Menorca Holidays & Travel Guide
We consider holidays to Menorca (Minorca)
ideal for families with children since there is less hectic nightlife than other Spanish islands.
Use this Menorca travel guide to plan short breaks or get sightseeing information for day trips around Minorca.
We also help you to find Menorca holiday villas with pools
,
cheap self catering holiday apartments and family hotels for
summer 2010 including the peak travel months of July and August.
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Perfect for family holidays, Menorca (Minorca) and the Balearic islands lie off the east coast of Spain in the western Mediterranean. Menorca is the most easterly of Spain's Balearic Islands and the furthest north. Minorca is roughly 47km in length and 18km wide. It's the second largest Balearic island with nice scenery and plenty of family orientated attractions, making Menorca ideal for a short break or Mediterranean walking holiday. You'll also find excellent children's facilities, family friendly hotels and safe, sheltered beaches.
Cheap Menorca holidays and self catering Minorca holiday villas are available to the popular island resort destinations of Cala Galdana, Son Bou, Fornells, Mahon and Ciutadella or by visiting our summer 2010 holidays page. Pictured above is the pretty town of Fornells on the north coast of the island.
Planning Menorca Holidays
This Menorca sightseeing guide reveals some of the most idyllic unspoilt places for great days out during your Menorca Holidays. Find the real Balearic island treasures, not in most Minorca travel guide books! Read this page roughly translated into Italian by clicking here.
Minorca Weather & Climate Information
The weather in Menorca is very warm during summer with about 11 hours of daily sunshine. Average summer June, July, August daytime temperatures are around 26 - 27 degrees C. Rainfall is generally at its lowest during the summer months.
Cool Weather Season
If you book Menorca holidays or self catering Minorca holiday villas between November and April (including Easter) expect the temperatures to be cool, until around the middle of May. The authors have taken a Menorca holiday at Easter and found the weather unsettled and cold.
The weather in Menorca remains warm and reasonably settled (with the warmest sea temperatures of the season) from May until September and often into early October. Minorca winter weather can be cool and often windy with temperatures as low as 12 degrees C and much higher rainfall.
Menorca Car Hire and Car Rental Tips
Driving on Menorca is on the right. Minorca car rental is cheap and traffic levels low. Expect to pay about €75 for three days Menorca car hire, for a small air conditioned car. We recommend that you always check rental car insurance coverage (and any excess) when hiring cars. Get cheap Menorca car rental from our Spain car hire page. We offer budget Minorca car hire from UK travel companies and you can compare deals for the best prices.
During your Menorca holidays, try to book at least 3 days car hire for sightseeing day trips. Minorca is a beautiful island and many places off the beaten track are inaccessible by bus, so car hire is essential. You'll find that most towns offer free parking!
Menorca Water Supply
The tap water on Menorca has a high mineral content. Most Minorca holiday companies recommend the use of bottled water on the Island for all consumption except brushing your teeth. Bottled de-mineralised water is particularly important for infants. Bottled water is around €1.50 for 5 litres in major Menorca supermarkets and around €2.40 in smaller shops.
Self Catering Menorca Holidays
During self catering Menorca holidays, try to buy food from larger Minorca supermarkets in the more major towns as the smaller ones are often much more expensive for common food items.
Ferreries, Minorca
Cala Galdana
Ideal for family holidays or short breaks to Menorca, Cala Galdana has many Minorca holiday villas and self catering apartments. Cala Galdana has excellent facilities for children with a sheltered cove, safe beach and clear shallow waters, ideal for swimming. The beach is surrounded by rugged cliffs and pine trees, making it a good place for relaxation.
If you intend visiting Cala Galdana, we would recommend taking beach towels or your own chairs as seating on the beach is quite expensive at €20 for two people!
There are plenty of Menorca family holiday activities in Cala Galdana including a variety of children's playgrounds and a Minorca water park for kids offering a welcome break from the beach. For adults, interested in a walking holiday, Cala Galdana offers a scenic walk to the beautiful unspoilt cove of Cala Mitjana (see below).
Cala Mitjana
We said that Menorca holidays offer nice scenery and Cala Mitjana is case in point! It is one of the best Minorca coves with a beautiful beach which is totally unspoilt. Access is on foot from the Cala Galdana car park. It is possible (with caution) to get down to Cala Mitjana beach with a child stroller, carrying your child some of the way. To get to the Cala Mitjana parking area, take the main access road from Ferreries to Cala Galdana. At the first roundabout in Cala Galdana take a left turn into a residential area. The public parking area for Cala Mitjana is about 300 metres on the left hand side and is unmarked! Click here for a map.
Click here for a picture of the spectacular cove at Cala Mitjana, Minorca.
Es Mercadal, Minorca
Fornells
Situated on the north coast of Menorca, Fornells has an attractive bay with views of El Toro to the south. Fornells, Minorca offers many luxury holiday villas and is popular for family Menorca holidays, with good sailing and yachting opportunities. The town is very attractive and superbly kept. It boasts some of the Minorca's finest restaurants and makes a relaxing holiday location. Fornells has a very 'up-market' feel and an attractive harbour. There is also an excellent air conditioned bus service from Fornells to Mahon (Mao) and other towns on the island.
Fornells retains much of its unspoilt charm. It hasn't seen mass development and high rise hotels that plague some Mediterranean resorts. The attractive harbour area of Fornells is quiet and refined and the town as a whole is a very peaceful holiday resort with real Balearic Islands character. Accommodation in Fornells tends to be in the form of Menorca holiday villas and apartments.
Menorca Holiday Villas, Family Holidays and Apartments 2009
For cheap Menorca holidays together with Minorca holiday villas and apartments for summer 2009 with late deals for July and August travel visit our package holidays page. Search for Menorca holiday villas and Minorca package holidays from Lastminute.com, Portland Direct and Thomson.
Menorca Walking Holidays
Discover unspoilt Menorca by booking a fun walking holiday from Minorca Walking Holidays.
Cala Pregonda
For sightseeing Menorca holidays, we suggest a visit Cala Pregonda. Cala Pregonda is about 6km west of Fornells on the north coast of Minorca. It has attractive golden brown sands and impressive backdrop cliff scenery. Due to the difficulty of access, it is quiet and unspoilt. The only way to access Cala Pregonda beach is to walk the footpath starting at Binimel lá beach, taking about 20 minutes. Part of this footpath is unsuitable for small children, but you can get some of the way, enough to make the visit to Binimel lá worthwhile.
To get to Cala Pregonda leave Fornells on the main road back to Es Mercadal and take a right turn signed Cap de Cavalleria. After about 3km you will come to the turn for Cap de Cavalleria. Continue past the turn and take the second right turn into an un-made up (but wide) road to Binimel lá. There is also a restaurant at the end, close to the car park!
El Toro
The tallest mountain in Menorca, El Toro at 358m, is approached by good quality road or on foot from the Town of Es Mercadal. El Toro, Minorca offers panoramic views over the whole of the island. On a very clear day it is possible to see the largest Balearic island of Majorca (Mallorca) to the south west. The best view from El Toro is to the north towards Fornells and the rugged northern coastline and sheltered coves of the Es Mercadal region.
Alaior, Minorca
The Alaior Region represents the southern central areas of the island of Menorca and is home to the popular resort of Son Bou which has many family hotels and cheap holiday villas.
Son Bou
Many holidays to Menorca feature the family resort of Son Bou. Son Bou also offers a good choice of Menorca holiday villas and apartments and one of Minorca's longest beaches, at almost 4km in length. The centre of Son Bou is quite commercialised and will best couples with young children. There are a lot of kids facilities and large family friendly hotels such as the Son Milanos Hotel which towers over Son Bou beach. The Royal Son Bou Family Club, another family Menorca apartment hotel, is directly opposite the Son Milanos hotel and across the street from Son Bou beach.
From Son Bou, Minorca there's a cheap and reliable air conditioned bus service to the island's old capital Ciutadella (change at Alaior) Alaior and Mahon (Mao). Prices start from little over €1 per person. Travelling by bus is convenient and relaxing, but make sure you carry some small denomination Euro notes and coins as €50 notes can be a problem on the bus, as the author found out at Ciutadella bus station!
Cales Coves
Often visited during Menorca sailing holidays, Cales Cove Minorca is an attractive cove situated on the south of the island, accessed off the road between Alaior and Sant Climent. Road access to Cales Coves is via a very poor 1.5km long unmade up road which is just passable by small car, taking approximately 10 minutes.
At the end of the road there is a small parking area and a footpath over the cliffs to a more picturesque Menorca cove (pictured left).
Ciutadella
A popular base for Menorca holidays and luxury Minorca holiday villas, Ciutadella is situated on the Island's west coast and offers an attractive harbour and great discount shopping. The town is attractive and busy, with a fine selection of waterfront restaurants, with many holiday apartments.
At the heart of Ciutadella is the historic Cathedral which was completed in 1362 and is one of the largest in the world. This building is an prime example of Catalan Gothic architecture.
Mahon
Mahon (Mao) is the capital of Menorca with a population of around 23,000. Mahon, Minorca is a major deepwater port about 6km in length and is a favourite destination for large vessels including Mediterranean cruise liners.
Mahon (Mao), Menorca has an attractive harbour with excellent restaurants and bars offering fine dining.
Hotel Reviews
Visit our Menorca hotel review page for informative reviews on family friendly Menorca hotels.
Menorca Travel Resources
Select other Menorca holidays resources using the pull-down menu below. To request us to add your Minorca travel site to this pull-down menu, please contact us.