Getting to the start
Palma de Mallorca (PMI) is the only realistic way in, and the good news for a linear walk is that both ends of the GR 221 are on the year-round bus network. Sant Elm is not a place you have to reach by taxi. Most people do it in three legs. EMT Palma line A1 from the terminal to the Estacio Intermodal under Placa d'Espanya, about 20 minutes. Then TIB line 101 (Palma to Andratx and Port d'Andratx, via Camp de Mar) from the coach bays. Then TIB line 121, a minibus, from Andratx through S'Arraco and Port d'Andratx to Sant Elm. All three run year round on TIB's own line pages. Allow the best part of a half day with the connections, and do not plan on doing it after a late-evening arrival. Second option, and the one to take if you land late or in a group: Radio Taxi Andratx covers Andratx, Port d'Andratx, Sant Elm, Camp de Mar and S'Arraco, works 24 hours, and does airport runs. They list transport of packages, luggage and bicycles, and have seven-seat vehicles. Third, the Aerotib line A11 (Peguera to the airport, via Bendinat, Portals Nous, Palmanova, Magaluf, Santa Ponca, Peguera and Camp de Mar) runs without a peak-season marker, so it avoids Palma altogether. It does not itself reach Andratx, but Camp de Mar and Peguera are both on line 101. In summer only, line 131 links Santa Ponca and Peguera with Andratx, Estellencs, Banyalbufar and Esporles. Many walkers start with the approach stage from Port d'Andratx rather than from Sant Elm itself. Line 101 serves Port d'Andratx directly, which makes that the simplest arrival of all.
Leaving the finish
The trail ends on the Pollenca side, and both Pollenca town (the Pont Roma end of the route) and Port de Pollenca are on year-round TIB lines, so the finish is easier than the start. Back to Palma and the airport: TIB line 301, Port de Pollenca to Palma via El Vilar, Pollenca, Crestatx, Sa Pobla and Inca, no peak-season marker. Then the A1 back out to the terminal. The better move for an early flight is to skip Palma. TIB line 322 runs Pollenca and Port de Pollenca to Alcudia and Port d'Alcudia year round, and the Aerotib line A33, Port d'Alcudia to the airport, also runs without a peak-season marker. Note that the other northern airport line, A32 from Can Picafort, is marked summer only on its line page, so do not treat the two as interchangeable. A TIB press release does say airport lines were extended to run all year rather than only in summer, which sits awkwardly with the marker still on the A32 page; check the line page on the day. In summer, line 231 runs back the other way, along the Ma-10 to Lluc and Soller, which is the leg to use if a bag or a car is waiting in Soller. Radio Taxi Pollenca covers Pollenca, Port de Pollenca and Cala Sant Vicenc, does airport transfers and lists wheelchair-accessible vehicles. Give yourself a night at this end or in Palma before an early flight. The walk slips a day for weather more often than not.
The one-way journey
This is a two-end problem and the two ends do not talk to each other. Sant Elm and Port de Pollenca are at opposite corners of the island, roughly 100 km apart by road, and every useful public link between them runs through Palma or Inca rather than along the coast. The one exception is the summer line 231, which threads the Ma-10 from Port de Soller to Lluc and Pollenca. The practical consequence is that a car is a liability here rather than a help, and the network is good enough that most walkers do not bring one. If you have a hire car, the cleanest answer is to give it back. The only place near either end with a car park built for a multi-day stay, a published tariff, CCTV and a 24-hour terminal shuttle is the Palma airport long-stay car park. No long-stay arrangement was established at Sant Elm, Andratx, Pollenca or Port de Pollenca, and Mallorca's ORA blue zones are priced in hours, not weeks. The other half of the answer is left luggage in Palma. Mallorca Lockers, a short walk from Placa d'Espanya, takes a bag for a minimum of one day and a maximum of 30, open 24 hours. Leaving the suitcase in Palma on the way in and collecting it on the way out removes most of the reason to want a car in the first place.
If you need to leave the trail early
This is the trail's real strength, and it is very uneven along the route. Village by village, from the west: Sant Elm to Estellencs. Sant Elm and Andratx both have year-round buses (121 and 101). Between them, on the Ma-10 over the Coll de sa Gremola, the only bus is line 131, summer only. Ses Fontanelles is not a listed stop on any TIB line, so on that stage the escape is on foot back to Andratx or on to Estellencs. Estellencs, Banyalbufar and Esporles. Line 202 runs Palma to Esporles, Banyalbufar and Estellencs with no peak-season marker. That is the strongest year-round corridor on the southern half and it shadows the trail closely. In summer line 131 adds a second way out, westward to Andratx. Valldemossa, Deia, Soller, Port de Soller. Line 203, Palma to Valldemossa, Deia, Soller and Port de Soller, runs year round. One walker's account puts it at roughly hourly, about 30 to 35 minutes from Palma to Valldemossa and about an hour and a quarter to Soller, and warns that some workings turn at Valldemossa and do not continue. Soller has two more ways out, line 204 through the Ma-11 tunnel and the Palma railway, which makes it the most reliably escapable point on the whole route. Soller to Lluc. This is where the network thins, and it is also the highest, most exposed and most committing section, over the Coll de l'Ofre and past Cuber, Gorg Blau and Tossals Verds. The only bus on this stretch of the Ma-10 is line 231, and its own line page says "Linia nomes d'estiu". TIB lists its roadside stops only as locality names ("Ma-10, Fornalutx" and "Ma-10, Escorca"), but two walkers' accounts place a bus stop at the Cuber trailhead on the Ma-10 and identify it as a 231 stop sitting on the GR 221 itself, with a handful of departures a day. Outside the 231's season there is no bus at all between Soller and Lluc: the retreat is on foot, down to Soller or on to Lluc, or a taxi called up onto the mountain road. Lluc. Line 312, Lluc to Inca via Es Guix, Caimari and Selva, runs year round, and Inca is on all three TIB train lines to Palma. That makes Lluc a genuine year-round bail-out even in midwinter. In summer the 231 also calls. Lluc to Pollenca. In summer the 231 follows the Ma-10 down; one walker's account notes the trail meets the main road in the Vall d'en Marc before the last stretch into Pollenca, which is where you would stand. Year round, once you are in Pollenca, lines 301 and 322 both run. One gap worth planning around: TIB's taxi directory lists operators for Soller, Pollenca and Alcudia but has no entry for Andratx, Estellencs, Banyalbufar, Esporles, Valldemossa, Deia or Escorca. Radio Taxi Andratx exists and covers the western end directly, but for the middle villages the nearest listed operators are in Soller or Palma.
Useful access hubs
AirportPalma de Mallorca Airport
EMT Palma line A1 to the city centre and the Estacio Intermodal at Placa d'Espanya, about 20 minutes, no booking. TIB's Aerotib lines leave from the same forecourt: A11 for Camp de Mar and Peguera at the western end, A33 for Port d'Alcudia at the northern end, A32 for Can Picafort. For the trail itself the airport is a staging post rather than a trailhead: both ends need a change in Palma, Andratx or Alcudia.
A1, A11 and A33 carry no peak-season marker on their line pages. A32 is marked summer only, although a TIB release states airport lines were extended to run all year rather than only in summer. Check the line page on the day.RailPalma Estacio Intermodal (Placa d'Espanya)
The single interchange this trail turns on. TIB coach bays for line 101 towards Andratx (the start), 202 for Esporles, Banyalbufar and Estellencs, 203 for Valldemossa, Deia and Soller, 204 for Soller through the tunnel, and 301 arriving from Pollenca (the finish). Also the SFM train lines T1, T2 and T3 towards Inca, and the metro. The Ferrocarril de Soller terminus is beside it.
Year round.RailInca station
The mid-route railhead, and the reason Lluc is reachable in winter. All three SFM train lines from Palma call here (T1 Palma to Inca, T2 continuing to Sa Pobla, T3 to Manacor). TIB line 312 runs from Inca to Selva, Caimari, Es Guix and Lluc. Line 301 between Palma and Pollenca also passes through.
Year round on the train lines and on 312. Neither carries a peak-season marker.RailSoller station (Ferrocarril de Soller)
The historic narrow-gauge railway from Palma, about an hour, and the terminus of the tram down to Port de Soller. This is genuine transport as well as an outing: it puts Soller within reach of Palma without the coach, and the tram is how Port de Soller works as a bed for the Muleta stage.
Departures thin out in low season, and one walker's account puts it at four a day from each end in low season against six to eight in high summer. The operator's timetable page returned a server error when this was researched on 2026-07-29, so treat winter frequency, and any annual maintenance shutdown, as unconfirmed and check trendesoller.com before relying on the train between November and February.RailPort de Soller tram terminus
Tram to Soller town, around 20 minutes, at least hourly according to one walker's account. Port de Soller also has TIB lines 204 to Palma, 203 along the coast road and 232 to Fornalutx year round, and 231 along the Ma-10 in summer. The tram is what makes a Port de Soller bed workable when Soller town is full, which on this trail happens.
Year round on the buses. Tram frequency is seasonal and was not confirmed on the operator's timetable page.CoachAndratx bus interchange
The change for the start. Line 121 minibus to Sant Elm via S'Arraco and Port d'Andratx, line 101 to and from Palma via Camp de Mar, both year round. In summer, line 131 continues north along the Ma-10 to Estellencs, Banyalbufar and Esporles.
101 and 121 year round. 131 summer only.CoachPort de Pollenca bus stops
Line 301 to Palma via Pollenca, Sa Pobla and Inca, and line 322 to Alcudia and Port d'Alcudia, where the Aerotib A33 runs to the airport. In summer, line 231 goes back along the Ma-10 to Lluc and Port de Soller. Pollenca town, the Pont Roma end of the official route, is on both 301 and 322, so it does not matter which of the two you finish in.
301 and 322 year round. 231 summer only.FerrySant Elm jetty (Cruceros Margarita)
Recorded because it is mapped as a transport point at km 0 and walkers ask about it. It is not a way of reaching the trail: the boats run 15 minutes across to the Sa Dragonera nature reserve and back, from Sant Elm, and are a rest-day excursion rather than a link. Cruceros Margarita by Sa Calma Boats, [email protected], +34 638 779 001.
The operator states "From 1st of November to 31 of February no service available", running Tuesday to Sunday in season. Sources and research notes · 35 sources
- tib.orgbus network and trail: the full TIB line list by region with route names and which lines carry a peak-season marker. Established that 131, 231, A32, A42 and A51 are summer only while 101, 121, 202, 203, 204, 301, 312, 322, A11, A33 and A43 are not, and that no line numbered 330 now exists.Checked 29 Jul 2026
- tib.orgbus network 203 stop sequence, low-entry bus, no seasonal marker, and the existence of the line 203 seat reservation pilotChecked 29 Jul 2026
- tib.orgbus network 202 stop sequence and year-round operation, which underpins the Estellencs, Banyalbufar and Esporles stop recordsChecked 29 Jul 2026
- tib.orgbus network 121, the only bus to the Sant Elm trailhead: stop sequence, minibus, no seasonal markerChecked 29 Jul 2026
- tib.orgbus network 101 stop sequence and year-round operation, the Palma to Andratx legChecked 29 Jul 2026
- tib.orgbus network 131: the only Ma-10 service between Andratx and Estellencs, and that it is summer onlyChecked 29 Jul 2026
- tib.orgbus network 204, the Ma-11 tunnel route between Palma and Soller, year roundChecked 29 Jul 2026
- tib.orgbus network 231: the Ma-10 corridor from Port de Soller through Lluc to Pollenca and Alcudia, worked by a coach, and marked summer only. The central escape-route fact for the high stages.Checked 29 Jul 2026
- tib.orgthe seasonal wording on line 231 in the operator's own language, and that no dates are published for the seasonChecked 29 Jul 2026
- tib.orgbus network 312: Lluc to Inca and Muro, year round, high-floor bus. The winter alternative to the 231 and the Lluc stop record.Checked 29 Jul 2026
- tib.orgbus network 301 stop sequence and year-round operation, the main route home from the finishChecked 29 Jul 2026
- tib.orgbus network 322 stop sequence and year-round operation, the Port de Pollenca to Port d'Alcudia link onto the Aerotib A33Checked 29 Jul 2026
- tib.orgaccess hubs and bus network A11: the year-round airport line reaching Camp de Mar and Peguera at the western end, and that it does not itself reach AndratxChecked 29 Jul 2026
- tib.orgthat A32 from Can Picafort is marked summer only, so it is not interchangeable with A33 for a flight homeChecked 29 Jul 2026
- tib.orgaccess hubs Inca and bus network SFM: train lines T1, T2 and T3 all serving Inca from Palma, with no seasonal markerChecked 29 Jul 2026
- trensfm.comSFM as the operator of the Mallorca rail network, and its Unica Card and single ticket fare optionsChecked 29 Jul 2026
- tib.orgtrail passes: the TIB zonal hop fare structure, the four-hop cap, and the accepted payment methods including contactless bank card and cash to the driverChecked 29 Jul 2026
- tib.orgaccess hubs: the statement that Aerotib airport lines were extended to run all year rather than only in summer, and the activation date of A11 on 20 December 2024. Cited as the disagreement with the A32 line-page marker rather than as a resolution of it.Checked 29 Jul 2026
- tib.orgtrail passes and the Valldemossa, Deia and Soller stop records: who may reserve a seat on line 203, the booking window, and the size of the July 2026 reinforcement, which is the evidence that the line runs fullChecked 29 Jul 2026
- tib.orgtrail passes: that the pilot covers only the 15:00 departure from Port de Soller, the 48 hour to 7 day booking window, cancellation to 3 hours before, the reservation phone line, and the no-show penaltyChecked 29 Jul 2026