Caves of Drach from Palma: by bus, by car or on a tour

The Caves of Drach (Coves del Drac in Catalan) are not in Palma, whatever half the island's adverts suggest: they are in Porto Cristo on the east coast, a good hour from the city. From Palma there are two sensible ways to go: the TIB 401 bus from the Estació Intermodal with a ticket bought online, or a half-day coach tour with a guide and the entry included. The visit lasts an hour and ends with a live concert on Lake Martel.

My advice: if you want to choose your time, take the bus and buy the official ticket. With small children, or with only a morning free, the tour removes the risk of missing your slot, which here means losing your money.

Caves of Drach from Palma: bus or tour

The tour costs about €35 more per adult than going independently. What you buy is peace of mind and a fixed schedule.

Caves of Drach tour from Palma: prices

The half-day tour from Palma is much the same wherever you book it: coach, skip-the-desk entry, concert, lake and back by early afternoon. Today's prices:

Headout is the cheapest in the listing, but it adds a service fee at checkout: compare the final total, not the headline price. GetYourGuide sells it at €54, the same as booking direct with Nofrills Excursions, an agency based in Port d'Alcúdia that charges €54 per adult and €30 per child aged 3 to 12. Civitatis has it at €59. If you use "reserve now, pay later" on GetYourGuide, remember the card is charged before the date, not on the day.

The tours I would choose

1

Staying in Palma and only want Drach

The classic half-day from Palma: 5 hours, ticket, concert and boat, with thousands of reviews and a good rating.

GetYourGuide5 hours

Day trip· Rest of the island

Palma: Caves of Drach Entrance, Music Concert and Boat Trip

4.4 (1,492)

from €54Check availability

2

Want to add the Caves of Hams

A longer day with Hams as an option; useful if the day is free and you will not be back in the area.

GetYourGuide4 - 8 hours

Day trip· Rest of the island

Mallorca: Caves of Drach Day Trip & Optional Caves of Hams

4.3 (3,018)

from €56Check availability

3

Prefer a full day without a car

Drach, Hams and time in Porto Cristo in about 8 hours, all sorted.

GetYourGuide8 hours

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Mallorca: Drach and Hams Caves, and Porto Cristo Day Tour

4.2 (260)

from €79Check availability

GetYourGuide5 hours

Day trip· Rest of the island

Palma: Caves of Drach Entrance, Music Concert and Boat Trip

4.4 (1,492)

from €54Check availability

GetYourGuide8 hours

Day trip· Rest of the island

Mallorca: Drach and Hams Caves, and Porto Cristo Day Tour

4.2 (260)

from €79Check availability

GetYourGuide5 - 8 hours

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Mallorca: Drach Caves, Lake Martel, and Pearls Half-Day Trip

4.0 (319)

from €59Check availability

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Mallorca: Cuevas del Drach, classical music concert and boat trip

4.3 (181)

from €55Check availability

GetYourGuide9 hours

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Top 10 beaches & Drach Caves VIP Full Day Tour with Local Guide

4.9 (80)

from €78.32Check availability

GetYourGuide5 hours

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Mallorca: Half-day of Natural Wonders at the Drach Caves

3.9 (227)

from €55Check availability

See everything on GetYourGuide →Prices checked on 6 October 2026

How to get to the Caves of Drach from Palma by bus

The public bus that drops you in Porto Cristo is the TIB 401 (Palma – Manacor – Porto Cristo – Cala Millor). It leaves from the Estació Intermodal, the underground bus and train station beneath Plaça d'Espanya, every day, roughly every 25–35 minutes from 07:20 until almost 23:00.

Check the day's timetable on the TIB line 401 page before you set off. The caves' own website once advertised an express Palma–Drach bus; it no longer appears, so do not count on it. Cards and fares are in the guide to public transport in Mallorca.

By car

Take the Ma-15 motorway towards Manacor and on from there to Porto Cristo. The caves have a large, free car park (also for motorbikes and bicycles, with disabled spaces), and a 200 m path from there to the entrance. These are the approximate driving times to Drach and the Caves of Hams from Palma and the main beach resorts:

Caves of Drach tickets and prices

There is only one kind of visit, with the walk, the concert and the lake crossing all included.

Buying on the official Caves of Drach website saves you €1 per person and the desk queue. You can book up to about 30 days ahead with nothing to print; there are no phone bookings.

Here is how the official prices compare with other visits on the island:

Caves of Drach opening times: slots and the best time to go

You cannot just turn up and walk in: entry is by timed slot, in groups.

• 16 March to 31 October: 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 14:00, 15:00, 16:00 and 17:00.
• 1 November to 15 March: 10:30, 12:00, 14:00 and 15:30. The booking calendar sometimes shows 10:45 instead of 10:30: go by what it says when you buy.
• Closed on 25 December and 1 January.

The quietest slots, according to the caves themselves, are the first (10:00) and the last two (16:00 and 17:00). Tour coaches arrive mid-morning, which is exactly when it is busiest. If you go by bus, the 16:00 slot leaves your morning free.

What to see in the Caves of Drach: Lake Martel and the concert

The route is about 1,200 m long and goes down to 25 m below ground. Inside it is 17–21 °C all year. The visit is not guided: staff walk the group along a fixed route, and there are printed or QR-code leaflets in nine languages.

The finale is Lake Martel, named after the French speleologist Édouard-Alfred Martel, the first to cross it in 1896. It is 117 m long and 30 m wide, and 4 to 12 m deep. The caves call it one of the largest underground lakes in the world, not "the largest", as many websites repeat.

The concert

It has been played since 1935: about 10 minutes of live music, four classical pieces (one is Offenbach's Barcarolle) performed by a quartet of cello, harpsichord and two violins in boats on the lake. Afterwards comes a light show called "Sunrise on the Lake".

Photos and filming are banned during the concert, and staff enforce it. Take your lake photos before or after (no flash).

The boat

At the end you cross the lake by boat or on foot over a bridge, at no extra cost. There are only a few small boats, so do not expect the whole group to get on: plenty of people walk across. If the queue is long, the bridge is just as pretty and you get out sooner.

Rules, accessibility and what to bring

House rules: no bare feet, bare chests or see-through clothing; no food, drink, smoking or vaping; no animals except guide dogs; no tripods, selfie sticks or professional cameras. Under-12s must be with an adult.

Accessibility. The route has a lot of stairs with handrails: one agency that takes groups there puts it at about 320 steps. It is not wheelchair accessible and pushchairs are not allowed, so bring a baby carrier. The bar, shop and accessible toilets in the main building do have ramps. It is not recommended for people with heart conditions or claustrophobia. Step-free alternatives are in accessible Palma.

Footwear. Flat, comfortable shoes: the floor can be slippery. Rain does not affect the visit, which makes Drach a good rainy-day plan in Mallorca if you have transport.

With children. Fine for children who can manage stairs on their own. More ideas in Palma with kids.

Caves of Drach or Caves of Hams?

The Caves of Hams (Coves dels Hams) are on the same road, at km 11 of the Ma-4020 from Manacor to Porto Cristo, and the TIB 401 bus serves them too. Adults pay the same online (€18.50; children 3 to 12 €12.50; €19.50 and €13.50 at the desk), they open 10:00–17:00 and the visit takes an hour at 20 °C.

What changes is the content: Hams has an underground lake, the "Venice Sea", with a light and music show, a garden with native birds and a room with a documentary about the island's first inhabitants. There is no live concert, but you can take photos throughout. Pushchairs and wheelchairs are not allowed here either.

At the desk Hams knocks €2 off for residents and €1 for seniors, and sells a combined ticket with Dinosaurland, the park next door (€26 adult and €20 child online). It warns that it only guarantees tickets from its official website; on the platforms, this is the price:

If you are torn, my rule of thumb: Drach for the live concert, Hams if the children would rather see dinosaurs or you want to take photos freely. The third option is the Caves of Artà in Canyamel: a guided visit, €17 adults and €10 for ages 7 to 12 (official prices). And if you would rather not leave the city, the small Caves of Genova take 25 minutes and you can get there on a city bus.

Combining Drach with Porto Cristo and Manacor

Porto Cristo harbour is a 15-minute walk from the caves: the obvious place for lunch after the visit. There is a market in Porto Cristo on Sundays, and since the Cartoixa (charterhouse) in Valldemossa is closed that day, Sunday is a good day for Drach.

On the way, in Manacor, is the renovated Rafa Nadal Museum, inside the Rafa Nadal Academy: tickets from €20 and last entry at 17:30, so it fits with a morning slot at Drach. For more one-day plans, see our guide to day trips from Palma and the overview of organised excursions.

Caves of Drach FAQ