A weekend in Palma
We (my friend and I) don’t do early flights, so we jumped on the late afternoon/early evening flight from Birmingham and after a minor delay were at the hotel by 11pm. Before I move on to the hotel, I will point out when flying into Palma airport, expect it to be busy!! Ranked at number 14 out of the 100 busiest airports in Europe, for the size of airport, that’s an awful lot of people buzzing around!
Travelling from the Airport We made the fatal error of ordering an Uber when we got through Customs, a costly and time-consuming mistake that I won’t be making again and one which I’m keen to warn others about! The local taxi queue was enormous, it snaked back into the airport and the Uber area was less congested, so we thought we were being clever……we weren’t!
Whatever you do, be patient, stick with the local taxi queue, it will move steadily, with hundreds of vehicles coming and going, even the largest of queues will probably only take 20mins.
Uber in Palma Uber’s are available in Palma city centre, but they are not popular and are very costly, so always opt for the local taxi, the same journey could cost you 3 or 4 times as much in an Uber!
We stayed slightly out of the centre, between the Port and the City, we could walk to the main street in 45mins, but to be honest, given it was 38 degrees whilst we were there, we opted for a taxi most of the time and it only costs between 5 -7 Euros. A bargain!
Our Hotel We chose the INNSiDE Melia Bosque, which was fabulous!! I highly recommend staying here, the staff are super friendly, it’s in-formal but has a chic vibe, the room was very quiet and the pool area was a welcome relief given the temperatures. Did I mention the beds were super comfy too?!
We stayed in a Townhouse, which could have accommodated a family of 4, with a dedicated bedroom and shower room, plus a living area, also with shower area and toilet and a door to separate the areas. The living area had a sofa bed which you would need to ask to have made up as a bedroom prior to your arrival.
Palma City Palma City centre is a lovely mix of traditional buildings, tree-lined avenues, historic buildings and modern shopping! Passeig Del Born is the main road which is a wide, tree-lined avenue, with some familiar high street brands. Other parts of the city are narrow, cobbled streets with independent boutiques.
My advice would be, if you are thinking of spending a day wandering the streets of the city, perhaps check on the Port activity first! If you can find a day when the Cruise ships aren’t in Port, that would be the best day to really experience the City.
Soller Train Sadly, we didn’t manage to fit in the train ride to Soller, with the temperatures being as they were, the round trip, train journey may have been the last thing we ever did! When I do go back, this little gem is most definitely on my hit list. This piece of history was inaugurated in 1912 and the train is still in it’s original wooden form. The ride from Palma to Soller take 1hr and costs around €30 for a return ticket. Soller boasts growing the best oranges in the world and is a lovely place for a spot of lunch. If you want to go even further a Tram takes you to Puerto de Soller, train and tram journey costs €40 per person.
Food If you do decide to stay at the INNSiDE Melia Bosque, please go and try La Pergola which is just a 3min walk from the hotel. The service was fantastic and the food was delicious, dirt cheap and worth every penny, a fusion of Mexican and Spanish, this place did not disappoint! https://lapergolapalma.com/en/
For something a little more special, my recommendation would be OMBU, there are a few restaurants around the city and you can book on their website, which is necessary during busy times. If you are into cocktails and tapas with a novel spin, this is the place for you, this place was more expensive but it totally knocked our socks off! https://fornprojects.com/ombu/