Port of Palma: what the Port Authority does and how it helps you as a visitor

Palma port is not an excursion operator, but it decides a lot of what you notice when you board a boat: where cruise ships berth, which quay the catamarans use and which works close off an access road. Its website is useful for checking ships and notices; for everything else, each boat operator gives you the times and prices.

What the Balearic Port Authority is

The Autoritat Portuària de Balears, which goes by Ports de Balears, is the state body that runs five ports on the islands: Palma, Alcúdia, Maó, Eivissa and La Savina. In Palma it splits the port into four areas: commercial quays, the Muelles de Poniente (western quays), marinas and the Dic de l'Oest (West Breakwater). The head office answers on +34 971 228 150; for a boat trip, call the operator, not the port.

Don't confuse Ports de Balears with Ports IB, the Balearic government's ports agency, which manages mooring buoy fields such as Sant Elm or Cap Blanc–Cala Blava. If you are on your own boat, buoys are booked with Ports IB; we explain how under private boat hire.

Cruise and ferry terminals

Cruise ships berth in two areas. Estacions Marítimes 1 to 4 are at Poniente, in Portopí, shared with the ferries. 5 and 6 are on the Dic de l'Oest, by Sant Carles castle, and take the biggest ships and the busiest days. Before you go, ask which one you board at. Full details in our guide to Palma cruise port.

How to get to Palma port

The EMT 1 bus links Plaça d'Espanya with the Passeig Marítim (seafront promenade), the "Portopí Estacions Marítimes 1, 2, 3 i 4" stop and the terminus "Dic de l'Oest – Museu Sant Carles". It costs €2 in cash; with a contactless bank card you pay less and can transfer. That is the current fare, but a rise to €3 has been given initial approval: check the current fare with the EMT. Stops on the EMT website.

By taxi, a €4.65 supplement for trips to or from the port is added to the initial charge and the per-km rate. The City Sightseeing tourist bus has stop 14, Estació Marítima, next to the Poniente terminal.

Cruise ships in Palma today: the ships-in-port page

The port's most useful tool is "Ships in port / Buques en puerto" on the Ports de Balears website. It shows the ships berthed at each quay on a map viewer, and the Posidonia SmartPort app does the same. If you want to know whether the centre will be full of cruise passengers tomorrow, look here.

Each month's calls are published by the Govern (Balearic government), not the port. In August, for example, every Saturday the AIDAcosma and the Marella Explorer were in port together, often with the Norwegian Dawn. The lines that sail from Palma are in our review of the cruise lines.

The agreement that limits cruise ships

The cruise limit isn't set by the port alone: it is an agreement signed by the Govern, Palma city council and the cruise lines. The current agreement already limits cruise ships to three at a time, with only one carrying more than 5,000 passengers. The new agreement, which applies to the 2027 to 2031 seasons for ships of 500 berths or more, sets a maximum of three cruise ships at a time, only one of more than 5,000 berths, and 8,500 berths a day as a weekly average; from June to September in 2027, 2028 and 2029 the cap drops to 7,500. Because it is an average, some days will be above it: in August there was one with almost 11,900 berths. The text and monthly data are on the Govern's page.

The tender for the Golondrinas pier

Palma's catamarans and party boats board at the Muelle de las Golondrinas, on the Passeig Marítim, opposite the Auditòrium. The port put the management of this terminal out to tender with a new condition: excluding boats with parties or dancing to music on board. Five boat companies challenged it in the courts, the port shelved the tender over a suspected leak of the tender documents and approved relaunching it with new conditions, with no date.

In the meantime, party boats still leave from Golondrinas (Barca Samba, for example, is still selling trips from there; see our review), but that could change: if you book a party boat, confirm the boarding point.

Bus Nàutic and works: what isn't working right now

Real Club Náutico de Palma: from 9 to 15 October, limited access and parking because of port resurfacing works. If your trip leaves from there, walk or take the bus.

Club de Mar: currently in the middle of an expansion; check access on its website before you go.

Golondrinas: parking nearby is difficult and there are works in the area; Magic Catamarans recommends the Marquès de la Sènia pay car park, on the Passeig Marítim itself, which has an EMT 1 stop.

How to use the port as a visitor

Boat trips from the centre are in boat trips from Palma port, and longer outings in our guide to catamarans in Palma.

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Alternatives

To moor your own boat or hire one with a skipper in the centre, the yacht clubs are the place to go: see our yacht clubs review. If you want a short trip from the Escala Reial, see our review of Mallorca City Boat.