Car rental at Palma de Mallorca Airport (PMI)

Son Sant Joan, as locals call Palma's airport, lies about eight kilometres east of the city next to the beach suburb of Can Pastilla. It is the third busiest airport in Spain, and on a summer Saturday the arrivals hall is crowded with flights from the UK, Ireland, Germany and Scandinavia. Before you choose a car, check how the pickup works, because it makes a real difference after a late landing.

Desk in the terminal or shuttle bus

Roughly half of the companies in our list have a desk in the arrivals area and keep their cars in the airport car park. The other half run a shuttle bus to depots in the Llevant business area, mainly along Camí de Son Fangos and Carrer del Canal de Sant Jordi, a few minutes' drive away. Shuttle firms are often cheaper, but allow extra time on return day, especially for an early flight home. A couple of operators work from a separate rental centre or offer a meet and greet service.

Roads out of the airport

• The Ma-19 motorway runs past the airport: west into Palma and the Ma-20 ring road, east along the coast to Playa de Palma and S'Arenal.
• For the north, the Ma-13 crosses the island towards Inca, Pollença and Alcúdia.
• Calvià, Magaluf and Andratx in the south west are reached via the Ma-20 and the Ma-1.
• The Serra de Tramuntana, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is served by narrow mountain roads such as the Ma-10 and the hairpin Ma-2141 down to Sa Calobra, where large cars and coaches make passing slow.

The airport has four modules, A to D, with colour-coded signs, and flights from the UK and Ireland often use module A. Allow time to walk to the rental area when you land at a far gate. In July and August the cheapest cars disappear early; between November and March there is plenty of choice, although some resort-based firms scale down.