Mallorca is a traffic nightmare
Palma one of the most walkable cities in Spain
Traffic chaos is a daily problem in Palma and other parts of Mallorca. | Photo: Majorca Daily Bulletin reporter
Palma01/05/2025 10:46
According to the latest report by the Tourism Observatory 69.2% of tourists travelled on foot within the municipality where they were staying, making this the main form of internal transport in Spain. An index has been developed that analysed the 20 main cities in Spain, ranking them based on key factors related to walkability and access to green spaces, such as the number of footpaths and green areas. And Palma has been ranked as the third most walkable city in Spain after Malaga and Zaragoza, so why is there so much traffic?
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4 comments
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Johnny CBelieving only one in the family are able to drive? There are plenty more than one person who drives, and many do at the same time. To work, schools etc.
The last sentence doesn't really make sense. It implies one of two things; either there are many non-residents who keep cars here of which there are certainly some, but probably not enough to make a noticeable difference or, secondly, a resident who owns more than one car is miraculously driving several cars simultaneously which seems somewhat unlikely!
Your journey is a case in point Humphrey. How else, other than a car, are you reasonably going to do your journey? Bus into Palma then bus to Port Pollença? Not really. So the car it is. Many of us would much prefer to not use the car, but have little or no public transport choice. Having said that, Mallorcans love their cars so weaning them off them will be a Herculean task despite the traffic jams.
Maybe the traffic chaos isn't caused by hire cars but it certainly is caused by the hotels. Compare winter traffic when the hotels are closed to now, when the vast majority are open.