Car rental in Playa de Palma

Playa de Palma is the long strip of hotels and beach between Can Pastilla and S'Arenal on the Bay of Palma, so close to Son Sant Joan that the planes pass overhead. Many visitors take a transfer from the airport to their hotel and only rent a car for the days they actually want to explore. That is exactly what the three local offices in our list are for: they are in the resort itself, on Carrer de Marbella, on Avinguda de Bartomeu Riutort and on the beachfront.

Why rent here rather than at the airport

• You avoid paying for days when the car would just stand in the hotel car park.
• Collection is a short walk from most hotels, with no shuttle bus or airport queue.
• You can still drop the car off before your flight home, as the airport is only a few minutes away.

The downside is opening hours. Resort offices close for lunch and in the evening more often than airport desks, and some run reduced hours outside the summer season, so check the times before you plan an early start.

Day trips from the bay

The Ma-19 motorway runs right behind the resort: west to Palma's cathedral and old town in a few minutes, and on to the Ma-20 ring road for the rest of the island. Sóller, linked to Palma by a road tunnel, and the villages of the Serra de Tramuntana make a full day. The Ma-13 heads north towards Pollença and Alcúdia, while the coves on the east coast, around Cala d'Or and Portocolom, are reached through the island's flat interior. Parking in central Palma is mostly in underground car parks. Street parking in blue zones is time-limited and paid by machine or app.