Menorca Beaches

I have to say I haven’t visited all of the many Menorca beaches, but I have visited quite a few. I’ve also been lucky enough to visit several of them from the sea, sailing on a friend’s luxury motor cruiser. It’s interesting to note that some of these wonderful Menorca beaches are more “boat friendly” than others. I think, as far as visiting by boat, the best of them was Binibeca beach, although this may have been largely down to the “world famous” Los Buccaneros beach bar and the excellent food and service we received there when we visited – maybe they thought we were famous!

Menorca Beaches

The Number One rated beach is Cala Galdana, also known as Cala Santa Galdana, just South of Ferreries Cala Galdana is sometimes referred to as the “Queen of the calas”. Having been fortunate enough to visit the bay by boat, as well as by car, I have to say it’s most definitely best viewed from the sea. Surrounded by pines and nestling in a hillside it is a spectacularly beautiful bay. Famed as being one of the honeymoon resorts visited by Princess Grace and Prince Rainier, it richly deserves its spot as the number one of Menorca Beaches. In addition to the hotels there are beach bars, restaurants and a selection of water sports available.

Menorca Beaches

The Number Two Rated and longest of the Menorca Beaches is Son Bou, located south of Alaior. Renowned for its Naturist area at the west, Son Bou has a trio of beach bars linked by a wooden walkway. Son Bou can suffer with strong currents and as a result is one of the few Menorca beaches with a Red Cross hut and lifeguards.  (A flag system operates to warn swimmers when the currents are dangerous.) There are also sun beds available for hire as well as a great selection of water sports. Best of all, Son Bou has the most space of all Menorca Beaches.

Number 3 and rated for it’s picturesqueness is Cales Coves not far from the more famous and (in my opinion) over developed Cala ‘n Porter. Cales Coves has a small gritty  beach surrounded by caves and reached only by a five  minute walk down a steep sided limestone gorge. This isn’t a beach to relax and sunbathe on, but is one of the more interesting Menorca beaches, having a large number of caves lining the walls of the gorge. One of the Menorca beaches for exploring and taking a few pictures, rather than lazing about on and swimming from. There are no facilities at Cales Coves at all.

No 4 Cala Turqueta. Now Cala Turqueta is my personal favourite, but I no longer holiday with the children and so a beach with no facilites at all holds no fears for me! Completely unspoilt, this is a beautiful white sandy beach. South of Cuitadella, with quite limited access and some parking (paid), Cala Turqueta is only open to access from 10:30 until 18:00 and can get quite busy during the summer. There is some free parking en route to the beach and there are signs pointing out where the free parking is to be found. Take a parasol and plenty to eat and drink with you.

No 5 is my old local – Binibequer! Also known as Binibeca. Binibeca beach is quite a small and beautifully sandy beach with sun loungers for hire, ample parking a short walk back up the beach and features the Los Buccaneros beach bar/restaurant, which is well worth a visit. Relax under the straw parasols overlooking the bay and the yachts moored there most days. Pedallos are available quite reasonably to hire and there are shops and restaurants within easy walking distance in both directions.

Punta Prima lies to the East of Sant Lluis and just along the coast road from Binibeca and Cala Torret. There are plenty of tourist shops and a pharmacy, as well as a decent supermarket for all your supplies. Sebastian’s is a decent enough restaurant and the attraction for many is that the kids can go and kick a ball about on the beach right alongside the restaurant, while you finish your dinner. The beach is large and wide, although rocky to the eastern end. There can be strong currents with the wind in the wrong direction, so keep a watchful eye on the kids when they’re swimming here.  There are sun  beds to hire and a selection of watersports are available to try.

Cala en Porter on the coast south of the island is a well established holiday resort, having a wealth of amenities including beach bars, car parking sun loungers and an array of water sports for you to try. Beware though, even though there is a shuttle service from the centre of the beach, this is one of those Menorca beaches that is only reached by steps – and there are plenty of them!

Santo Tomas boasts a super beach and the Hotel Lord Nelson, where I had my very first Menorcan holiday. What I would describe as a typical Spanish hotel, high rise and reasonable quality at a fair price, it’s the sort of resort and beach that British holidaymakers have enjoyed for decades! West of Son Bou, Santo Tomas has a long but narrow beach that can be a little rocky in places. The hills behind frame the resort very well and all in all, you won’t go far wrong choosing to base yourselves for a holiday in, or close to Santo Tomas. Great for families, this is a tranquil resort with ample beach bars, water sports and parking facilities.