| The Menorca Map (picture by Peter Watts) |  |
The Menorca Map
The Menorca Map
Menorca is considered by some to be the most beautiful of the Balearic Islands. It is much smaller than either Mallorca or Ibiza, being about 47km long and 20km wide. The capital city, Ciutadella, is on the western end of the island and Maó, close to the airport, is on the eastern end. Menorca covers about 702 square kilometres with 216 kilometres of coastlines peppered with rocky coves, calas and sandy beaches.The southern side of Menorca is most popular with tourists and holiday makers as it has the best white sandy beaches and most of the large hotels. Many hotels are built on the cliffs overlooking the calas, and the better the view, or closer the beach, the more expensive the hotel.
The northern side of Menorca is much more rugged, with dark sandy beaches and numerous small coves surrounded by high cliffs. The vegetation here is sparse but the scenery dramatic. These areas are avoided by most of the large hotels, but it is possible to find smaller, more intimate hotels and numerous private apartments and villas.
Menorca has been populated from prehistoric times and there are literally hundreds of ancient sites scattered around the island. Many of these are quiet places surrounded by fields away from the majority of holidaymakers who are content to stay in the hotel resorts. It is worth hiring a car to explore the island a little more.
Menorca is also a popular holiday destination for those seeking various water sports like diving, sailing or wanting to charter a yacht. There are numerous centres around the island that cater for almost all water sports.
All in all, though small, Menorca has a large diversity to offer holiday makers, and it is often a surprise to tourists just how varied the island is once they get out from the package holiday and beach hotel formats.