From Palma airport to your hotel: how to get there by bus, taxi, private transfer or hire car

Hotel in Palma, or in Can Pastilla, Playa de Palma and s'Arenal, with light luggage: the EMT bus is the cheapest option (A1 to central Palma, A2 along the bay coast), and a taxi is about ten minutes by road without traffic.

With small children or lots of luggage: a taxi or a pre-booked transfer. According to Palma city council, taxis charge no extra for suitcases or baby buggies; with 5 or 6 passengers add 3 euros and with 7 or 8, 6 euros.

Tight budget: the bus. EMT charges 5 euros per trip in cash on the airport lines; TIB accepts bank-card payment on its lines, with no need to buy a ticket beforehand.

Calvià and the south-west (Palmanova, Magaluf, Santa Ponça, Peguera, Camp de Mar): TIB line A11; if you arrive late or travel in a group, a taxi or transfer.

North (Alcúdia, Can Picafort, Pollença bay): line A32 in summer and A33 in winter, both stopping at Inca and Sa Pobla. For Port de Pollença, TIB mentions a connection at Alcúdia, so expect one change.

East (Cala Millor, Cala Bona, s'Illot, Porto Cristo, Manacor): A42 in summer and the A43, as far as Manacor, in winter. South: the A51 runs to s'Arenal, Llucmajor and Campos.

Sóller, Valldemossa, Deià, Cala Ratjada or the south-east (Santanyí, Cala d'Or): the airport lines listed by Aena do not go there. That leaves a taxi, a private transfer, a hire car, or the A1 to Palma and onwards from the Intermodal Station.

Arriving in the small hours: EMT publishes A1 departures from the airport until 03:10 and again from 05:30. Between those times, take a taxi or a pre-booked transfer.

The A1 (Aeroport - Palma Centre) stops at the airport on level 0 (arrivals) and level 2 (departures) and calls at Palau de Congressos, Porta des Camp, the Sindicat, Grans Magatzems and Plaza de España-Estació Intermodal, finishing at Passeig Mallorca. At Plaza de España, next to the Intermodal Station, you can change to other transport. According to EMT's current timetable, it runs every 15 minutes Monday to Friday and every 12 minutes on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. From the airport there are departures from 05:30 until 03:10.

A single ticket costs 5 euros in cash on board, with a maximum change of 10 euros (a fare EMT cites from BOIB no. 146 of 7 Nov 2024). Children under 5 travel free when accompanied. EMT also lets you pay with a debit or credit card by validating it as you board. The airport lines, A1 and A2, are only for trips starting or ending at the airport: you cannot hop on and off at intermediate stops.

The A2 (Aeroport - s'Arenal) runs through Cala Estància, Can Pastilla, the Playa de Palma beach-club stops and s'Arenal. It comes every 35 minutes on weekdays and every 25 at weekends and on public holidays; the first departure from the airport is at 06:15 and the last at 01:15. Aena also lists line 34 to Son Espases Hospital.

EMT states that in 2026 travel is free for holders of the Tarjeta Intermodal or Tarjeta Única with an updated profile, but that page does not say whether this covers the airport lines.

TIB, the intercity network, runs "Aerotib" lines linking the airport with the resort areas without going through Palma. The A11 goes to Camp de Mar and Peguera via Santa Ponça, Magaluf, Palmanova, Son Caliu, Portals Nous and Bendinat; its current timetable runs Monday to Sunday from 27 March 2026. The A32 links Can Picafort, Platja de Muro, Alcúdia, Sa Pobla and Inca with the airport (timetable 22 July to 31 October 2026). The A42 starts at Cala Bona and calls at Cala Millor, sa Coma, s'Illot, Portocristo, Manacor, Vilafranca, Montuïri and Algaida (27 March to 31 October 2026). The A51 runs from Campos through Llucmajor to s'Arenal (timetable from 9 September 2026).

Watch the season. Last winter, from 1 November 2025, TIB replaced the A32 with the A33 (Port d'Alcúdia - Airport, via Alcúdia, Sa Pobla and Inca) and the A42 with the A43 (Manacor - Airport, with a connection at Manacor railway station). That same announcement gave 26 to 38 departures a day per line, at an average frequency of one hour to one hour fifteen. Because the A32 and A42 timetables run until 31 October 2026, confirm on tib.org which lines operate on your travel date.

On the A11 and A32 only passengers travelling to or from the airport are carried, not between intermediate stops. On the A32 and A42 some intermediate stops (Sa Pobla, Vilafranca, Montuïri, Algaida) must be requested from the driver or booked before 21:00 the day before: tibreserves@consorcidetransports.com or 617 365 365, according to TIB's timetables.

TIB stops are on level 0 (arrivals). You can pay with a debit or credit bank card: tap on boarding and again when you get off, with no ticket bought beforehand, and the trips are charged the next day as a single amount. In the pages we checked TIB does not publish a single airport fare, so we give no price: look it up on each line's page. TIB information: 971 177 777.

The taxi rank is on level 0, arrivals. Aena advises always taking a taxi at the signposted rank at the terminal, avoiding anyone offering a ride away from it, and asking for an invoice in case you need to complain. Aena also lists chauffeur-driven services (VTC), such as Uber, outside arrivals on level 0.

The official fares published by Palma city council (Decree 20/2025 of 23 May) are: a starting charge of 2.50 euros on weekdays from 07:00 to 21:00 and 2.85 euros at night and on holidays, then 1.20 or 1.35 euros per kilometre. From the airport there is a minimum fare of 16.95 euros, which includes the starting charge, the airport supplement (4.65 euros, applied once per journey) and 7 kilometres. Mountain supplements are 4.26 euros (for example Banyalbufar, Estellencs or the Coll de Sóller) and 8.52 euros (Sa Calobra, Cala Tuent and Cap de Formentor). Paying by card and carrying luggage cost nothing extra. For long journeys the intercity fares are different and that site does not detail them: ask the driver for an estimate before you set off.

Road times from the airport without traffic, calculated from OpenStreetMap data (in summer or at peak hours they can be considerably longer): central Palma and s'Arenal, about 10 minutes; Palmanova, about 20; Magaluf and Santa Ponça, 25 to 30; Peguera, about 30; Port d'Andratx, 35; Sóller, about 35; Santanyí, 40; Alcúdia, about 45; Port de Pollença and Can Picafort, about 50; Porto Cristo, 55; Cala Millor, about 65; Cala Ratjada, about 70.

A private transfer is booked before you travel, with the route and the price set at the time of booking. It is worth considering if you arrive with children, plenty of luggage, as a group or at an hour when the bus does not run, and when your hotel is far from the bus lines, as in Sóller, Valldemossa or on the east coast.

Welcome Pickups and Suntransfers are two of the companies offering this service from Palma airport. Before you pay, check the website of the one you choose for the total price, the meeting point, the waiting time and the cancellation terms, and compare with a taxi, which has an official fare.

According to Aena, several companies (Avis-Budget, Europcar, Goldcar, Hertz, OK Mobility, Record Go and Sixt) have a desk in the arrivals hall on level 0, and the cars are collected from the airport car park. If you prefer to compare before you travel, DiscoverCars is a comparison site that links to pick-up at Palma airport.

Advice from the European Consumer Centre Spain (a 2021 leaflet that remains a good reference): the party signing the contract is normally the rental company, not the comparison site, so read its terms, above all the insurance cover and the fuel policy. Choose "full-to-full" (you collect with a full tank and return it full), without it being tied to other services with extra charges. Check what type of fuel the car takes.

Insurance and excess: extra insurance with an excess limits what you pay, but it usually has exceptions; the ECC warns that glass, tyres or the windscreen wiper are often not covered. Before paying for extra cover, see whether your card or a motoring club already gives it. For the card deposit or pre-authorisation, ask for the amount before you sign, and bear in mind that some companies require a credit card in the driver's name even if you booked with a debit card.

When you collect the car, check that the contract matches your booking, inspect the car with the agent, get any damage noted in writing and take photos. And remember that when hiring remotely there is no 14-day right of withdrawal, so free cancellation depends on the terms of your booking.

The airport has an official left-luggage desk, run by Superskunk, on level 2 in the check-in area. According to Aena, bags are dropped off from 08:00 to 20:00 and collected from 07:00 to 20:00, every day. Prices are 10 euros per small item or cabin case and 15 euros per medium or large suitcase (VAT included). It does not accept items over 25 kg or whose width plus length plus height exceeds 160 cm, nor bicycles or scooters, and everything goes through X-ray.

If you arrive early but your hotel is in Palma, another option is to leave your bags at a point in the city and explore the centre without carrying them. Radical Storage lists left-luggage points in Palma; on its website most show 3.90 euros per bag per day (price checked on 25 Oct 2026, subject to change), and opening hours depend on each point, so make sure they fit your flight before booking.

For those spare hours, three plans near the centre: the Cathedral, Bellver Castle and a tapas route.

Regulation (EC) 261/2004 protects passengers on flights leaving an EU airport, such as Palma, and on flights into the EU operated by EU airlines. If your flight is cancelled you can choose between a refund or alternative transport, and you are owed compensation unless you were told at least two weeks ahead or there were extraordinary circumstances. In case of delay, from 2, 3 or 4 hours (depending on distance) the airline must provide food and drink, and a hotel and transfer if departure moves to the next day.

Compensation is 250 euros on flights of up to 1,500 km, 400 euros on flights within the EU of more than 1,500 km and on those between 1,500 and 3,500 km, and 600 euros for all others. For delays, the European Commission says you are entitled to compensation if you reach your final destination three hours or more late, unless there were extraordinary circumstances, which the airline has to prove; most technical problems do not count as such. For a cancellation, compensation can be halved if you are offered alternative transport that arrives with only a small difference from the scheduled time (Article 7).

You can claim for free and on your own: first from the airline and, if it does not reply within two months or you are not satisfied with its answer, from the national authority, which in Spain is the Agencia Estatal de Seguridad Aérea (AESA). If you would rather not handle it yourself, companies such as AirHelp do it for you. AirHelp states on its website that it only charges if it wins the compensation, with a standard fee of 35% (VAT included) of the amount recovered (checked on 25 Oct 2026). It is an option, not an obligation.