Getting around without a car: buses, train and Palma’s metro

How the network fits together

Public transport on the island runs under the TIB brand, which covers the interurban buses, the train and the metro. Inside Palma, the city buses are run by the EMT, the city’s own bus company. The historic Sóller railway is a separate private line.

Almost everything meets at the Estació Intermodal, under Plaça d’Espanya in central Palma. The trains and the metro leave from here, and so do most island buses. If you live near Plaça d’Espanya, you can reach most of Mallorca without changing more than once.

The train: Palma to Inca, sa Pobla and Manacor

Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca (SFM) runs three lines on one route out of Palma. T1 ends at Inca, T2 continues to sa Pobla and T3 branches off to Manacor via Sineu and Petra. All three share the track as far as Inca, stopping at stations in Marratxí, Santa Maria del Camí and Binissalem on the way.

• Palma to Santa Maria takes a little over 20 minutes, to Binissalem about half an hour and to Inca about 35 to 40 minutes.
• Sa Pobla is just under an hour from Palma, and Manacor a little over an hour.
• Between Palma and Inca, weekday trains run every 10 to 20 minutes, and every half hour at weekends. Sa Pobla and Manacor each get a train about every 40 minutes on weekdays and about once an hour at weekends.

Palma’s metro and city buses

Palma has one metro line, the M1. It runs from Plaça d’Espanya north through the city to the university and, since July 2025, one stop further to the ParcBit technology park. The whole trip takes about a quarter of an hour. It is most useful for students, university staff and people living in the northern neighbourhoods around Son Sardina.

For everyday trips inside the city, the EMT bus network is the main option. It covers the old town, the seafront and outer neighbourhoods, and the A1 runs between the airport and the centre.

Island buses

TIB buses reach almost every town, mostly from the Estació Intermodal. Main routes, such as Palma to Inca, Pollença and Port d’Alcúdia, run all year. On the coast many services follow the season. Some direct lines to Palma and some airport buses only run from spring to October, and in winter the same trip can mean changing at an inland town.

Regular users pay with the Targeta Intermodal or the newer Targeta Única. In December 2025 the Balearic government confirmed that journeys made with these cards on TIB buses, the train and the metro stay free during 2026, as they have been since 2023. Single tickets and bank-card payments are still charged.

The Sóller train

The wooden train from Palma to Sóller has run since 1912 and takes about an hour via Bunyola, from a station beside Plaça d’Espanya. A vintage tram continues down to Port de Sóller. It is a fine day out but runs mainly for visitors, with only a few departures a day. It also stops for maintenance in winter: in the 2025 to 2026 season the train stopped in late November and restarted on 2 February. For daily trips, Sóller residents use the TIB buses through the road tunnel.

Where you can live without a car

• Central Palma: the old town and the inner neighbourhoods have shops, markets, buses, trains and the metro within walking distance. This is the easiest place on the island to live car-free.
• Towns on the train line: Marratxí, Santa Maria, Binissalem, Inca, sa Pobla and Manacor all have frequent or regular trains to Palma and walkable centres. Live within walking distance of the station.
• Large year-round towns with good buses: Sóller, Pollença and Alcúdia work for many people, with patience in summer traffic.
• Small resorts and the countryside: hard. Buses thin out in winter, and a finca or a house in a coastal development almost always needs a car.

Even car-free households often rent a car now and then for the beach, a big shop or a trip to the hospital. If you plan to live without one, test the journeys you would make most, on a weekday in winter, before you buy. Our guide to moving to Mallorca covers driving licences and other practical steps.

Areas in this post

Palma · Inca · Manacor city · Sóller town · Marratxí · Sa Pobla town