Palma de Mallorca Airport to Alcúdia
Roughly 55 km north of PMI at the far end of the island; the summer A32 coach runs direct, otherwise it's a taxi, transfer or a change in Palma.
Alcúdia, PalmaMike Lehmann, Mike Switzerland 15:53, 5 November 2006 (UTC) / Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 3.0Alcúdia pairs a walled medieval old town with a huge shallow-water bay at Port d'Alcúdia and Playa de Muro — a family favourite in the island's north, backed by the S'Albufera wetlands.
Every way to get there
Our verdict: for Alcúdia, a private transfer is the easiest door-to-door option (from €60). Travelling light on a budget? The bus is cheapest (from €8) but slower, with a change in the city.
What it costs for your group
The bus is charged per person, while a taxi or private transfer is one price for the whole car — so the more of you there are, the better door-to-door value looks.
| Group | Bus (per person) | Private transfer | Best value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solo · 1 traveller | €8 | €60 | Bus |
| Couple · 2 travellers | €16 | €60 | Bus |
| Family of 4 · 4 travellers | €32 | €60 | Bus |
Which option should you choose?
| If your priority is… | Our pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest price | Bus | From €8, though slower with a change in the city. |
| Speed & comfort | Private transfer | Door-to-door, fixed price, a driver waiting for you. |
| A group of 3–4 | Transfer or taxi | One flat fare splits cheaper than several bus tickets. |
| A late-night arrival | Transfer or taxi | Both run 24/7 when buses and the tram have stopped. |
By transport mode
Bus / shuttle
About €13.50 cash or €8.10 by card, reaching Port d'Alcúdia in roughly an hour via Inca. It's a seasonal service with only a handful of runs, so out of season route via Palma instead.
Where to catch it: AEROTIB stand on the arrivals level signed to Inca / Alcúdia / Can Picafort.
Best for solo & budget travellersTaxi
One of the longer runs on the island — around €73 by day and up to ~€79-82 at night under the reference tariff. Pricey solo, more sensible shared.
Where to catch it: Grab a metered white taxi from the rank outside arrivals; no booking needed.
Best for small groups in a hurryPrivate transfer
On a long northbound haul a pre-agreed flat fare means the price won't creep with traffic or the meter. Book ahead for a fixed cost you can budget for.
Where to catch it: Driver waiting in the terminal to take you straight up the Ma-13 motorway with no stops.
Best for families, groups & late arrivalsShuttle
The budget door-to-door choice for the long trip north, though shared drop-offs around Playa de Muro and Alcúdia add time. Cheapest if you're travelling light on numbers.
Where to catch it: Find your shuttle company's rep at the arrivals meeting point; the minibus loops the northern resorts.
Best for budget travellersCar rental
A strong option for the north — the walled town, S'Albufera and Formentor cape all suit a car. Around €25-60/day; the motorway run up is easy driving.
Where to catch it: Pick up from the airport rental compound after the arrivals-level desks.
Best for travellers who want to exploreAlcúdia & Palma in photos
Buying tickets in Palma
Palma's airport is served by EMT city bus A1 to the centre and Plaça d'Espanya, plus A2 toward Palma's beaches, with single fares around €5 paid on board. TIB regional buses also depart for towns across Mallorca. Paying by contactless bank card or the Intermodal transport card is noticeably cheaper than cash, with discounts of up to about 40% on single fares in 2026. Buy the Intermodal card at machines if you plan multiple journeys; otherwise tap your card as you board.
Taxi scams & safety in Palma
Take taxis only from the official rank outside Arrivals; Palma airport taxis are metered with a set airport starting supplement, and a ride into central Palma is usually a short, moderate fare. Avoid anyone offering a "cheaper" private lift inside the terminal, as unlicensed transfers are the main issue here. App-based ride-hailing is limited on the island: Uber generally does not operate, while Cabify availability is patchy, so the metered rank or pre-booked licensed transfers are the dependable choices.
Getting from PMI to Alcúdia
Alcúdia sits at the far northern tip of Mallorca, about 55 km from Palma airport and a solid hour on the road — the longest of the island's popular airport runs. That distance is the whole story here. The resorts closer to Palma give you a dozen easy ways in; the north asks you to think a little harder, especially with children and beach bags in tow. Most families come for two very different Alcúdias: the walled medieval old town on the hill, and Port d'Alcúdia with Playa de Muro below it, a bay so shallow and flat you can wade out a long way before the water reaches an adult's waist. Where you're sleeping changes which arrival option makes sense, so it's worth pinning that down before you choose.
Old town on the hill, or the beach at Port d'Alcúdia?
The two sit a few kilometres apart and pull in different directions. The walled town is stone lanes, a Sunday and Tuesday market, and quiet evenings; Port d'Alcúdia is the long promenade, the marina and the shallow-water beaches stretching into Playa de Muro and the S'Albufera wetlands behind. If you've booked a hotel down on the seafront, a door-to-door option drops you at reception with the luggage. If you're up in the old town or in a villa on the outskirts, the public coach's central stop can leave you a taxi ride short of the door — one more reason the distance nudges families toward a fixed pickup that goes exactly where you're staying.
The A32 coach runs, but only in summer and only via Inca
The TIB AEROTIB Line A32 does reach Port d'Alcúdia directly, and it's the cheap way to do it: around €13.50 in cash or €8.10 by card, picked up at the AEROTIB stand on the arrivals level signed to Inca, Alcúdia and Can Picafort. The catch is threefold. It's seasonal, running roughly June to mid-September only; there are just a handful of departures a day, so you're timing your landing to a sparse schedule; and the route loops inland through Inca, which is why the hour-plus journey feels longer than the map suggests. Arrive outside those summer months and there's no direct coach at all — you'd change in Palma, which turns a single trip into two legs with a transfer in between. For a couple travelling light in high season it's a fair deal. For a family landing at an awkward hour, the sums start to favour something that leaves when you do.
Taxi or a booked transfer up the Ma-13
A metered white taxi from the rank outside arrivals needs no booking and takes the motorway straight up — reckon on about €73 in the day and somewhere near €79 to €82 after dark under the reference tariff, one of the steeper fares on the island precisely because of the distance. Split across four people it's reasonable; solo it stings. A pre-booked private transfer covers the same Ma-13 run with the driver already waiting inside the terminal, and the reason it's the common pick for this route is simple: on an hour-long haul the meter has plenty of room to climb, whereas a flat fare agreed in advance — commonly €60 to €80 through Welcome Pickups or a local Mallorca firm — holds steady whether the motorway is clear or crawling. You know the number before you land and can put it in the holiday budget. If you'd rather trade time for money, a shared holiday shuttle runs door-to-door from about €18 to €26 per person, though it loops the northern resorts dropping other passengers around Playa de Muro and Alcúdia, so budget nearer 80 minutes and expect it to make the most sense when you're not many in number.
Why a hire car earns its keep in the north
Of all the destinations on the island, Alcúdia is the one where renting rewards you most. The walled town, the birdwatching hides of S'Albufera and the dramatic drive out to the Formentor cape are all things you'll want to reach on your own clock, and none of them are comfortable without wheels. Desks sit in the rental compound just past arrivals, prices run roughly €25 to €60 a day depending on season and car, and the motorway run north is genuinely easy driving with a toddler asleep in the back. The trade-off is parking in the old town and the seafront, which fills fast in July and August, so a hotel with its own spaces is worth confirming.
Short version: pick your arrival around where you sleep and when you land. Old-town stay or a late flight, book the transfer; seafront hotel in peak summer with a daytime landing, the A32 will do; planning to explore the cape and the wetlands, take the car from day one.
