In September 2017 I visited the Balearic Island of Menorca for 7 days. I consider myself a beach connoisseur so I research my ass off to find the best beaches in Menorca! Here is my break down of the most spectacular beaches on the island that you should not miss!
September is shoulder season so prices for accommodation and flights were lower, there were fewer crowds and the water was nice and warm from the long summer! The weather wasn’t as sunny as I’d hoped it would be but there were enough sunny days, dazzling beaches, Spanish wine and gin to make up for the somewhat wet weather!
A little about Menorca…
Menorca is a small island in the Balearic Islands, which include it’s more famous counterparts Mallorca and Ibiza. Menorca is less crowded and more popular with Spanish tourists who go every year.
We decided to make the small town of Ciutadella our base as its closest to the beaches and coves on the south coast we most wanted to visit. Ciutadella itself was a really cute picturesque seaside town with a nice old town and a vibrant restaurant and bar scene.
Did you know gin and tonic the most popular drink in Menorca? This was music to my ears! Living in London gave me a strong liking for this tiple. Gin is actually made on the island by local distilleries! The signature way to serve gin and tonic in Menorca is in gin bowls, yes this is my kind of place!
I love the beach culture in Spain. Everyone goes to their favourite spot, bringing anything and everything they need for the day and they set up shop among the hoards doing the same thing. It’s so free there! Drink, smoke, be naked, play loud music, no one cares!
Here is my list of the best beaches in Menorca!
1. Cala Macarella
Cala Macarella is the best beach in Menorca! It’s set inside a small bay surrounded by beautiful rocks and trees. The water was crystal clear, blue and calm. There were lots of yachts in the bay where you could see their shadow on the ocean floor. This is the stuff of European Summer dreams! There was nice sand to lounge on and trees for shade. Plus there was a cafe and a little shop there for refreshments!
This beach is one of the most popular beaches in this part of the island so it was pretty busy even in September but wasn’t overrun. I really liked how there was some infrastructure but not enough to take away from the natural beauty.
2. Cala Macarelleta
Cala Macarelleta is the second best beach in Menorca. And bonus if you visit Cala Macarella you will be able to visit Cala Macarellta at the same time! Cala Macarelleta is a short walk around the cliffs from Cala Macarella.
The walk from Macarella to Macarelleta was actually my favourite part of the whole day. The views were insane over both Macarella and Macarelleta. You can really see the magnificence of the water and the beach from above. This is the place you want to go to get the perfect Instagram shot to make all your friends jealous as hell!
Cala Macarelleta is a little beach tucked into an even smaller bay. The water on this beach was a bright turquoise blue, stunning! Since this beach is smaller it gets really crowded so definitely try and go early to beat the crowds and enjoy the serenity. Or you can just admire from above!
3. Cala en Turqueta
Cala en Turqueta is the closest beach to Ciutadella but it more disconnected in terms of roads and infrastructure. It is made up of the main stretch of white sand beach plus rocks you can walk around to smaller coves explore to perch yourself on.
The beach was really beautiful, particularly the coves. There weren’t any shops or anything so bring snacks or you can purchase fresh fruit from sellers on the beach!
4. Cala Mitjana
Cala Mitjana was the furthest from Ciutadella but is pretty well connected by roads and to the town of Serpentona. Serpentona is kind of a cheesy beach resort town so I didn’t like the vibe to stay there! We just drove, parked our scooter and walked around the cliffs to Cala Mitjana.
Cala Mitjana is another beautiful beach set in a cove with dramatic cliffs and greenery. It is a smaller beach so was pretty crowded but there is no infrastructure on the beach so it didn’t feel spoilt.
Tips for Menorca
Getting around Menorca
To get to the most beautiful and unspoilt beaches in Menorca you have to make quite an effort to get to them. They’re relatively spread out and there aren’t many main highways to travel on. There are some expensive and extremely infrequent buses so you basically have to hire a car or scooter to see the best beaches in Menorca!
I’d recommend a scooter if you can because the car parks to the beaches fill up really fast and the roads just get completely closed off to cars! We hired a scooter for the week and it worked out to be around 100 euros plus petrol.
Cash
You can withdraw cash easily in Crete. A number of shops also accept card but for paying for small things in shops and restaurants it’s much better to carry cash. Get a prepaid travel card before you go and save money on exchange rate and ATM fees. If you are in the UK, Europe or Australia I recommend Revolut. You get ยฃ200 of free ATM withdrawals a month (only 2% after that) and the exchange rate they give is the market rate. I have used their online account and prepaid MasterCard for over three years and I love it. I have saved a fortune on fees.
To Conclude…
That is my list of the best beaches in Menorca! Our time in Menorca was spent beach hopping by day, sipping on crisp white wine by sunset and eating delicious food by night.
This combined with the more laid back Spanish holiday vibes on this island made Menorca an amazing beach destination. You can find really cheap flights directly from London and the island itself is reasonably priced for Western Europe. So what are you waiting for? Go to Menorca now!
To find more of the best beaches in Europe check out my posts on The Balkans, Portugal,ย Greece and Malta!
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