Mallorca is one of Spain’s gorgeous Balearic Islands. A stunning island where you can enjoy sunshine well into October, sip on sangria, wander the colourful streets of Palma, browse the fresh produce of the Santanyi market and swim in the bluest water at Calo des Moro. It’s also an island where most will hire a car to get around. When I visited Mallorca this October for a long weekend with my bestie, Chelsea, we decided to do our trip on public transport. And I’m here to say that travelling Mallorca without a car and on public transport is not only possible but very affordable and simple. Here’s my guide to spending a long weekend in Mallorca, travelling without a car.
The airport is located in Palma de Mallorca. There are regular flights to the island. You can book your flight to Mallorca here. To get from the airport to Palma you can take the A1 airport bus which leaves every 15 minutes from outside the arrivals terminal. You can buy the ticket for the bus at the machine by the bus stop. It will cost 5 EUR per person and you can pay using card or contactless payment. You tap your ticket on the contact reader when you get on the bus. The bus ride is about 20 minutes into Palma and you can walk the final stretch to your accommodation.
We flew in late on our arrival day and decided to spend the night in Palma so we could explore a bit in the morning before setting off to the coastal spot we planned to base ourselves for the rest of the trip. We stayed at Hostal Pons and I can definitely recommend it. The room was basic but we absolutely loved the decor of the boutique hotel. It was so charming and had such a cute little courtyard where we ate our croissants for breakfast. Book your stay here: Hostal Pons
We then stayed in Cala Figuera which is a cute port town in the south east of Mallorca. We found it to be the perfect location to base ourselves to explore Santanyi, Cala s’Alumnia and Calo des Moro. We stayed at La Marina CH which has a lovely set of rooms with gorgeous views of the Cala. It was clean, had a lovely balcony with a table and chairs for a drink on the terrace and was close to the restaurants. Book your stay here: La Marina CH
Mallorca is a large island and you can either get around on public transport or hire a car. We opted to give the public buses a go and were really impressed by how affordable, punctual and easy to navigate they were. Over 3 days we each spent 18 EUR getting from Palma down to Cala Figuera, busing around the market towns and beaches there and then returning to Palma. In comparison, you will pay around 87 EUR for a car rental if you book far in advance. Closer to the time, these prices can go up exponentially to over 200 EUR.
We used CityMapper to plan out our routes and found the buses to be extremely punctual and reliable. Most trips required 2 buses with a change over. So the only element that makes the public transport less desirable is that it may take you longer to get places as you need to wait a bit for the bus changeover. There are also certain buses that only go every 2 hours so you just need to be aware of these times and plan accordingly. To pay you tap in and tap out on the bus using your bank card or contactless payment like Apple Pay. You can also pay for multiple people using one card and this can end up being cheaper per person than using multiple bank cards.
If you would like to organise a car rental you can do so through DiscoverCars.com which allows you to compare prices across multiple car rental companies, allowing you to pick the one that best suits your needs. If you are planning on exploring more than one area of Mallorca you may want to opt for the car hire option.
Browse DiscoverCars.com for your Mallorca dates here:
We did a long weekend trip and managed to do Palma as well as the South East coast with Santanyi, Cala Figuera and Calo des Moro. If we had more time I would have loved to visit the Northern mountainous region and towns of Deia, Soller and Valldemosse (check out Salt in our Hair for guides of these towns). I think the perfect amount of time would probably be a week to do the island justice but you can definitely still have a very worthwhile long weekend trip.
We visited in October and it was the perfect month. The temperature was hot but not too hot. There was still a nice summer vibe but it wasn’t too crowded. July and August are the hottest months to visit and will be the busiest. You can also expect prices to be higher during these months. I’d recommend visiting in October as it will be cheaper and still warm enough to enjoy the beaches with fewer crowds.
After flying into Palma de Mallorca you can find your accommodation and then set out for a night of tapas and sangria to celebrate your first night in Spain. We went to Bodega Ca’n Rigo and absolutely loved the authentic, laid-back, family vibe here. The tapas were delicious and the sangria was just divine!
On your first morning in Palma set out early for a wander around the colourful cobbled streets. I loved the pretty buildings and found they reminded me of Nice. We had just saved a number of key spots in Palma on Google Maps and just went out for a stroll taking in the cute side streets and walking in the general direction of key spots. This is my favourite way of exploring a new city without a major agenda.
To ensure you can find your way and use Google Maps I’d really recommend downloading an e-sim from Airalo. These are super cheap and allow you to be connected from the moment you land in a new country. You can let your family know you’re there safely and navigate to your next destination with ease. Download yours using my code OLIVIA7947 and get 3$ off your next e-sim:
The spots I had saved on my map were Catedral Basilica de Santa Maria de Mallorca, Royal Palace of La Almudaina, Llotja de Palma and Pg. del Born.
We had a delicious tapas lunch at Bar Cafe Coto and I can absolutely recommend their 14 EUR selection of 7 tapas.
After a lovely morning of exploring Palma and tapas for lunch you can collect your luggage and make your way to the Palma Estacio Intermodal where you’ll begin your journey down to Cala Figuera. Start by catching the bus 501e to Campos. You’ll then change buses at La Verge 2 where you’ll then catch the bus 516 to Campos riding 6 stops before getting off at Cala Figuera. Each bus ride was just over 30 minutes and we had a 20 minute wait between buses. The trip cost us 5.40 EUR each. So affordable! The buses were really puntual and ran very smoothly.
Every Saturday the Santanyi Market runs from 9am to 2pm. It has a collection of stalls selling fresh produce, local clothing and crafts as well as freshly queezed orange juice, freshly made churros and Jamon y Queso bocadillas (ham & cheese sandwiches). To get to the market from your accommodation in Cala Figuera you will take the bus 516 to Campos getting off at Na Ravendella 1 bus stop. This bus only leaves every 2 hours so you’ll want to catch either the 8:05, 10:05 or 12:05 one to get to the market.
Once you have enjoyed a few hours at the market you’ll be walking back to the bus stop you were first dropped at – Na Ravendella 1 – and catching the bus 517 to Campos to the bus stop Cala Llombards. This is a quick 5 minute bus ride. All these bus details can be easily found on Citymapper or Google Maps. All the buses for this day (including our return journey) came to around 8 EUR per person.
From the Cala Llombards bus stop it is a 15-20 minute walk down to the beaches. The final stretch follows some very steep steps down, so the beach is not very accessible to those with mobility issues. You’ll reach Cala s’Alumnia first which a rocky cove with a lovely swimming spot.
Calo des Moro was the *absolute* highlight of Mallorca for me! The water was insanely blue and it was exactly what I had come to Mallorca for. I was absolutely delighted that we could get to such a stunning beach like this in Mallorca without a car and using only public transport.
To get to Calo des Moro you follow the same path down to Cala s’Alumina. Once down there you will see another path to the left which takes you to Calo des Moro. It is a well-marked dirt path which becomes fairly steep and slippery right at the end. Just make sure you wear shoes with good grip for this part.
The beach is quite small so it may be very packed during high season. But once you’ve found a spot you can enjoy a gorgeous swim in the crystal clear blue water.
If you’d like to explore Calo des Moro by boat as well as a few other spots along the coastline definitely check out this boat trip:
For your final day in Mallorca you can enjoy a slow Sunday morning walking around Cala Figuera. There’s a lovely 3 km walk you can do which takes you through the port, Calo d’en Busques and Calo d’en Boira. You’ll be treated to tranquil scenes of fishing boats bobbing gently and emerald coloured waters framed by quaint stone houses.
After a glorious last morning in Cala Figuera you can finish off with a lunch at one of the restaurants on the pier. We ate at both La Marina and Bar Cala which served up delicious seafood (albeit at quite high prices!Check out the local grocery store if you’d rather self-cater for cheaper).
We finished off our time in Mallorca with an ice cream from Murmui Heladeria before heading off to the airport. To get from Cala Figuera to the airport you take the bus 516 to Campos changing at La Verge before boarding the A51 bus which takes you directly to the airport.
We loved our long weekend in Mallorca! I hope this guide helps show you that you don’t have to hire a car to travel Mallorca.
Looking for more guides to Spain? Check out my Barcelona, Valencia, Madrid and Sevilla guides.
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