The island of Mallorca is wonderfully well connected by air to all over Europe. But the good news is there’s a more fun and planet-friendly way to get there from Spain.
At the end of March I took the ferry as a foot passenger from Barcelona to Palma de Mallorca, and back again, for a long weekend on the largest Balearic island. Here’s how it went, sprinkled with a few tips for making the best of your time out at sea.
Barcelona to Palma
Unlike a lot of the ferry routes I travel a lot (like Santander > Plymouth), there are a few different companies chugging between Barcelona and Mallorca.
I ended up with Trasmed, as they were marginally cheaper (€50 each way), but checked out all the options in case I could find a reasonably priced cabin for the overnight trip out, which I didn’t have any success with.
This is one of the downsides of solo ferry travel. The foot passenger ticket itself is often very reasonable (especially in off/shoulder season), but cabins can be very pricey, especially if just for one person.
Whilst I tend to get a cabin on long crossings between Spain and the UK these days (I’m not as hardcore as I used to be), for this 7-hour crossing I was sure I could cope.
The Trasmed terminal is just a few steps from the bottom end of La Rambla, with Drassanes metro station just a 5-minute walk away.
I checked in at about 7 pm, then got on with some work as best I could in the terminal building. At about 10 pm, a bus whizzed us foot passengers down onto the dock and we traipsed onto the boat.
If you’re not familiar with these kinds of ferries, you won’t know there’s always some kind of lounge with reserved seats for those of us who don’t shell out for a cabin.
On this particular boat, I have to say the seats didn’t look particularly inspiring at first glance, but there was a handy luggage rack, and the main advantage was that you could raise the armrest and spread out over two seats, which isn’t always the case.
As it wasn’t too busy at this time of year, I had two seats to myself, I was able to curl up with my feet resting on my suitcase.
Here are some of my top tips for sleeping well in these lounges:
- Don’t forget an eye mask, and earplugs if you’re sensitive to noise, although the roar of the ship’s engine should lull you to sleep.
- Bring some kind of scarf, sarong or towel to use as a blanket. I have a sleeping bag liner I use on backpacking adventures, and that’s ideal.
- Bring warm socks for cosiness when you take your shoes off.
- If you haven’t got (space for) a travel pillow, bring a pillow case and stuff it with clothes. That’ll make the experience SO much more comfortable.
I set up camp and managed to sleep surprisingly well until 5 am when they started making announcements over the tannoy to get everyone up in time for docking at six.
Bear in mind:
Always assume you will take a while to get off the boat and make your onward travel plans accordingly, as foot passengers are normally the last off (listen for announcements; you usually have to wait in reception).
In my experience, it’s not unusual for ferries to dock late (less true on shorter routes like this one).
Palma > Barcelona
There’s no denying this is a far superior experience during the day, especially if you get a sunny one. This ferry weighed anchor at 11.30 am.
The Ciudad de Barcelona boat (still with Trasmed*) is great, with loads of comfy spots to sit, lots of power points and windows for dolphin spotting. Dogs are allowed anywhere on the ship, which makes the whole thing more entertaining if you’re slightly dog-obsessed like me.
*One of the reasons I wanted to try Trasmed is that they’re owned by Grimaldi ferries with whom I had a horrendous experience on a Civitavecchia > Barcelona crossing in summer 2022, with a packed boat, overflowing loose and staff shortages at the bars thanks to our old friend COVID. So my opinion of them wasn’t the best, but Trasmed in 2025 (at least off-season), seems to be doing a far better job.
There’s good free WIFI all over the ship (enough for emails and WhatsApp, which isn’t the case on a lot of ferries), and on a sunny day, you can sit out on the deck and watch Mallorca slowly fade into the distance.
I sat out there with a notebook and pen, drafting this blog post and working on my content marketing plan for April.
There are also promising-looking eateries on board, but for me, the first rule of ferry travel (and life in general) is ALWAYS BRING SNACKS, especially as a vegan/veggie, and if you’re travelling on a budget, as food is always more expensive on board.
Looking into a ferry adventure?
If you’re looking to set sail, for routes covered by more than one ferry company, I always use comparison tools like Direct Ferries or Ferry Scanner (affiliate link) to find the best deals.
For onward rail travel and generally figuring out the best way to get anywhere in Europe using public transport, try the incredible The Man in Seat 61.
It’ll come as no surprise that prices will be lowest if you avoid peak travel times, and the experience will be far nicer too, as you won’t have to fight lots of other passengers for the best sunbathing, dolphin watching or sleeping spots!
Slow travel is my thing
Although I haven’t sworn off plane travel, I try and travel as slowly and sustainably as I can, whenever I can. And as a marketing translator and copywriter, I’m here to help brands in the sustainable travel and ecotourism niches, from hotels and travel agencies to tourist attractions, connect with as many conscious travellers as possible.
They’re out there, you just have to speak their language!
Turn to me for:
- Creative translations of your marketing materials from Spanish and Portuguese to English
- English copywriting for your website
- Content writing for your travel blog
- UK English voiceovers and English subtitles for your beautiful promotional videos
Next up, Spain > Ireland
My next slower adventure is just around the corner, as we’ll be hopping on the ferry from Bilbao to Rosslare next week (this time with the van, my partner, Monty the dog and a cabin).
Watch this space!
