Minorca, a Fantastic Island

Arenal d´en Castell

After setting off in the morning from Bologna with a freezing temperature (my wife was frozen despite having her sweater and jacket on), it was a real pleasure to land at Maho airport with the very hot sun, which you can only put up with if you're on holiday! We spent the whole afternoon on the beach below the hotel, renting 2 sun loungers and a parasol for €8, passing the time sleeping and taking a few dips, catching up on the sleep lost the previous night. The beach of Arenal d'en Castell is a bay about 1 km long and is ideal for families, as the water shelves gently and the beach is made exclusively of sand. If it weren't for all the hotel complexes built around it, it would be really pretty.

Arenal d´en Castell (again !!!)

After roughly planning how to spend the rest of the week, we rented a car for the following day (a Polo 1.9 TD) for 5 days at the price of €120 from Europcar, which has a branch about 200 metres from the hotel. We spent the rest of the day in the hotel pool, taking part in a few competitions organised by the entertainers, and relaxing on the beach below the hotel, where we set up our parasol bought for €6 in the shop below the hotel. Here...if you really want 2 valuable pieces of advice about Minorca, it's to rent a car and tour the whole island.....and buy yourself a parasol, because on many beaches it will come in useful (as long as you're not one of those lizards who want to roast themselves at all costs). Ahhh I forgot...also take a bottle of water with you, because on many beaches there is no service available.

Maho , Monte El Toro

Finally, aboard our car, we begin to explore the rest of the island. Since the sky promised rain, we decided to go to Maho, the island's capital, to visit the city market (a mandatory stop, given my wife's presence). Parking was a bit difficult, but in the end we managed to find a spot in the stadium area, about 500 metres from the market area. The market is very nice and, despite the rain falling intermittently, it was pleasant to visit. In the afternoon, given the continuing bad weather, we went up Monte El Toro, which is the highest on the island, from where you can enjoy an enviable view and, if you want, visit a small monastery.

Macarella and Macarelleta , Cala En Turqueta, Fornells

We got up fairly early, around 7:00 a.m., and noticed that the sun had finally returned, and it wouldn't abandon us for the rest of the vacation. After an abundant breakfast, and having prepared a couple of sandwiches for lunch, we decided to leave immediately to reach the beaches in the South-West of the island. Following the main road that cuts Minorca in 2, connecting Maho with Ciutadella (the old capital of the island) and from which all the roads leading to the various beaches branch off, you arrive at a series of roundabouts located at the beginning of Ciutadella. At the third roundabout you'll find the signs for the main beaches in the area. (Don't worry, the beach signs are very precise all over the island and it's hard not to find the beach you want).

Once you've left the main road, you have to drive for several km along a small road lined with stone walls until you reach a fork near the hermitage of San Jordì. Here, most likely, you'll find a person under an umbrella whose job is to close the access road to the beach when the latter reaches a certain number of visitors (so it's advisable to arrive at the fork around 9:30 – 10:00). Taking the road on the left you go toward Macarella while, taking the one on the right, you reach Turqueta. We chose the road on the left in the direction of Macarella. From this fork you have to drive another 3 - 4 km, gradually the road narrows and the road surface gets worse, so go at a moderate speed, since 2 cars barely fit and you risk damaging the bottom of the car by hitting one of the numerous potholes.

Once you arrive near the beach, you reach a guarded parking lot where you pay a few euros for the whole day, but with the advantage of being just a few hundred meters from the sea, otherwise you can continue along the road until you reach a free parking lot, but further from the beach. We chose the first option (after all, we're on vacation). Once you've arrived at your destination, you'll be left speechless by the natural spectacle you'll find. White beach and crystal-clear water. And if you want to increase your amazement, take the path you'll find on the right (I've read in several places that it's difficult to walk, but in my opinion it's not at all), in 10 minutes you'll reach the smaller beach Macarelleta, where besides avoiding stepping on some nudist on the beach, you'll have one of the most beautiful swims of your life.

At least for me that's exactly how it was! Unfortunately my swim couldn't last very long, because my little wife was waiting for me at the main beach, but the beautiful memory of this swim (along with the dark-haired nudist) will remain forever in my fondest thoughts. In the afternoon we moved to the other beautiful beach of Cala En Turqueta where to reach it you're forced to go back to the hermitage of San Jordì (greeting the little man under the umbrella again, hoping he hasn't closed the road) and take the next turnoff. Here too you have to continue for a few km among roads lined with stone walls, until you reach a free parking lot, where you can buy ice creams and sandwiches at the nearby little kiosk. Once you've parked the car, you have to walk downhill for about 700 – 800 m on a gravel path through the woods, until you reach the beach of Cala En Turqueta.

This one is also beautiful….. made up of white sand, rocks, and needless to say, a beautiful sea. In the evening, instead, we spent it in Fornells to eat the famous Calderata de Aragosta (lobster soup). Good……but at what a price!!! 2 portions of Calderata, half a liter of house wine, 1 liter of water, 1 dessert and 2 coffees cost us €160. Luckily the wedding anniversary only comes once a year, otherwise I'd really be ruined! (Right Francy!?!?!?) It seems contradictory, but this dinner cost us more than renting the car for 5 days!!! However, if I hadn't eaten this famous Minorcan dish, I would have always regretted it, since I probably won't have other chances to do so! (Lucky the foreign tourists who, when they come to Romagna, find piadina as a typical dish for a few euros!!!!)

Cala Mitjana , Mitjaneta , Trabaluger ,Cala Galdana , Cava des Xoroi

Given the enthusiasm of the previous day, on this day too we headed to the south coast of the island with the intention of seeing Cala Mitjana. To reach this wonderful beach, just take the main road in the direction of Ciutadella and once you've passed through the town of Ferreries, turn off for Santa Galdana. Shortly after you'll find the signs for Cala Mitjana on the left and after driving a few kilometers on an unpaved but well-passable road, another wonder of nature will appear before you. Wonderful beach and water. Together with Cala Macarella / Macarelleta and its neighboring Cala Mitjaneta, this is the most beautiful beach on the island.

With the intention of seeing Cala Mitjaneta (which is reached by briefly following the path on the right of Cala Mitjana) I reached, after 30 / 40 minutes of walking through the pine forest, Cala Trabaluger which is reached by taking the path on the right of Cala Mitjana. Maybe it was the effort of the walk, but this beach also seemed very beautiful to me and much less crowded than the others. In the mid-afternoon we also made a quick stop at the nearby Cala Galdana, but this beach, having many commercial facilities around it, doesn't have the same charm as the previous beaches. After a quick shower at the hotel, we set off again in the direction of the South – East of the island, with the goal of having an aperitif at the Cava des Xoroi Discotheque, at sunset time. This disco is very particular because it's made up of a series of caves and walkways overlooking the sea.

The disco has three opening times, at 11:30 in the morning as a bar, at 19:00 for aperitifs with background music, and at 23:00 as a disco. For further information consult the website

Ciutadella,Son Saura,Binimel_la and Cala Pregonda ,Maho

The start of this day was planned to visit the market of Ciutadella, but unfortunately for my wife, the town market that is usually held on Fridays, on this day had been postponed to the upcoming patron saint festival (Sant Joan) celebrated a few days later. In any case, since we had already parked the car, we visited Ciutadella anyway, where my wife still managed to satisfy her desire to go shopping. Although we only visited part of the town, our impression is that Ciutadella is more beautiful to visit than Mao'. Once the tour of the town was over, we headed to the beautiful beach of Son Saura. To reach it you first have to take the same direction as the beaches of Macarella, Torqueta….and then take the turnoff that leads further West. The beach is made up of white sand and is very large (at least compared to those seen previously).

The water is crystal clear and it feels like being in a swimming pool. After a little siesta in the shade of the pine forest, we headed toward the famous Cala Pregonda. Once you've parked the car near the beach Binimel_la (we didn't like this beach at all), you have to continue on foot for about 20 minutes through an arid, surreal landscape, it feels like being in the Sinai desert. Once you arrive at Cala Pregonda it will seem like a mirage…..and yet it's a very real landscape! A very particular beach, for many it's the most beautiful on the island (but not for me), in any case it's worth visiting if you get the chance. We spent the evening having dinner in one of the numerous restaurants overlooking the port of Mao, and since we had already celebrated our wedding anniversary, this time we spent much less.

Binibeca , Binissafúller , Sa_Mesquida, Platja des Grau

We took advantage of our last vacation day in Minorca to visit the famous village of Binibeca. Beautiful! Francy already wanted to book the next year's vacation in one of these properties! Truly fascinating, this little village made up of these very white houses with a particular shape. After this little visit, we quickly visited the beach of Binissafúller, but since it was too crowded we chose to go toward the beach of Sa Mesquida on the North East coast of the island, just above the city of Maho. This beach is also nice…..but nothing compared to the various Macarella, Tarqueta, Mitjana….. moreover on this beach my wife was stung by a jellyfish….so bring along an ointment against these mishaps. Before returning the car we headed to the nearby beach of Es Grau, but this beach didn't particularly fascinate us, as the others did instead.

Honestly, if I have to recommend a trip to a friend who wants to spend a relaxing week, certainly the first name I'll mention will be Minorca. Fantastic island at an affordable cost!!!