While on a cruise with my family of 5 (3 kids, ages 6-9), we will be stopping in Palma De Mallorca for a day. Has anyone ever visited the Drach Caves for their guided tour? Would this be a wise manner in which to spend our time? Any other ideas would be great. Thanks!

I have been half a dozen times on Mallorca, but never felt tempted to visit the caves.

Palma de Mallorca is a beautiful city, and you could easily spend a day there. The harbour area is nice, the cathedral is breathtaking, the Royal Palace (L'Almudaina) is worth a visit, and the City offers typical mediterranean feeling with some art nouveau buildings (Gaudi) in between. Also good museums (including the Miro Foundation).

If you do not like to visit a town, why not renting a car for a couple of hours? Drive into the mountains, see Valldemossa, Soller, Sa Calobra and the spectacular coastal road.

I have taken the tour into Drach caves, and it is well worth it. In fact the little chamber orchestra playing in a floating boat and the whole atmosphere made me cry, it was so beautiful. BUT with only a day I would not do it, it is too far.

Do like traveller says, OR take the old train from Palma to Soller, and a tram from there to Puerto de Soller.

The kids would llike the train ride to soller

http://cruises.about.com/cs/europe/a/mallorca_3.htm

and you would get a good idea of mallorca's spectacular scenery.

Thank you for your ideas. After researching the area last night, I think we are going to visit the Cathedral, the bull ring and the castle - they all look spectacular and I think our kids would be very interested to see such grand structures. Although I'd love to see the caves, I don't think time will permit on this trip.

Hi,

I'm taking a cruise and wonder is it possible to take the train round trip to Soller and see it well enough and return by 3:00 pm

thanks

Sóller is barely a town. The train stops in the center. You can easily explore everything in one hour. Or take the old tram to the harbor/ now resort town Port de Sóller and back.
Or take the train just one-way, connect to Valldemossa with a bus, and from there back to Palma.

Sorry, forgot to post the timetables.
For the train:
http://www.trendesoller.com/en/cms.php

For bus L210 Palma-Valldemossa-Sóller and back:
http://www.consorcidetransports.org/...obus/linia/210
You can download the timetable from that page. Check before you leave if there have been changes.
dilluns a divendres means mondays - fridays
dissabtes - saturdays
diumenges i festius - sundays and public holidays

If you want to do the loop with train/bus you should check if it's more feasible/flexible to do it clockwise or counter-clockwise.

There is comment on here about the Caves of Drach and whether they are worth the visit and I have to disagree with elina. The cost is about 11 euros to go in (they are timed entries) apart from the cost of getting to them and I've always found that they herd you through the interesting geological part, without explanation, into the auditorium by the water.

The whole boat, musicians thing is totally cheesy and not beautiful (IMHO) at all. On another thread someone asked for the definition of a tourist trap--this is one. It shouldn't be, because the formations are spectacular, there's just not enough information given about what is a natural phenomenon.

traveller1959 has given some good advice for the way to go in such a short time.