Walking the
GR221 commuter style from Puerto Pollença
Below is our initial plans and actual experience of doing the GR221 walk through the Tramuntana mountains from Puerto Pollença to Port Andratx. My Brother and I completed this walk in October 2023. You can see our photographs from the trip: https://youtu.be/nsICmdPy-4I (short version), https://youtu.be/-AqCw9ePsGw (long version). See https://www.cicerone.co.uk/trekking-in-mallorca#image-5 . Each day we commuted back to the apartment in Puerto Pollença. Theoretical maps, distance, time and elevation obtained from https://www.outdooractive.com/en/routeplanner/ . Actual distance measured using my free MapMyWalk app sponsored by Under Amour. Legs 0-5 and the first part of leg 6 are fairly well signposted, but we took a few wrong turns and were glad of our Garmin to tell us when we were off the correct route. The second half of leg 6 and all of leg 7 would be difficult to navigate without the Garmin, but if you keep following the coast, you may not be on the exact GR221, but you won’t go far wrong. Return to the home page here: https://www.walkersinmallorca.co.uk/
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Leg |
From and to ends |
How we do it |
Comments |
Map |
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0 |
Port de Pollença to Pollença Blue difficulty |
6.7Km. 57m up, 5m down. Flat and boring walk, will probably take about 1 hour 40 minutes max – probably best to do on day of arrival – plenty of buses back to the Port. |
Use TIB right now service to check for next bus: https://www.tib.org/en/xarxa-de-transports/tib-ara Actual experience comments: Look out for the GR221 sign on the roundabout near the marina at the end of Carrer de Joan XX111 which says “Refugi del Pont Roma Pollença 1hr 25” which is the official start (or end) of the GR221. We did this walk in 1:20, watch out for the right turn signposted “Refugi del Pont Roma” a few hundred metres after you have crossed the roundabout towards the end of this walk. We ended the walk at the refuge and walked into the main square for a beer, then bused it back to the Port. |
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1 |
Pollença to Lluc Red difficulty |
18.1 Km, 645m uphill, 216m downhill. Park at Pollença (5 mins drive), then 5 hour 40 mins walk. 25 minute bus ride back to Pollença and 5 minute drive home. 10:00 start should easily suffice for 17:15 bus home. |
Target to get 17:15 bus 231 back to Pollença Early bird would be 07:00 start in Pollença, then get 14:05 bus back. Actual experience comments: We left the apartment at 07:15 and started at 07:30 in torch light (sunrise 8:00 when we did it at the end of October). First few Km are very easy walking, when you get up into the mountain the GR221 signs take you two different directions a couple of times (an easy route and a tough route which is quicker). We did the tough route and completed the walk in 4:20, which got us there in plenty of time for a walk around the monastery and a couple of beers before returning on the 14:05 for a late lunch back at base. Distance measured on my app was 23.7km, total time 5:41 for both this and leg 0 above. We found free parking on-street in Pollença, but there is a free car park in a field just off the MA-10 near the Pont Roma (which is also the name of the refuge). |
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2a and 2b |
Lluc to Soller Black difficulty |
29.9Km. 1239m uphill, 1699m downhill. Drive to Lluc (25 mins), 10 hour 40 minute walk to Soller. Need to get to half way point (Cúber reservoir) by 1.15pm for bail out option 2, which means leaving Lluc at 7.30am which means leaving apartment about 7am. |
Note 1: Lluc car park is meant to be open 24/7 Note 2: Last bus back from Soller: 18:45 Bail out option 1: Book into Tossal Verds: Web site for refugi: https://caminsdepedra.conselldemallorca.cat/en/-/tossals-verds Bail out option 2: Bus 231 back from Cúber reservoir: Bus stop is between Mirodor DSB and Escorca, so probably arrives at the reservoir around 13:30: Actual experience comments: This is a very tough walk and before you get to the Cuber reservoir you peak at 1200 metres which is higher than anywhere in England or Wales. Amazing views! One of the bail out options was a must for us. Starting at first light we completed the leg to Cuber reservoir in exactly 5 hours (13.9km) which gave us time for a picnic and then catch the 13:30 back to Lluc monastery. Parking at the monastery was only 2 €. For the second part of this leg, we drove to Soller as that is quicker than driving to the Cuber reservoir and parked for free on the main road near Soller (the road from the tunnel). To save time getting to Soller drive to the motorway and take the Bunyola turn off, then go through Bunyola, then the tunnel. We left the apartment at 08:00 then caught the 09:05 bus from Soller back to the Cuber Reservoir and started our walk which was thankfully easier than the first half and took us 4:08 (13.1Km). We had a nice paella in the square in Soller and drove home from there. On this leg there are two GR221 routes, one via Tossal Verds (see above) and a shorter one which is the original route, we took the latter and subsequently read that there are some very difficult sections if you go via Tossal Verds where you have to hang onto cables they have installed to avoid a fatal fall! |
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3 |
Soller to Deia via Port de Soller Blue difficulty |
13.5Km. 461m up, 328m down. 4 hrs, 25 mins. Drive to Soller (50 mins via motorway, Bunyola and Tunnel as opposed to mountain route), bus back from Deia to Soller (15 minutes) |
Recommended parking is on main road Ma-11 on the tunnel side of Soller. Buse 203 runs approx every hour, so no time pressure. Actual experience comments: A very welcome less technical coastal walk with great views of Port de Soller. We started at first light again which got us to Cala Deia in time to have lunch at Ca's Patro March (the restaurant that featured in the Night Manager), then, still on the GR221 climb up the hill to Deia in time to get the 14:10 bus back to Soller. Total time 4:24 and 15.3 km which included our restaurant detour of 0.5km and taking the wrong route back up the hill after lunch and having to backtrack 300 metres or so. Don’t go over the wooden bridge in Cala Deia but take the path that’s off to the left of the main road. About a third of the way into this walk, when you have climbed up onto the clifftop there is a well sign-posted detour which adds an additional 3.2Km to walk to the Refugi de Muleta and back. Apparently it “has a beautiful setting beside the lighthouse at Cap Gros” above Port de Soller. We didn’t take this detour off the GR221, but if we did the walk again, we definitely would. |
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4 |
Deia to Esporles Red difficulty |
22.2Km. Up 1334m, down 1308m. 8 hours 45 minutes. Drive to S’Esgleieta (eglise L’Olivar) takes 45 mins, bus from S’Esgleieta to Deia, walk from Deia to Esporles, taxi from Esporles to S’Esgleieta (approx. 7km), drive home. Suggested time to leave the apartment is 08:00. |
09:05 bus 203 from S’Esgleieta will get us to Deia at 09:35, which means arriving in Esporles at around 18:30. Worst case (if we can’t get a taxi is to walk the 7Km back to the car) See below (bus stop on right, potential parking place on left) road is MA1110. Set Sat Nav to Bar Taverna, Carretera Valldemossa, S’Esgleieta (favourites on my Apple Maps):
Actual experience comments: Turned out this was a good place to park (on the left in the picture above, free parking near Sa Taverna). We decided to start early again and left before 7am to get the 07:55 bus. Remember to allow time for the Palma rush hour on the motorway. Note there are 3 stops in Deia, you need Deia 1 if you finished the previous walk in the town centre. This is a tough leg. We stopped in Valldemossa for lunch. The route out of Valldemossa is difficult to find, you need to walk up the Cami Son Mosenya to find the GR221 sign. Excluding lunch the walk took us 8:47 (24.7km). The climb out of Deia is mental (very steep ascent up to over 900 metres) and then a technical finish dropping back down to Esporles. We were very tired at the end and had a welcome beer in the Bar Deportiu on the high street and were told that there was a free car park behind the bar. We parked there the following morning. From the bar we got a taxi courtesy of Taxi Esporles (+34 665 82 30 23) back to the car at S’Esgleieta which cost us 15 Euros. A cheaper alternative to the taxi is to get the 202 bus from Esporles to Palma and get off after a few stops at bus stop “Ses Rogetes de Canet 1” which gives you about a 1.5km walk down the road back to the car. Whether by taxi or on foot, remember to turn left (North towards the mountains) at the roundabout when you reach the MA1110 to get back to Sa Taverna. Footnote: If you park at the UIB (Universitat de les Illes Balears) Estació de Metro which is one stop South (towards Palma) than the one in the picture above, then it looks like both the 202 and 203 buses stop there, but it says that you need to tell the driver when you get on the bus if you want to stop there. It looks like the buses out of Palma stop there automatically. |
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5 |
Esporles to Estellencs Blue difficulty |
14.2Km. 486m uphill, 526m downhill. 4 hours 50 minutes. Drive to Esporles (57 minutes), do the walk, bus back to Esporles (30 minutes) – easy. |
15:35 bus 202 should be easily doable with a 10:00 start, leave apartment at 09:00. Early bird would be leave apartment at 07:30 to get 14:00 bus. Actual Experience Comments: As usual we went for the early start, parking in the free car park at the back of Bar Deportiu and leaving Esporles at first light. A relatively straightforward walk, however you drop back down to sea leave at the halfway point of Banyalbufar and the climb out of there is very steep for a couple of kilometres. At the end, following the GR221 down out of Estellencs the walk took us to a few benches next to a free car park. We had our picnic on one of the benches and walked back up the hill to catch the 14:00 bus back to Esporles. Note: there are two bus stops in Estellencs and you need to wait at the one that is slightly out of town, just past the Maristel Bar and Bistro. Total time walking was 4:33 with a distance of 15.1Km. |
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6 |
Estellencs to Sant Elm Black difficulty |
25km. 980m uphill, 1146m downhill, 8 hours 55 minutes, 90 minute drive to Estellences then taxi back to Estellencs after the walk (maybe 30 Euros). Alternative bus to Andratx or Port Andratx, then taxi from there. |
Bus 121 from Sant Elm if we can’t get a taxi: Note: there is bottle out accommodation en route (expensive, unless you go for the 6 bunk beds in one room option) http://www.ses-fontanelles.es/ Actual Experience Comments: We used the free car park in Estellencs where we had our picnic the previous day. Obviously, it is used by residents as there was only one space left at 07:30, but we subsequently found further spaces on the road as we started the walk to Sant Elm. We were up at 5am and left the apartment at 6am which got us to the free car park at 07:30. At 1:30 this was the longest car journey of the holiday. We set off walking in torch light 20 minutes before dawn. This was a very tough leg. The initial climb from almost sea level at Estellencs to almost the top of Mola d'Esclop at 927m is tough, but the descent is much tougher. Initially on the descent you get a great view of your final destination Port Andratx, but then you have to scramble down rock faces using all four limbs, followed by a few kilometres section of very tough walking on uneven boulder terrain, fallen trees and poor sign-posting. Here we recorded our slowest kilometre of the whole walk at over 50 minutes. This very difficult section finally gets you to the path to Ses Fontanelles (see link above). We did consider checking in, but pressed on. Apart from the final descent in Sant Elm the section from Ses Fontanelles is much easier. At one point the GR221 is sign posted in both directions. If you want to go the “old” and longer route via Sant Elm, you need to take the route towards La Trapa monastery as opposed to the alternative route via S’Arracó. Keep following the signs to La Trapa (there are no signs to Sant Elm). Once you get to La Trapa the official GR221 signs finish and you have to follow the cairns or red paint marks, or hopefully your Garmin if you have one, for the rest of the GR221. There are fantastic views of the Dragonera island towards the finish. Certain parts of the final descent into Sant Elm are rock climbing by any other definition, but thankfully these sections are short and lead to good paths and the very end is a pleasant walk through the woods which spun us out into a small square Plaça de Mossèn Sebastià Grau, which had a friendly bar called Es Molí. We grabbed a very welcome beer in Es Molí and they kindly ordered us a taxi back to Estellencs which cost us 40 Euros. This section measured 25.5km with a total time of 9:20 (including a picnic stop of about 20 minutes). It was dark when we got back to the apartment. In total we were probably out of the apartment for 14 hours. A long and knackering day! |
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7 |
San Elm to Port d’Andratx Blue difficulty |
8Km. 304 uphill, 315 downhill, 2 hours 35 minutes. Bus back to San Elm. 80 minutes’ drive to San Elm, so in order to get the 13:15 bus we would need to leave the apartment at 07:45. Alternative is to target the 15:25 bus which means leaving the apartment at 10ish. |
Bus 121 back to San Elm: Actual Experience Comments: The previous day we noted there was plenty of free parking in Plaça de Mossèn Sebastià Grau, so we drove back and parked there. Knowing we had less than 10km we set off from the apartment about 9am to avoid the rush hour. The drive is motorway almost all the way, so at 1:20 is a bit quicker than the drive to Estellences. This walk is made tricky by the fact that there are no GR221 signs, so we were relying on our Garmin with a few cairns and red paint marks thrown in. The start is difficult to find, keeping on the road, walk past the beach (on your right) and hug the coast as much as possible staying on the tarmac roads, you’ll then get to what looks like a dead-end with a sign saying “don’t sh*t in the mountains, they are not a toilet”, at that point you’ll see some steps up in the rocks to the right by the sea, take those and you’re on your way. Total distance of this leg 10km, time 3:15. Unlike Puerto Pollença there is no official end (or start) to the GR221 in Port Andratx, no medal was awarded, no band playing to celebrate our achievement, but sitting on a bench next to the marina we shook hands and patted each other on the back and felt very satisfied by our achievement over the previous 9 days. |
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Totals |
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137.6Km. 5506m uphill, 5543m downhill. Call it 5525m both directions as we start and finish at sea level. |
8 buses (total cost 18.90 Euros each), 2 taxis (total cost 55 Euros plus 4 Euros tip between us), parking total 2 Euros. Measured distance: 141.3km, total time: 45 hours 8 minutes. |
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