A UNESCO biosphere reserve with a building height limit, no big clubs, and dozens of pine-backed coves you walk to rather than drive. The Balearic island people move to once the children arrive.
Menorca's finest calas have no road, no bar and no sunbeds, and that's why they still look like that.
Cala Macarella, Cala Mitjana and Cala Pregonda are ten to thirty minutes on foot from the nearest car park, and there is nothing there when you arrive — no facilities, no shade beyond the pines, and often no phone signal. Take water and food. The developed resorts have perfectly good beaches with everything laid on, but the ones that end up in the photographs are the ones you walk to. The island's biosphere status is why they've never been built on.
Calas, a horse festival, and prehistoric stone monuments nobody talks about.
The two most photographed coves on the island, reached on foot from Cala Galdana. Go early — parking is capped in summer.
A 185km waymarked path around the entire coast, originally for horse patrols. Walk a section between two calas.
The old capital in the west — a Gothic cathedral, a harbour lined with restaurants, and the best evening on the island.
One of the deepest natural harbours in the world. Boat trips, gin distilleries, and Georgian buildings from the British period.
A prehistoric stone burial chamber, around 3,000 years old. The island is covered in Talayotic monuments and almost nobody visits them.
Red sand and rock stacks on the north coast, twenty minutes' walk from the car park. Unlike anywhere else in the Balearics.
South coast for white sand, north for wilder and redder. Two towns at either end.
A sheltered horseshoe bay with hotels, and the walking access to Macarella. The usual family base.
The old capital, best restaurants and evenings, with calas a short drive away.
Near the airport, with the harbour, gin distilleries and the eastern beaches.
Red sand, fewer hotels, more wind. Fornells for sailing and lobster stew.
May to October, with June and September the sweet spots.
July and August are hot and the island fills, particularly with Spanish and Italian families in August. May, June and September give warm days, a sea that's swimmable from June, and space at the calas. Menorca is windier than its neighbours — the tramontana blows hardest in winter and spring — and much of the island closes from November to April.
2h 20m to Mahón (MAH), seasonal from most UK airports between April and October.
15–45 minutes. It's a small island, about 50km end to end.
Euro. Cards widely accepted; remote calas have nothing at all, so carry cash for the drive.
Strongly recommended. The best beaches need one, and buses don't reach them. Book early for summer.
We'll match the coast and the resort to your party, and write the payment plan out in full.
Menorca is quieter, smaller and has the better coves. Majorca has more variety, more to do and better value. Menorca suits families and couples wanting calm.
Effectively yes. The calas that make Menorca special are reached by car and then on foot. Buses cover the main resorts only.
Very — shallow sheltered bays on the south coast, short transfers, and no nightlife to speak of.
Ciutadella and Mahón, the Cami de Cavalls, the prehistoric sites and the gin distilleries. It's a quiet island, deliberately.
Flights, accommodation and transfers as one package. Every one can be reshaped — different dates, different board, a different airport, or a stopover on the way.
Guide prices, per person, based on two sharing, including return flights, accommodation and transfers. They indicate what a holiday of this type has typically cost and are not an offer or a quotation. Your price depends on dates, party, board basis, departure airport and availability, and is confirmed in writing before any payment is taken.
Ready-built itineraries with flights, transfers and internal hops booked as one package, ATOL protected. Every one can be reshaped around your dates.
10 nights · May–Jun, Sep–Oct · from £1,449pp
11 nights · May–Jun, Sep · from £1,149pp
10 nights · Mar–May, Sep–Nov · from £849pp
11 nights · Apr, Oct · from £2,699pp
12 nights · Jun–Oct, Jan–Feb · from £3,399pp
12 nights · Jul–Oct · from £3,099pp
11 nights · Jun–Oct, Dec–Feb · from £1,799pp
11 nights · Nov–Apr · from £2,199pp
