Caves of Drach- Palma

[maidut]

Hi-

 

I was reading about the Caves of Drach in a travel book and they sound interesting. I did a search in this forum and came up empty handed.

 

Does anyone have any info on the Caves of Drach in Palma? Best to to DIY vs an excursion, etc.

 

Thanks!

[jocap]

Hi, Maidut- I thought I'd better keep this post up at the top, altho' I can't answer it very well, only having visited the caves from land-hols.

Until someone comes along who's done the trip recently, the best I can say is that they're quite a distance from Palma, being up in the north-east of the island- perhaps 50 miles away? They're quite impressive; limestone caves with a vast chamber, where musicians row across, playing.

I wouldn't know about arranging this on my own, without a car.

Sorry I can't help more- jocap.

[maidut]

Thanks for the reply. As we are doing all our other ports DIY, we may do this one with the cruiseline. Its my DH's 1st cruise, so this way he will get a variety of activities. NCL has a 5 hour excursion to Porto Cristo and the Cave of Crach for $79. I thought it was reasonable and it leaves us time in the afternoon to hit a beach near Palma.

 

I have the NCL excursion on hold, unless I hear or find anyting more appealing.

[jocap]

We've stayed near Porto Cristo- a lovely Med. fishing port.

Hope your DH enjoys his 1st cruise- we liked Jade so much, we went back on her 7 months later, and it was even better!:)

Jo.

[Morgans]

Like Jocap, have done this on a land based holiday and the excursion included a visit to Porto Cristo which is very pleasant, and also a pearl factory which wasn't very interesting. The Caves are worth a visit, however, and quite attractive with classical music and boats. It was a decent excursion and fair value for money.

[RJHNorthyorks]

We've been to caves of Drach twice when on land based hols. We really enjoyed. Ships trip sounds quite good value - We did travel there by public transport from a resort about 15 miles away last time but I think this might be a bit of a challenge from Palma

[maidut]

yeah, I think we might stick with the NCL excursion on this one. I looked into a rental car and it was much more than other ports...not sure why...by it was about $130. So with that, plus gas and admission tickets, the ship excursion is a good value and we don't have to worry about our timed tickets, etc.

 

Does anyone have a recommendation for a beach that is a short cab or walking distance from the port in Palma?

[jocap]

If you go to a post about Mallorca which is presently 30-40 posts down this page, you'll find a very good post from Tom UK, with more answers to this question.

I think the nearest beach is at Illetas, to the left of the port, but a good walk away, and up a hill by a very busy main road. It's just below the Royal palace. I should think a taxi would be best. The beach resorts stretch round the coast after Illetas, but can be very busy in summer.-jocap.

[tom_uk]

The #3 city bus goes to Illetes from near the cruise terminal: it actually runs along Av. Joan Miro, just a block away from the port. Illetes beach is the terminus, so you know where to get off, and the fare is probably just €1.

[btorlv]

We are going to be in Mallorca on the Carnival Magic June 2011. Since no one has posted on this in almost a year, I was wondering if there is any public transportation from the port to the Caves. I don't know what Carnival is charging or if they even have an excursion to the caves. The pictures I have seen look awesome. Can you take pictures in the caves? I have been to some where you can only take pictures if you don't use flash.

[tom_uk]

We are going to be in Mallorca on the Carnival Magic June 2011. Since no one has posted on this in almost a year, I was wondering if there is any public transportation from the port to the Caves. I don't know what Carnival is charging or if they even have an excursion to the caves. The pictures I have seen look awesome. Can you take pictures in the caves? I have been to some where you can only take pictures if you don't use flash.

 

I think the nearest town or resort to the caves is Portocristo, and looking at the bus times (as far as I can see them - have a look at this website ) it appears to be a bus ride of around 90 minutes from Palma to Portocristo. You've first got to get to the bus station in Palma and then from Portocristo to the caves. I think you're looking at two hours or more by public transport.

 

If it was me, I'd either do an excursion, or try to hire a car. Driving in Mallorca is easy, Mallorca is beautiful, and in fact nowhere is very far from Palma.

[Cornishpastyman1]

Hi-

 

I was reading about the Caves of Drach in a travel book and they sound interesting. I did a search in this forum and came up empty handed.

 

Does anyone have any info on the Caves of Drach in Palma? Best to to DIY vs an excursion, etc.

 

Thanks!

 

At 1.03 in this

there's bit about the Caves of Campanet. I went to the Caves of Drach about 15 years ago and from memory they are much more spectacular, both in terms of size and beauty, with far superior lighting.

 

Have a great day on Majorca, it's a really beautiful island.

Tony

[jspirit]

We are going to be in Mallorca on the Carnival Magic June 2011. Since no one has posted on this in almost a year, I was wondering if there is any public transportation from the port to the Caves. I don't know what Carnival is charging or if they even have an excursion to the caves. The pictures I have seen look awesome. Can you take pictures in the caves? I have been to some where you can only take pictures if you don't use flash.

 

 

Took the ship tour last summer and enjoyed it. They tell you no photos inside the caves, Unfortunately there were many tourists who thought they could sneak them . There are employees along the route who remind you " no photos".

 

In case you also go to Gibraltar, our guide did allow us to take pictures inside those caves.

[London-Calling]

Are the 'Caves of Drach' and 'caves of Ham' different? Which is better?