Majorca on our own?

[Zoom77]

Hello,

 

Me, my wife and my parents (late 60s) will be doing the West Med. Cruise with NCL Jade in a few days from now. Our last stop will be Palma Majorca.

 

I am thinking whether we should take a shore excursion with the ship or if it would be better to do it on our own.

 

What are the "must sees" in Majorca, and how accessible are they with public transportation and/or taxis? Are most of the main sights in Palma, or you would advice us to visit other places?

 

Thank you

[starwhite2]

I am thinking whether we should take a shore excursion with the ship or if it would be better to do it on our own.

 

What are the "must sees" in Majorca, and how accessible are they with public transportation and/or taxis? Are most of the main sights in Palma, or you would advice us to visit other places?

 

Thank you

 

I did research on my own at first - I went to the ship company's website and read through all the excursions and saw what appealed or did not appeal to me. Then I did a search under "search this forum" on cruise critic for Palma and got ideas from other cruise critic people. Many take the HoHo bus (you get on and off the bus, for one fare), some took the train to Soller, some went to see the limestone caves on the other side of the island.

[Zoom77]

HoHo bus sounds interesting. Can I book or purchase tickets online (where?), or is better to wait until I get to Palma?

[dan_and_joe]

We didn't do the HOHO bus in Majorca but we saw plenty of places where you can buy tickets. Whatever you do, please don't miss the cathedral. The glasswork is out of this world! Probably one of the most impressive thing I've ever seen.

 

Palma de Majorca is a great city to walk if you can. A lot of little cafes and restaurants, ancient streets and great shoppinng too!

[cabincop]

Hi I thought I would throw in my 2cents. I was in Palma once before walked around saw cathedral. This time in OCT on the Jade I am taking the ship excursions for I think 49dollars. I know alot of people don't advocate the ship tours however I have mobility issues and have a large brace for my leg. I will be able to see the castle, monestary and cathedral again. If I want to after the tour I can still go shopping as I will have 3 more hours on the island. Enjoy let us know what you do and how you liked it, Maria

[tom_uk]

I'm not sure how valuable a HOHO bus around Palma would be - all the main sites are in a small area. The one exception is Castell Belver which is a couple of miles away.

 

Main sights in Palma: well, there's the Cathedral and adjoining palace/museum; they are the main 'grand' sights in the city. The Cathedral especially is magnificent - it's a northern european-style gothic cathedral right in the Mediterranean, which is unusual. It's also one of the highest - the height from the floor to the roof of the nave is considerable.

 

Then there's the old town - lots of old streets, galleries, museums, small restaurants, cafes, and one or two sights - the Arab Baths for example.

 

Finally, Palma is a good shopping destination, albeit not cheap. Mallorca is a rich island, Palma is the capital, and it has a whole commercial infrastructure, including good stores, aimed at a rich and cultured local population. I think there are the usual names - Dolce, Vuitton, Prada, etc - but there are also a number of stores selling seriously high quality domestic Spanish goods, including clothing, footwear, leather goods, wine, and so on.

 

Beyond that, there's the whole island of Mallorca. This is a major tourist destination - it seems that half of the UK and Germany come here for a beach holiday - and there are a number of very large resorts along the coasts. But in addition to them there are a number of small, historic and beautiful old towns and places that are worth visiting. These would include Valdemossa; Soller, and Port de Soller; Pollenca (but NOT Port de Pollenca); Alcudia old town (but NOT Alcudia port); Monastir de Lluc; Deia; and numerous others.

 

Mallorca is a very beautiful place, and in one day you can barely scratch the surface.

[Zoom77]

Thanks. The HoHo Bus is just for Palma and not for other parts of the island?

[tom_uk]

Thanks. The HoHo Bus is just for Palma and not for other parts of the island?

 

I believe it's just for Palma

 

Mallorca is quite big: about 1,500 square miles. The maximum east-west distance is about 60 miles, and about 50 miles north to south. There's a significant mountain range running along the north-west coast for about 35 miles, that rises to almost 5,000 feet. There's a railway, and several lengths of motorway. The population of Palma is about 400,000, and that of the whole island is just over 800,000.

 

So it's on a significantly larger scale than many Greek islands, for example.

[jocap]

Tom has summed up Mallorca beautifully. Most Europeans will have spent holidays here since childhood, so arriving as we did, once, on a cruise ship, was novel for us, and we took a long walk along the harbour to the main shopping sites. It is fairly easy to get to one of the nearby beaches by taxi, either Palma Nova to the east, or Illitas to the west. There should be a shuttle bus from the docks to just below the cathedral, and it's a short stroll up from the harbour to the shopping squares.

One of the best excursions outside the capital, is the little train to Soller, and the tram down to Porto Soller, where we've had many happy holidays. There are details about this trip on this site.

Jo.

[rlse9]

If you have any interest in caves, a tour going to Drach Caves is excellent. It's a great site and it's short enough of a tour that it would still leave you time to explore Palma. Like others have said, the cathedral is a must see.

[Zoom77]

Thank you for your answers :)

[wefamily3]

We have booked a last minute cruise (10 day HAL Noordam) that will be stopping here next month. We are 2 adults and a 7 year old, and would like to spend some time on the beach, and hopefully see the Cathedral (and perhaps wander around a bit). We arrive at port at 9 am and ship leaves at 6. Does this seem doable? What would be a recommended beach, and what would be the taxi fare (and is it set or negotiated)? Once done at the beach, is it easy enough to find a taxi to return?

 

Thanks for any info and advice!

[tom_uk]

I don't know much taxis in Mallorca - when we've been there we've either had a hire car, or used the buses. However, here goes.

 

The cruise terminal is a couple of miles to the west of the centre of Palma. The nearest nice beach is a place called 'Illetes', which is just a couple of miles or so away (further west). It is in fact possible to get a bus there (and back, of course). As I said, I'm not sure about taxis.

 

Illetes is a small-ish beach, with quite up-market facilities. In some contrast are two major resorts a few miles further to the west, Palma Nova and Magaluf. The two resorts run into each other, but Palma Nova is the one you come to first. Again, it is possible to get a bus, but taxis would be easy. (I don't know how much, however.) Both these resorts have all the facilities you could ask for. Magaluf is brasher than Palma Nova, and caters for a younger crown - bars & music. Palma Nova is more family based - fewer and less frenetic bars, more restaurants, quieter music. They're both good beaches, though.

[caroak]

Are there taxis readily available at the port that would take us to the center of Palma? Also, we arrive at 7 a.m. and depart at 2 p.m. If we leave the ship around 9 a.m. would there be enough time to take the train to Soller and get back in time?

[tom_uk]

Are there taxis readily available at the port that would take us to the center of Palma? Also, we arrive at 7 a.m. and depart at 2 p.m. If we leave the ship around 9 a.m. would there be enough time to take the train to Soller and get back in time?

 

Taxis - I don't know. What day of the week are you there? How many passengers on your ship? Both of these things will make a difference.

 

Train to Soller: Have you looked at the timetable here? Which train are you going to get? How are you going to get back from Soller? There are buses as well (in both directions) - here is a timetable. But I can't help feeling that it's all going to be a bit of a rush if you have to be back for 2pm. (Is that 'last boarding time'? Or sailaway time?) Why not go into the town and have a wander round? - do the Cathedral, the old town, browse some shops, enjoy some icecream or drinks in a cafe, and best of all you're only a short taxi ride away from the port.