A Short Guide to Using GNV Car Ferries to and from Mallorca
In particular, we are providing a recent first hand account of taking the GNV (Grandi Navi Veloci) car ferry from Barcelona to Palma de Mallorca and from Palma de Mallorca to Valencia.
Not that it is an exciting topic, but if you happen to use those ferry services for the first time, you will find out quickly that not even in the depth of the internet or social media are there any useful instructions on where exactly to go, when to show up etc.
So here we go – always keeping in mind that the explanations below are meant to be helpful but do not come with guarantees or legal commitments.
Digital tickets are sufficient
GNV tickets are these days generally sold online. Once you receive the PDF of the ticket there is – in our experience – no need to get paper print-outs of the ticket (unless you do not trust your mobile). At most you will be asked to show the ticket on your mobile. At the check-in counter itself not even that may be required, as GNV staff can search your details based on your name.
When to show up
The official GNV recommendation plus a lot of social media chatter point to a check-in at least two hours before scheduled departure. Our experience is that one hour before is enough. Specifically, check-in for departing from Palma to Valencia was only opened after the preceding check-in of the Palma to Barcelona service was closed and effectively started less than one hour before departure to Valencia.
Does everyone in a travel group need to check-in?
No, despite numerous claims to the contrary. In fact it is officially discouraged to make check-in queues more manageable, see the following note on display at the GNV counter in Palma.
GNV Palma check-in – one person only
Of course, this begs the question how the passengers who do not personally attend the check-in are reliably identified by GNV. The answer is not at all, which renders the entire process somewhat senseless. Nevertheless, you cannot take the ferry without it.
Where to drive
Barcelona to Palma de Mallorca
Check-in/ticket office
The GNV check-in counter/ticket office in the port of Barcelona does not have a large parking lot right next to it, but you can try to drive there first and if you find parking do your check-in there before heading to the embarkation point. The small parking area is at GPS 41.371697, 2.176311 or Google Maps here.
At check-in, you will have to show a valid passport or EU national ID card plus a residency permit or visa (if you are not an EU citizen) for all travelers. You will get check-in slips for each car and person. If you have booked a cabin on the ferry, the number of the cabin will be printed on those check-in cards. Later, after you board the ferry, you will get a key card for the cabin at a reception counter on the ship. Note that at the GNV Barcelona check-in/ticket office there does not seem to be a functional bar code reader, so staff are will generally not look at your ticket (which contains a bar code), but simply ask your name.
Once done with the check-in, you need to drive to the embarkation point. The route will take you almost completely around a huge roundabout with a lot of traffic lights, so although the distance is small this will take a few minutes.
Embarkation point
If there is no parking available at the ticket office or you have completed check-in, go straight to the embarkation gate Puerta 3 or P3 (not “Parking 3” as sometimes stated at the ticket office) GPS 41.370641, 2.175367 or Google Maps here. You will get stopped and checked at the entry:
- If you already have the boarding passes, staff will stick a small colour leaflet behind your windscreen wiper and point you to where you need to park and wait until boarding.
- If you do not have the boarding cards yet, show the tickets on your mobile, park the car where staff tell you to and walk over to the ticket office (about 100 meters), do the check-in there and return.
Palma de Mallorca to Valencia (or Barcelona)
Embarkation point
In Palma there is no question of where to park to go to the ticket/check-in counter because there is no public parking nearby. Instead you drive straight to the embarkation area at GPS 39.552192, 2.625498 or Google Maps here. At the entry, staff will want to see your tickets and subsequently point you to where you can park and walk to the GNV counter which is about 100 meters away.
Check-in/ticket office
For the sake of completeness, it is located at the lone palm tree Google Maps here – but you cannot park there. The next public pay parking is at GPS 39.553016, 2.625717 or Google Maps here which is no closer to the counter than the embarkation are where you can stand for free. The GNV Palma check-in counter does by the way use a bar code reader, so you can put the PDF ticket on your mobile to use to speed up the process a little.
*** Have a nice trip! ***
