Menorca Tourism Guide - South Minorca Resorts & Beache

South Menorca Beaches

You can't beat Menorca beaches for peace and quiet, with many hidden coves dotted about this Balearic Island. All Menorca beaches are blessed with white gleaming sand and most are pretty untouched by development. Some of the best are in South Menorca, such as Cala Binibeca or Els Canutells. Some beaches to the west are being developed, including resorts like Son Xoriguer and Cala en Bosch. The sand on Menorca's southern beaches is soft because of the soft sandstone in Menorca. Beautiful colours are on the menu, with cliffs broken by idyllic beaches.

The longest and one of the most beautiful beaches on Menorca is Son Bou, an idyllic stretch of white sand about 2 miles long. Menorca's beautiful southern coastal stretch is scattered with numerous coves all of which have crystal clear water and sandy beaches. There's a key environmental reason why these beaches are so beautiful. It's partly because of the large amount of Posidonia Oceanica marine plant which acts as a natural filter and is a source of food and shelter for a huge variety of marine life. It's protection is crucial.

Beaches on Menorca tend to be small and idyllic, hidden away in coves. Son Bou is a bit of an exception and spans 3 km/2 miles. It's situated about half way up the south east coast of Menorca. There's an interesting twist to this beach, it has the ruins of an early Christian basilica at the eastern end. Cala Binisfulla beach sits quite far down the south coast and is about 40 metres/130 ft long. Move further down south for Cala Binibeca beach, a wide beach quite near Binibeca Vell. This beach is beautifully untouched, albeit a small restaurant and a car park.

Some very popular beaches run along the southern tip of the island. Beaches like that off Punta Prima which overlooks the sublime little rocky island called Illa de l'Aire. More built up beaches include Cala Alcaufar.

Cala'n Porter & Son Bou

Cala'n Porter and Son Bou are two resorts with a central position on the south coast of Minorca that merge. Cala'n Porter resort is positioned on some of Menorca's famous high cliffs, making it a particularly striking resort and if you're accommodation is on top of the cliffs then get ready for spectacular views! If you've mobility problems then this Minorca resort might pose a few problems as you have to go up and down many steps to get to the beach! There is a mini train doing the route but it's about 4 euros. Once down on the beach though what pleasures. Cala'n Porter beach is a sheltered bay, encased by cliffs with marsh land to the rear hosting a selection of ducks who only come out from the reeds at cooler times of the day!

Cala'n Porter is a lively resort by Menorca standards, with a selection of lively bars, and a late night disco at the Cova d'en Xoroi. It's low key again though, with most of the entertainment hotel based and all-inclusive for families. Check when you book your hotel or apartment here what sort of entertainment the accommodation lays on. Cala'n Porter is most popular with British visitors, and there are ample supermarkets with British food if you're not feeling adventurous. Everything you need for a great family package holidays Menorca style! Watch those steps though.

Son Bou has one of the prettiest, and certainly the biggest fine white sandy beaches on Menorca. The beach at Son Bou is about 2 miles long. Buses run regularly from the centre of Son Bou into the little nearby town of Alaior, and to the rear of the beach are the spectacular sand dunes and marshes as well which are protected. Son Bou like it's adjacent twin Cala'n Porter is a superb family resort, with ample shops, supermarkets and souvenier shops. These amenities are located in two spots split into two commercial centres. Find one opposite the Sol Hotels and one adjacent to the self catering Son Jaime complex. Check again what entertainment your accommodation provider offers, as Son Bou is lively but most entertainment comes in the form of all-inclusive family holiday packages, with entertainment mostly accommodation based.

Top tip when booking in this resort is check how far away your accommodation is from the the only access to the beach which is adjacent to the two big Sol Hotels at one end of the resort. If you're at the other end of Son Bou then you'll have a bit of a walk, but if you don't mind the walk that's all well and good, but bear in mind the heat at peak sunshine times. The beach itself is large, but it gets busy especially at weekends when many residents from nearby Alaior visit. It's not officially permitted, but at the western end of the Son Bou beach, heading on towards Santo Tomas, is an area recognised as Menorca nude beach territory!

Santo Tomas

Santo Tomas is another excellent Menorca family resort, less well served by public transport than resorts like Son Bou and Cala'n Porter, but nevertheless there resort has good basic amenities, and with a selection of shops selling beach gear and such like, plus 3 fair sized supermarkets. Out of season Santo Tomas does go a bit quiet. It's a resort well known for the large Hotel Victoria Playa at the east end of the resort. This is a most popular hotel with families, and the resort as a whole is popular with British families. There's a very nice little promenade as well to stroll along!

Cala'n Forcat and Aqua Park Menorca

Cala'n Forcat is a resort comprised with Cala'N Brut and Cala'N Blanes in an area known as Los Delfines. Cala'n Forcat is quite busy. There are Lots of restaurants, bars, shops & supermarkets. There is also a water park situated on the main road. The beaches are all very small coves and the two at the north of the resort require you to climb down steps, they could present some problems for the elderly or disabled. The south beach is about a 20 minute walk from the centre, the mini train runs every half hour to this beach and stops at various points along the way.

Los Delfines Aquapark is a superb waterpark, Menorca style. Smaller that the big blockbusters, this Menorca waterpark has an emphasis on quality, including healthy food in the restaurant and it's small, cosy and very clean, as you'd expect in Menorca. Aquapark Los Delfines is conveniently located on this part of the south coast, aligned to key Minorca resorts on the island like Cala'n Forcat.

It's cosy and small this waterpark, with serveral good rides like the Black Hole, with it's two seater float, Adventure River with a single seater float with 91,5 m. run, Giant Toboggan, Hidrotubes, Children's Water Shutes, and a nice Jacuzzi. There's a very good restaurant on site, which makes a point of serving fresh local market supplies, fish, shellfish and meat of excellent quality. This aqua park is particularly good for families with young children!

Find this waterpark on the main road running west from Ciudadela through Cala'n Forcat and Los Delfines. Aqua Center Water Park, Urb. Los Delfines, Ciutadella de Menorca. Tel: 34 971 388 705.

Cala Blanca

Cala Blanca, conveniently just 5km south of picturesque Ciutadella, is a fairly new resort in Minorca. There are more villas and apartments here than hotels, and amenities are good but basic. Cala Blanca is well served by public transport, particularly buses which run every 45 minutes or so to popular resort Cala'n Bosch.

Cala Blanca is low key, with most entertainment hotel based, and a few music bars and a little disco nearby at Cala Santandria. Check what entertainment is offered in the hotel when booking, if your looking for package holidays menorca style, and the all-inclusive package.

Cala Galdana

Minorca beaches you can't beat, and one of the best is to be found at Cala Galdana. It has an almost perfect horse shoe shape, surrounded by pine clad cliffs. It's a beautiful resort, and most accommodation is again at the top of the cliffs guaranteeing great views across the bay. As with most resorts along the south west coast of Menorca there are steps to climb up and down from the beach, so if you've young children or mobility issues it's worth bearing this in mind!

Cala Galdana has lovely warm shallow waters, perfect for families, and the beach itself has fine, clean sand and an array of water sports available, including scuba diving. Even if you're not based at Cala Galdana for your package holiday Menorca, then it's well worth taking a day out to visit this beautiful resort.

Public transport is rather good out from Cala Galdana, and regular buses do the 15 minute journey from Cala Galdana into nearby Ferreries at least 10 times a day, and from Ferreries you can connect out to other destinations around Menorca.

Cala Blanes & Cala'n Bosch

Cala'n Blanes along with its neighbours Cala'n Forcat and Los Delfines, have now all merged to form the one resort that is possibly the largest tourist development on Menorca. Cala'n Blanes and the surrounding area, is very popular with British visitors, and in recognition of the high number of private holiday villas' and self catering apartments in the town, the resort has a good selection of shops and Spar type supermarkets.

The modern resort of Cala'n Bosch lies on the extreme south west coast of Menorca, approximately 10km south of Ciutadella. Cala'n Bosch is one of Menorca's more modern newest resort destinations. a couple of fair sized hotels, accommodation here is mainly self catering apartments and privately owned villas, and as a generalisation would be best suited for a relaxing family holiday, especially those with older children.

There's lots of watersports in the resort, including access to some superb scuba diving, plus boat trips on boats with glass bottoms. With Minorca's clear waters, this is a boat trip in a million!

There's a pleasant marina, things like crazy golf for families, and overall a great relaxing family holiday setting! There's a little fun park for kids, and Cala'n Bosch

Unspoilt Beaches Menorca Style

For the best of the unspoilt beaches head up towards the south west and the stretch from Cala Galdana to Son Saura. Cala Galdana beach is perfect for young kids as the beach has a gentle slope. Head also for the get-away from it all beaches of Cala en Turqueta, Cala Mitjana and Son Saura. It's a perfect area as well for walking, mountain biking and how about a bit of kayaking all the way into some of the caves on this stretch of the coast. Magic!