doe wrote:...I think there is some kind of little train that takes you in and out of Soller, it is all supposed to be most scenic and sounds like our kind of thing... not sure if you need to be based in Palma to get this train or if it's something that you do once you get to Soller and it just goes back and forth between Puerto Soller and the Old Town of Soller...
That's the tourist train that runs between Soller/Palma/Soller. The station in Palma is opposite the Plaza Espania, just next to the main railway station. So you can go up to Soller or down to Palma or both. The station is marked Ferrocarril De Soller in this map...
Soller Train
The train originated in the late 1800's for carrying the orange crop down to Palma, it runs through some very nice countryside. Takes around 45 mins as I recall.
A nice full day trip from Puerto Pollensa is to catch the bus to Puerto Soller (about 2&1/2 hours), get the tram from the port up to the town of Soller then the train down to Palma. In Palma cross to the Estacio Intermodal and catch the bus back to Puerto Pollensa. The train is **always** busy so as soon as you arrive in Soller check times, buy tickets and queue early to fight for seats.
As to staying in Soller, we did that in May 2002. It's a nice resort and is one of the most visited in Mallorca but some negatives...
1) Back then the beach was right next to the port, was very small and sometimes contaminated with oil from the ships. No idea if it has improved.
2) Despite being very busy during the day it was **very** quite at night, not a lot to grab your attention other than the occasional show in one of the hotels.
3) Not a great variety of restaurants and bars, and they were all expensive and nothing to get excited about.
We in fact hired a car and spent two weekends in Puerto Pollensa. We have never returned other than the occasional day trip.