Sòller from afar and take a couple of pics.

We also used the more commercial, Modern and slightly less scenic line to get back to Palma at the end of our walk.
The journey from Inca back to Palma cost less than 2 euros for the 45 minute trip from Inca. The trains are modern, clean, quiet and fast and terminat at the new underground train station at Palma’s Placa d'Espanya

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No trip to Majorca would be complete without taking the train from Palma to Soller.
The line was opened in 1912 and the route leaves Palma, crosses the plain then winds over the mountains through 13 tunnels before reaching Soller

The train station at Palma de Mallorca can be found just next to the Plaza de España, right in the centre, in the corner of the Eusebio Estada street with the main Avenidas, at one block from the central bus station.

The cost of a ticket is 9 euro per person.

Arrive at the station in plenty of time to ensure that you get a good seat as this train gets very Busy, particularly in peek season

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Palma is proud of it"s new railway station, which opened on the 3rd March 2007. It is built underground and is really very large. Soon to open the bus station in the same underground complex, at present the bus station is 250 metres away. The trains are modern electric and run to Inca and Manacor in the middle of the island. When i travelled to Inca the fare was E1.80.

Palma is proud of it"s new railway station ,which opened on 2nd March 2007. It is built underground and seems really large. Soon to open is the bus station in the same underground complex, at present the buses go from 250 metres around the corner.Trains are modern electric are travel to Inca and Manacor. The Palma station is in Placa Espanya. When i travelled the fare to Inca was E1.80.