Palma de Mallorca Airport to Palma Old Town
Only about 8 km from PMI; the EMT A1 bus is quick and cheap at ~20 minutes, and taxis reach the centre in a similar time.
Palma Old Town, PalmaThomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de / Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 dePalma's old town wraps around La Seu, the seafront Gothic cathedral, with a maze of stone lanes, patio courtyards, tapas bars and the Es Baluard modern-art museum inside the old ramparts.
Every way to get there
Our verdict: for Palma Old Town, a private transfer is the easiest door-to-door option (from €28). Travelling light on a budget? The bus is cheapest (from €3) 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 | €3 | €28 | Bus |
| Couple · 2 travellers | €6 | €28 | Bus |
| Family of 4 · 4 travellers | €12 | €28 | Bus |
Which option should you choose?
| If your priority is… | Our pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest price | Bus | From €3, 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
€5 cash but only €3 if you pay by card — the same tap saves 40%. Ten stops through the city ending at Es Baluard/Plaça d'Espanya, close to most old-town hotels.
Where to catch it: Bus stop directly opposite the arrivals hall on the ground floor (near Doors 1-7); buy from the driver or tap a contactless card on board.
Best for solo & budget travellersTaxi
Metered under the island reference tariff; reckon on about €20-25 by day, a little more at night or on Sundays. Fastest way to a hotel deep in the pedestrianised centre.
Where to catch it: Official white taxi rank just outside the arrivals exit — no need to pre-book, join the marshalled queue.
Best for small groups in a hurryPrivate transfer
Worth it if you land late or want a guaranteed flat fare rather than a metered ride. Confirm the exact drop-off, as many old-town streets are car-restricted.
Where to catch it: Your driver waits in the arrivals hall and walks you to the car; the fare is fixed, so a delayed flight or traffic doesn't change the price.
Best for families, groups & late arrivalsCar rental
Handy only if you'll tour the island — central Palma parking is scarce and paid (ORA zones). Around €25-55/day in season, pricier at short notice.
Where to catch it: Rental counters are in the ground-floor arrivals area; most collection lots sit a short shuttle or walk from the terminal.
Best for travellers who want to explorePalma Old Town & 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 Palma Old Town
Here is the good news before you have even collected your bag: Palma's old town is the closest thing PMI has to a doorstep. La Seu, the Gothic cathedral that hangs over the seafront, sits about 8 km west of the terminal, and the stone lanes of the old Arab quarter, the patio courtyards and the tapas counters are all packed into a walkable centre once you arrive. There is no train or metro at the airport — Mallorca's rail lines start in the city, not at Son Sant Joan — but you barely need one. The EMT A1 city bus runs cheap and often into Plaça d'Espanya, which means for a weekend of cathedral-gazing and wine bars, the getting-there part is almost an afterthought. A private car really only earns its place if you land late or you are wrestling a lot of luggage.
The A1 bus drops you a short walk from La Seu
The EMT Line A1 is the reason most city-break travellers skip the taxi rank entirely. It leaves from a stop directly opposite the arrivals hall on the ground floor, near Doors 1 to 7, and runs roughly every 12 to 15 minutes from about 06:00 to 01:00 — frequent enough that you rarely wait long. The ride into the centre takes around 20 minutes across ten stops, finishing near Es Baluard and Plaça d'Espanya, which puts you within a few minutes' walk of most old-town hotels and the cathedral itself. One detail saves you real money: it costs €5 if you pay the driver in cash, but only €3 if you tap a contactless card as you board. Same bus, same seat, 40 percent off for the tap. For a couple travelling light, this is comfortably the smartest way in.
When the taxi rank makes more sense than the bus stop
The bus is brilliant until your hotel sits deep in the pedestrianised tangle behind the cathedral, dragging a case over cobbles is not the plan, or you simply want the door. The official white taxi rank is just outside the arrivals exit — no booking, you join the marshalled queue — and the meter runs on the island's reference tariff. Reckon on about €20 to €25 by day into the centre, a little more at night or on Sundays, with the trip taking roughly 18 minutes. Split between three or four people it barely costs more per head than the bus, and it is the fastest way to a hotel deep in the restricted-traffic streets where the A1 cannot follow. For a family arriving with kids and bags, that convenience is usually the deciding factor.
A fixed-fare transfer for the late Ryanair landing
PMI's flight schedule is unforgiving — plenty of the cheap northern-European routes touch down close to midnight, exactly when you least want to be doing sums with a meter or checking a bus timetable. That is where a pre-booked private transfer fits this run. Firms like Welcome Pickups and local Mallorca operators have a driver waiting in the arrivals hall who walks you to the car, and the fare is fixed at somewhere around €28 to €40 whatever the traffic or the hour does. Because it is agreed in advance, a delayed flight does not change the price. The one thing worth doing is confirming the exact drop-off point when you book, since many old-town streets are car-restricted and the driver may need to leave you at the nearest open corner rather than the hotel step.
Skip the hire car unless you're leaving the city
Car hire is a huge business at PMI, and for a reason — but that reason is the rest of the island, not Palma itself. The rental desks are in the ground-floor arrivals area, with most collection lots a short shuttle or walk from the terminal, and you will pay roughly €25 to €55 a day in season, more if you book at short notice. If your whole trip is the cathedral, the Es Baluard museum and a couple of tapas evenings, a car becomes a liability the moment you arrive: central parking is scarce and paid, tied up in the metered ORA zones, and the old quarter is built for walking. Keep the car idea in your back pocket for a trip that includes Valldemossa or the coves, and let the A1 handle the city.
The short version for a Palma city break: tap a card on the A1 for €3 and you are at Plaça d'Espanya in about 20 minutes, cathedral in sight. Grab a taxi for €20-ish if the bags or the hotel's location say so, and book a flat-fare transfer if you are landing after dark. Whichever you pick, you will be ordering the first plate of pa amb oli well before the taxi crowd from a far-flung resort has even cleared the motorway.
