4 DAYS IN MENORCA

As you guys know, I'm Spanish but I have never been to Menorca until this weekend. Because of the current situation all around the world, this summer we decided to spend our holidays in our country. The balearic Islands have stunning beaches, aqua marine seas, delicious food & the best weather! I'm going to share with you all my four-day itinerary to help you experience everything Menorca has to offer. Let's start with the first day!

Day 1:

We flew to Menorca from Valencia with Volotea, and we flew back home with Ryanair. With Volotea, flights start from around 20€. During the peak season flights are very frequent, but they're not anymore due to the whole COVID19 situation. Our flight departured at 9:45 in the morning and we arrived at around 10:40. There's public transport in the island, but the best way to see Menorca is by driving a rental car. We prebooked our car with Avis and were really happy with them. The timing was perfect to leave our luggage at the hotel, and head up to a nice beach near our area. But before that, we went to a Decathlon in Mahón and bought a nice and cheap pair of jelly shoes in order to explore every beach comfortably. (They were only 5€ each pair). After that we headed to Cala Alcaufar. A very small beach in the area of Sant Lluís whose shape protects it from almost any type of swell. It's around 35 meters long and 45 meters wide and has plenty of space for towels, although we decided to stay at the edges where you can find big rocks to jump off.

General info:

- Its ease of access, with a parking a few meters away from the sand.

- It has a restaurant a few meters away from the sand, but also there are plenty of bars/restaurants around the area.

- It's a urban beach

- Nearest parking: 50 meters away, (2 mins)

- Bus line 91 allows you to reach Cala Alcaufar from Mahón.

Day 2:

Today we decided to visit Cala Turqueta and Cala Macarelleta. You can access the first beach by car but the second one, you must prebook a bus ticket to be able to access it. Cala Turqueta is a natural treasure, it's name clearly refers to the turquoise color of its crystal waters. This beach is quite crowded due to the fact of its easy access by car as the car park is a few metres away from the coast. We had to get up at 6:30 in the morning to be able to get there before 8, at around 7:45 the parking was full, although when we left at 13h in the afternoon there were empty spaces. Personally, I didn't like this beach as much, it was very crouded, people did not respect social distancing and the water was full of plastics and algae.

General info:

- Cala Turqueta is situated 1km away from the parking lot

- It has a small bar in the parking area where you can buy drinks and food

- You must come early (before 8 in the morning) if you want to visit this beach in the morning.

- Free parking

-- Has a lifeguard

We decided to hike towards Cala Macarelleta, since we didn't have a bus ticket to access this beach by public transport (there is no way you can go by car). It is more or less 3km from one beach to another, so we walked for 2 hours back and forth. This beach is one of the pearls of Southern Menorca. It's situated onlye 500m from its neighbour and paradisical Cala Macarella.

General info:

- There is a small trail called "Camí de Cavalls" which runs through the beaches (Cala Turqueta, Cala Macarella, Macarelleta and Galdana).

- No car park, you must prebook a bus ticket.

- This beach is VERY crowded at around 11 in the morning

- There is a restaurant near Cala Macarella

After this, we decided to visit Cala En Brut. It's a beautiful deep turquoise blue cove, with mostly calm sea. Menorca’s own blue lagoon is distinguished by it’s lack of sandy beach, clear turquoise water, surrounded by rocky cliffs and sunbathing platforms on both sides. Access in and out of the water is via ladders. It’s a big natural swimming pool!

General info:

- Free parking and easy access to this Cala

- Bus Stops next 5 – 10min walk from the main road

- No public toilets or lifeguard

- No boat access

- There are several supermarkets and restaurants around the area

At around 5 p.m. we headed back to our hotel in Mahón, slept a little, got changed and we headed to Mahon's port where we had dinner at a place called "El Muelle". We looked for this restaurant based on the great reviews found on Tripadvisor. We were not disappointed. The food was great and beautiluly served. If you guys like meat this is definetely a must!

Day 3:

On the third day we decided to visit Binidalí Beach which is located close to Sant Climent and Binisafuller, in the south of Menorca. It has an awesome small beach with parking and bus access. The beach itself is very small, so we highly recommend to go early if you travel in July or August, to find a good spot on the beach. It's located on the end of a little bay, surrounded by very tall hills and poor vegetation, so it's a very interesting beach to go if there's no south wind.

General info:

- Free parking and easy access to this Cala

- To walk down on foot, you have to go down a slightly steep path.

- No public toilets or lifeguard

- Boat access

- There is a lookout point at the end of the cliff which enables you to see the whole cala from above, it's breathtaking.

After this, at around 5pm we went to Cova d'en Xoroi. I saw a pic of this on Instagram and it left me speachless. A stone balcony hanging from a cliff with a sitting area that promised magnificent sea views and beautiful sunsets while sipping a cocktail.

Cova d'en Xoroi is an extremely popular tourist destination in Menorca and a favourite spot to watch sunsets. We tried to go the day before at around 7pm, but it was impossible. So we went at 5pm and waited at the queue for around 35 minutes. I highly recommend you to buy the ticket online, so you don't have to wait in the queue. Entrance to the Cova is 15€ and it includes a drink (wine, beer or champagne).

Day 4:

On the last day, we visited Cala Morell. It is a spectacular cove surrounded by high cliffs on each side with beautiful white Menorcan houses built into the cliff faces. This cove is know as one of the best for diving into its underground caves. On one side of the bay there is sandy beach which is approx 200m long and shallow at the shore. There are also other rock platforms around the bay to access the sea.

General info:

- Free parking and easy access to this Cala

- To walk down on foot, you have to go down a slightly steep path.

- There is a public shower

- Boat access and no wheelchair access

- There are beautiful menorcan houses surrounding the cala, and it's perfect to stroll around before or after going to the beach.

- No toilets or lifeguard

After this, we went to have lunch at a super instagrammable restaurant which we found on social media. Ivette Beach Club is a chill out restaurant on the seafront in Cala Morell, one of the most charming urbanizations in Menorca. Ivette was everything that we were looking for: good food, magnificent views, nice cocktails and smoothies ... And direct access to the beach and bathing platforms! But we highly recommend you book a table 2 or 3 days before (at least if you're going in summer).

After lunch, we visited Binibeca, a village in the south of Menorca. It is one of the most recent villages in Spain, built in the late 70s to recreate a traditional Menorcan fishing harbour. This place is a must on your list! It's completely restored and taken care of to the smallest detail and it is made up of 165 houses. Binibeca Vell is a small and fabulous labyrinth to get lost in the streets of which flow into the peaceful and always welcoming Mediterranean Sea.

Hope you liked the post! See you soon x.