One of the busiest islands of the Mediterranean regarding the movement of tourist groups, educational groups, company events, weddings and even cruise excursions. It seems like almost every day, thousands of tourists move across the island of Mallorca by coach for leisure activities or even simple transportation from their cruise ship or airport to various tourist locations. This way, booking the right bus for such group travel becomes critical since it greatly depends on its size and driver's experience and expertise.
Here we will cover what you should look out for when choosing a coach rental service in Mallorca, bus sizes and destinations where group transfers happen most often.
How Bus Size Is More Critical Than One Might Think
There are cases when the size of the coach does not match the number of passengers, wasting customers' money or making them pay additional fees because the rented bus turned out to be too small. It is critical to estimate your group's size correctly and choose an appropriate vehicle for them.
Small minibusses for 8 to 16 people fit the purpose perfectly when one deals with such a group as a family, a small group of people coming to a business conference or a single person or just a couple transferring to or from the airport. Minibusses are agile and are convenient to use in the tight corners of the Serra de Tramontana and towns such as Seller and Valldemossa that have complicated access roads. Larger buses, so-called midi coaches seating from 16 to 33 people, are the most commonly booked vehicle type for students, various excursion tours and even for middle-size wedding celebrations, which take place usually in the resort villas or resorts of Mallorca. Such coaches include all the features required to make a pleasant trip, including climate control, reclining seats and some onboard luggage storage area. Large buses with a size of 33 to 57 passengers are usually used in order to move large groups of passengers, such as conferences and big family groups, to the beach resorts of the island or cruise passengers boarding or disembarking from the cruise vessel in the Palma port. Such buses usually have some onboard facilities such as toilets and extra capacity for luggage and even Internet connection and PA system to enable a guide explaining passengers the places they visit.
Experienced coach operators always ask about luggage requirements and passenger mobility and how many stops are required for such a group.
How Experienced Coach Operator Helps With The Booking of A Bus
Anyone can just rent a bus from a garage or leasing company. An experienced operator, however, provides some unique value added through his years of operating routes in Mallorca.
The first aspect is related to the road and route knowledge that is essential when using a coach of some particular size: what mountain roads can be crossed using coach, what zones of parking are allowed around places such as the Cathedral of Palma, Caves of Draco and how it is necessary to schedule departures according to the traffic flow on the main motorways (Ma-1, Ma-13 and Ma-19) going from Palma to resort areas. Driver's licensing also matters, since besides the ordinary valid driver's license, a driver must have a specific professional license. Besides that, there are special European regulations for long routes which state some rest periods for the driver in accordance with EU Regulation 561/2006. It is also vital that the bus regularly passes some ITV roadworthy check procedure and the operator can provide them for the customer. Last but not least, backup buses and drivers are extremely important when it comes to a transfer at a certain hour because of the technical problems during the journey.
All those aspects of booking a bus might never appear in the quote, but they really determine the real professional approach of this company.
Most Popular Destinations For Using Coaches in Mallorca
Firstly, Palma city – capital of the island – is the most booked destination both as a city in its own right due to its old town, cathedral, great choice of shops and as the starting point for almost all other tours in Mallorca. Secondly, popular resort areas are: Magaluf, Palm anova, Santa Pons (south-west), Puerto Portals and Andratx (west part of the island).
Thirdly, Serra de Tramontana, the UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of the most requested tours due to the fact that it includes various beautiful villages: Valldemossa, Dei, Seller and requires a driver with good knowledge of the road. On the opposite part of the island (north-east), Alcúdia town and the bay named Alcudia are the most visited locations for beach and Old Town visits. On the eastern part of Mallorca Island there is the Cave of Draco, which is quite a popular destination for various groups of people, including tourists.
Besides those places, many groups travel either to or from Palma de Mallorca Airport (PMI) and cruise terminals located close to it.
An experienced operator would have real estimates on timing and traffic and know about the best pick-up points.
Tips for Choosing a Right Coach Hire Company
While comparing offers, it might be worthwhile to ask some additional questions about the age of the fleet, employment status of the drivers, policy of the company if a technical problem appears during the journey and if the offered price is completely inclusive of tolls and parking and the driver's lodging for multi-day tours.
A professional operator will answer them without hesitation and be ready to provide some documentation in order to prove its legality. A proper coach rental company makes the difference between having or not a nice trip on the island of Mallorca.
