Menorca
rich in photographs and interactive maps
DE Menorca is different, a unique beach paradise close to home. It's a place that allows you to have fun, relaxation and mediteranean flair all without many of the compromises you find in so many other places.
Is it for you? Menorca is ideal for families, romantic and scenery seeking couples young and old who want the perfect beach holiday and more. It has purposely avoided the brashness and noise of mass packaged holiday resorts prefering a blanced mix of nature, relaxation and tradition.
Few holiday destinations have managed to retain their original charm, attraction and culture under the pressure of tourism. Menorca is one of the few exceptions and is typically less than a 2.5 hour flight away.
Menorca is considerably quieter than Mallorca or Ibiza, and so perhaps more suited to those with young families and couples wanting to combine beautiful beaches, scenery with select nighlife. Even the few purpose built holiday resorts are peaceful, as there is no over emphasis on loud nightlife. Menorca is rather more tuned into relaxation and rest than dancing into the early hours, but there are still plenty of places where you can let your hair down if you wish to.
Too often you will find that holiday destinations force you to make compromises. If you wanted safe beaches complete with all facilities then you would have to forget dreaming about lying practically alone on remote virgin beaches. If you wanted to enjoy sun filled mediteranean lifestyle, browsing and shopping, or dancing the night away then you would have to forget about walking or cycling in beautiful, ever changing landscapes, alive with wildlife and history.
...But not here.
Menorca in Pictures - a taste of what to expect. Island Gallery
Your Menorca
Everyones' tastes are different and Menorca offers a wonderful and perhaps surprising buffet of beaches, shopping, nightlife, cuisine, activities and landscapes. The great thing with Menorca is you can pick and choose, nothing is very far away. In fact Menorca is the resort, not just the location of your Holiday Home.
Due to the island's geology and it's compact size, just 48 Km long and 20km wide, wherever your Holiday Home is located you are never more than 8 k.m away from the next beach. Menorca has more beaches than Majorca and Ibizia combined! And these are not man made beaches, surrounded by densely packed concrete blocks, but places of great natural beauty and sparkling turquoise waters.
Seen "naked" you can see just how sparsely populated Menorca is, which means there is a lot of natural spaces to enjoy
Due to its volcanic origins and ancient river systems the landscape on Menorca varies richly in such a compact area. The harder stone in the north is tinged red and characterises the northen cliffs and the red tinged beaches of the northern coast. The south is dominated by beautiful valleys that formed when rivers from the center flowed south through the softer limestone regions. Often these old, some now extinct rivers, have left behind beautiful deep gorges ending in "paradise beaches" where they reached the sea. They formed small hidden and larger bays of breathtaking beauty fringed by pine tree claded cliffs. Often you'll find somewhere at the back of the beaches the "stream" that was the original river. Fabulous examples of this are the beach at Cala d'en Porter and Cala Galdana.
The island is just 48km long and 20km wide - which means with the bus, taxi , or better still a hire car, you are never far from anything. The sea is absolutely crystal clear and as many of the beaches have very shallow falls it means even early on in the year and late into the year the sea is warm. The blue "flecks" you can see in the satellite picture above are the wonderful waters just off the beaches. On the middle of the south coast the 3km long beach of Son Bou / Santo Tomas can be clearly seen. Bottom right are the waters just off the bay on which sits Playa Punta Prima. A great beach close to Mahon and Es Castell, reachable by bus via Mahon We'll show you all of these beaches here so you can visit them too.
Menorca has 200 kilometers of mostly unbuilt and natural coast line with a current project to restore a small road that goes the entire length of the coastline - Cami de Cavell. ( Horse Bridleway).
Island Rythms and Culture
Not only is the rythmn of life here very different but also the culture is different - very traditional while embrassing the modern. When things don't go as expected then STOP! smile and then it will all work out. The Islanders are very friendly. Those that are not are probably seasonal workers from outside!
Clothing is important here, particularly when going out or eating. Too many holidaying "brits" are badly dressed. Football shirts are for small boys and the football pitch. Men leave them at home please!
You will enjoy the most memorable holiday when you slip into the local timestyles. Take in the morning early, take siestas to keep out of the heat and re-charge your energy banks. And stay up late even with small children. Dont make excuses re children - Its only YOU stopping your children from doing this. All the locals will be out "late".
By way the correct name is Minorca (in english) "small island" which lies next to the "big island" Majorca as they were named in Roman times. In spanish it is written Menorca.