the port to the Estació Intermodal on Plaça d’Espanya. Some buses heading west can be caught near the ferryport, without the need to go into the city. These include bus 102 to Port d’Andratx and bus 111 to Calvià and es Capdellà.
Taking or hiring a car
Car hire can be arranged in advance, on arrival at the airport or through most hotels. Before considering this approach, bear in mind that using a car to access a walk means returning to it afterwards. There are plenty of excellent linear walks that link with public transport, for which a car is a liability.
Travel around Mallorca
A colourful bus crosses a vintage railway line in Bunyola
By train
There are only two railway lines leaving the centre of Palma. An expensive, rickety, vintage train called the Ferrocarril de Sóller runs northwards to Bunyola. It then passes through 13 tunnels beneath the Serra d’Alfàbia and spirals down to Sóller, where it links with an electric tram to Port de Sóller. For timetables, tel 971 752051 or 971 752028, www.trendesoller.com.
Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca (SFM) trains only serve the end of one route (Walk 28), but they link with buses that serve a few more walking routes. For instance, bus 320 links the Consell-Alaró station with Alaró, and bus 330 links the Inca station with Caimari and Lluc. For train timetables, tel 971 177777, www.tib.org.
By bus
Bus timetables are published to cover the summer (April to September) and winter (October to March) seasons. The combined bus/rail station, the Estació Intermodal in Palma, provides photocopies for a few cents, and they are posted on brightly coloured bus stops around Mallorca, but otherwise printed copies are difficult to obtain. Most buses, but by no means all of them, are red and yellow. Buses run from early until late, but some remote villages have few buses. A list of useful bus services is given in Appendix B; for more details, tel 971 177777, www.tib.org.
By taxi
Taxis are available in all towns and most villages throughout Mallorca, usually close to the main squares or near popular hotels. Cars are generally white, with a stripe bearing the crest of the local municipality. The green sign Lliure/Libre means ‘free’ and any taxi displaying this can be used. In case of difficulty ask your hotel, or a roadside bar, to call one for you. Offer a couple of Euros if they seem reluctant to phone. A general rule of thumb is that a long taxi journey will cost five times more than the bus fare. If three or four walkers share a taxi, the individual cost is close to the bus fare for the same journey. You can ask to see a scale of charges approved by the local municipality, but if you want to go on a long journey you may have to pay the fare both ways even if you’re not returning. Bear in mind that when asking for a taxi pick-up in a remote place, at short notice, it could be an hour or more before it arrives.
When to go
In theory it is possible to walk in Mallorca at any time of the year, but the peak summer period is very hot and any strenuous activity is quite exhausting. Spring and autumn are usually warm and clear, with a chance of rain, and most walkers would be happy with conditions at these times. The winter months can be clear and warm, but there is a greater risk of rain and the possibility of cold winds and snow on higher ground. Roughly every 20 years the whole of Mallorca is covered in snow, all the way down to the beaches, making transport to the mountains and walks along paths difficult.
Note the large number of religious or cultural holidays, or festes, on the island. Many businesses close on these days and public transport operates a reduced level of service. The main dates are 1 and 6 January, 1 March, Easter (Thursday to Monday), 1 May, 25 July, 15 August, 12 October, 1 November and 6, 8, 25 and 26 December. Some towns and villages have local festes, but these usually only affect local businesses and not public transport.
Rampant flowers on the way from es Capdella to the Finca Galatzó (Walk 9)
Mountain weather
Mallorca has a typical Mediterranean climate with mild, damp winters and hot, dry summers. The relative humidity is around 70% throughout the year. This, together with sea breezes, makes the hot summer days bearable, providing you are not walking uphill too much. There are nearly 300 sunny days in the year and even the winter months see an average of five hours of sunshine a day.
Rain usually falls in heavy showers that soon clear up, although there are occasional days of torrential rain in the late autumn and early spring. The rainfall is greatest over the high mountains and least on the south coast. Snow is common on the mountain tops in winter but very rare at sea level, with falls there recorded in 1956, 1985 and 2005. When snow falls deeply on the mountain paths, they can be quite difficult to follow.
Take nothing for granted with the weather, and obtain a forecast whenever possible. TV stations and Mallorcan newspapers carry daily weather reports. For hourly forecasts, check www.eltiempo.es/baleares.
Accommodation
The main tourism website for Mallorca is www.infomallorca.net. Tourist information offices are located in all the main resorts, but some of them operate only during the summer. Staff at these offices usually speak English and can assist with information about accommodation, transport and visitor attractions. There is a tourist information office at the airport and others in the city of Palma.
Accommodation varies widely, from dirt-cheap independent hostels to incredibly expensive hotels. While the bulk of tourists book package holidays, walkers may wish to stay in quiet rural locations or mountain villages. When choosing accommodation, think carefully about how far you are willing to travel in order to complete walking routes, as the island is big and travelling along winding mountain roads can be slow.
If a car is being used, then accommodation could be located anywhere, but if bus services are being used, then accommodation needs to be chosen somewhere close to a bus station or bus stop, preferably in a place offering services in many directions. Staying close to the Estació Intermodal in Palma makes it possible to commute to and from every walking route in Mallorca, for those willing to start early and finish late.
Some of the walks pass refugis, part of a small network established by the Consell de Mallorca and administered either by the Consell or independently. Often in restored buildings, they are equipped to a high standard and offer dormitory accommodation at very good prices. However, the refuges are more likely to be of interest to trekkers on the GR221 and are not really suited to use as a walking base – although hungry and thirsty passers-by may be grateful of the refreshments on offer. If you do wish to stay in a refugi, be aware that Mallorcans are very quick to take advantage of such economic yet quality accommodation, so weekends tend to be busy with family groups.
Language
There are two official languages in Mallorca: Catalan and Castilian Spanish. Catalan is spoken from Andorra to València, as well as on the Balearic Islands. Mallorquí is a dialect of Catalan and includes words of French and Arabic origin. No-one expects visitors to learn Catalan, let alone Mallorquí, and any Spanish you learn will be readily understood. Many people in the main resorts and large hotels speak English, German and other languages but this may not be the case in small villages and in the countryside.
