Hotels near Soller and the Vintage Train

The Ferrocarril de Soller has run wooden carriages between Palma de Mallorca and Soller since 1912, climbing 199 metres through orange groves and 13 hand-cut tunnels in the Tramuntana foothills. The 27-km journey takes 60 minutes and ends at Soller's Placa d'Espanya station, where a 1913 wooden tram continues to the Port de Soller beachfront in another 25 minutes - both run on the original tracks and infrastructure.

Soller itself is a sandstone town set in a valley of orange and lemon orchards. The Modernista facade of the parish church on Placa Constitucio (designed by a Gaudi pupil) is the photographic centrepiece, and the Botanical Garden on Carretera Palma-Port de Soller has a strong Mediterranean plant collection. Most visitors do the train down, eat in Soller (the Placa cafes serve fresh-pressed local orange juice), then ride the tram to Port de Soller for a swim before the return train.

Pro Tip: Buy a return ticket combining train, tram and boat (the 12:00 boat from Port de Soller to Sa Calobra is the highlight, currently around 30 EUR adult round trip). Reserve the morning train (10:10 from Palma) - afternoon services fill with cruise passengers.