We had a four night stay in Mallorca in September 2022 to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary. We decided to split the time, spending 2 nights in Puerto de Soller and 2 nights in Palma, having stayed at Soller last time. It worked out great!
We decided not to hire a car, and just used public transport. We took the A1 airport bus and it was €5 flat fare one way or €8 return and you need to buy your ticket before getting on the bus at a stand close to the bus stop. It takes about 10-15 mins to get to Palma and we got off at Placa Espanya / Estacio Intermodal (for us it was just the second stop from the airport but check with the driver if you’re unsure). The bus station is underground, so take the escalator down from the main entrance. Then Bus 204 TIB runs to Port de Sóller every half hour and the journey takes around 45 minutes. In Port de Soller the bus stop is located on the roundabout at the entrance, 450 metres from the beach and port. We found the buses very efficient and easy to use and it made for a stress-free journey without having to worry about routes, parking, etc. We would not hesitate to use the bus again. It is a cashless system too. You hold your credit card up to the machine on entering the bus and then again when you disembark. Very easy.
You could also consider getting the train from Palma station to Soller which is located next to Placa de España. The 28km journey takes an hour in an old-fashioned wooden train and some of the journey is through lovely mountain scenery and countryside with orange and olive groves.
In Puerto de Soller we stayed at the Hotel Marina, a nice hotel in a good location, although it was a walk of 10-15 minutes to the centre of Puerto de Soller. Check in was a bit of a palavar. First of all our room wasn’t ready, then they allocated us the wrong room type which was a bit frustrating when we were only there for 2 nights. However we were happy with the hotel. Breakfast was included in our rate and there was a good selection including fruit, eggs made to order, nice coffee. The hotel offers spa treatments and Gareth had a very relaxing massage using orange oils. We swam in the pool each day after having a refreshing dip in the sea. Visit Hotel Marina’s website or click here to book a room, view photos and read travellers’ reviews
In Puerto de Soller we stayed at the Hotel Marina, a nice hotel in a good location, although it was a walk of 10-15 minutes to the centre of Puerto de Soller. Check in was a bit of a palavar. First of all our room wasn’t ready, then they allocated us the wrong room type which was a bit frustrating when we were only there for 2 nights. However we were happy with the hotel. Breakfast was included in our rate and there was a good selection including fruit, eggs made to order, nice coffee. The hotel offers spa treatments and Gareth had a very relaxing massage using orange oils. We swam in the pool each day after having a refreshing dip in the sea. Visit Hotel Marina’s website or click here to book a room, view photos and read travellers’ reviews.
In Palma we stayed at the Hotel Canavall, Carrer de Can Pueyo 13 in Palma old town. We had a nice room with comfortable bed, good shower, decent fridge, and it was very quiet despite being very central. A good breakfast was included in our room rate.Visit Hotel Canavall’s website or click here to book a room, view photos and read travellers’ reviews
Puerto de Soller Restaurants
We had a very tasty lunch the first day at Ocea. They have a great selection of healthy, delicious fruit smoothies – just what we needed on a hot day – and we enjoyed the chicken wrap and avocado and feta toast. Lunch on the second day was at Lemon Pie Tearoom where we had a really delicious bagel with sweet chilli chicken and a slightly disappointing poached egg with avocado. Service was friendly.Duck salad at Pirata, Puerto de Soller
On our first night we had a very nice meal at Pirata overlooking the marina. We just shared a very delicious duck salad with raspberry dressing for €18 (see right) and a chicken taco (nice, but very small and really just a starter). We thought the prices were on the high side but Mallorca is probably a bit pricier than mainland spain and the food was good.
On our second night we liked the look of Espiritu Libre but they were full (maybe next time!) and shut at 9.30pm which we thought was a bit strange, so we opted for the cool looking Randemar, Passeig Es Traves 16. A bit concerned that it might be a case of style over substance we needn’t have worried as the food was delicious. We shared a Thai style salad with crispy duck (€19.50) which wasn’t really authentic but still tasted very nice, and then the most amazing slow cooked lamb with pear chutney (€23.50) – the nicest lamb we’ve ever had (see left). Again, prices aren’t cheap but this meal was definitely worth it. Wine prices were very high too with the cheapest bottle being €26. The ambiance is really nice with gorgeous lighting and chill music, but service wasn’t great and we gave up waiting for the dessert menu.!
Palma Restaurants
We found a nice little bar for lunch in the heart of the old town called Cafe Es Rebost de Cort on Calle Llums, run by a friendly French family. It’s a quirky place with lots of photos of old celebrities inside, and an excellent value menu del dia for €14. Our starters were melon & ham and tomato & mozzarella salad with pesto and both were delicious and big portions. Mains were chicken in breadcrumbs which was a bit dry but tasty nonetheless and entrecote which was surprisingly good. They also do a tapas menu which seemed to be quite popular.
On our first night in Palma we headed to the Santa Catalina area which has lots of bars and restaurants. We ate at Bianco e Rosso on Calle Fabrica 6. Mostly we found it very disappointing but our starter Vitello Tonato was spectacularly good – the best we’ve ever had. It was worth eating there for that!! It all went downhill from there. The pizza was very average, service was poor, we’re still waiting for the dessert menu (seems to be a habit!).
We had actually hoped to be able to eat at Can Toni on Calle Costa Santa Creu 5. We read some good reviews saying it is the best place in the city to eat local dishes, including Suckling Pig. We passed it during the day and it was packed out (and sold out) at lunch time, but unfortunately it was already fully booked for night.
We were surprised how different the centre of Palma was on a Sunday. Most shops and restaurants were closed and the area that had such a buzz the day before was so quiet we struggled to find somewhere for lunch. We eventually found a little cafe, Le Bon Vivre on Calle Bosseria, where we had delicious sandwiches (a tuna bagel and a chicken baguette) and a very nice tinto de verano.
On our second night we ate at Sandro Restaurant on Carrer Ramon y Cahal. Again, we were surprised how quiet the city was on a Sunday night and many restaurants were closed. We were therefore surprised that this restaurant was so quiet, specially as it had such good reviews. We shared Vitello tonato to start which was nice without being outstanding. The mains were both a bit disappointing although we maybe just chose the wrong dishes. A lot of their dishes contained truffle which we aren’t keen on so choice was a bit limited. My ravioli stuffed with pigs cheeks and Gareth’s beef dish were both a bit heavy.
