An Epic Menorca Itinerary: Hiking, Beaches, Boat Tours & More!
An adventurous Menorca itinerary! If you love EXTREMELY blue waters, white sand, incredible cliff sides, and historic towns, you will love Menorca. It has the perfect mix of adventure and relaxation on one small island.
While Ibiza and Mallorca are the more widely known Balearic Islands, Menorca is equally, if not more, beautiful!
It is the quieter, smaller version of Mallorca. If you want the incredible waters and beaches of Mallorca without the nightlife, Menorca may be your island!
Here is how to spend 5 days on the island of Menorca hiking to incredible beaches, exploring historic cities, boating along the coastline and more!
- Menorca Itinerary Overview
- Menorca Itinerary Day 1: Land in Menorca & Enjoy Cala en Porter beach
- Menorca Itinerary Day 2: Boat Tour & Explore Cala Galdana Beach
- Menorca Itinerary Day 3: Explore Binibeca & Mรกo
- Menorca Itinerary Day 4: Explore Cuitadella & the West Side of the Island
- Menorca Itinerary Day 5: Hike to Cala Macarella & Macareletta Beaches + Hike to Mitjaneta Beach + San Bou Beach
- Day 6: Fly to Barcelona
- Menorca Itinerary Final Thoughts
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Menorca Itinerary Overview
A perk of Menorca over Mallorca is that you can see a lot more of the island in a small amount of time. You can drive from one end of the island to the other in just around an hour.
Though there aren’t a lot of roads around the coast (they are more inland), they are paved and well-maintained and easy to navigate.
Due to the road layout, you can’t hop from one coastal beach to the next super easily (you often have to go inland and then drive back to the coast.)
Therefore, it is best to divide the island up in sections for each day to save some time!
Here is how to maximize your time and see the island in 5 days!
Day 1: Land in Menorca, head to your hotel and enjoy the closest beach (I have a suggestion)
Day 2: Take a boat tour along the south coast & enjoy Cala Galdana
Day 3: Explore Binibeca & Mรกo (new home base hotel)
Day 4: Explore the West Side of the Island including Cuitadella
Day 5: Hike to Macarella/Macareletta Beaches, Hike to Cala Mitjaneta Beach and Stop by San Bou Beach
For this Menorca itinerary, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND renting/hiring a car. While they do have taxis, they are expensive. They also have buses, but they don’t start until around 9:00 am and don’t run often ( you will be seeing the island at a slow pace.)
See Menorca on Your Own Time!
If you want to see Menorca in just a few days, it is BEST to rent a car and explore at your own pace! I booked through Discover Cars with no problems at all.
Menorca Itinerary Day 1: Land in Menorca & Enjoy Cala en Porter beach
From Barcelona, you can fly into Menorca quite early. Even a lot of the international flights land in Barcelona at a reasonable time.
For your first few days, I recommend staying within walking distance to a beach. The beaches in Menorca are beautiful and it is worth spending a day or two enjoying them and being able to quickly walk to the beach whenever you want.
I chose to stay at Hotel Osprey Menorca which is a few hundred feet from Cala en Porter Beach. It was nice, reasonably priced (as much as Menorca can be in July) and the location to the beach was great.
Perks of Cala en Porter
I liked the Cala en Porter area because it is a little less popular, and thus, a little less crowded than some of the other beaches with resorts nearby.
It also provided a stress-free first few days by being in walking distance to a beach, offering a rooftop restaurant on site and being directly across from a parking lot.
Book a Room at Hotel Osprey Menorca!
Hotel Osprey Menorca is located just feet from Cala en Porter Beach! Also has an onsite restaurant and rooftop pool and bar!
Also, on the path from Hotel Osprey to the beach (which, again is a short walk!) you will find a few restaurants (Rustic Bar Cala and Terraza), shops and Monkey Kayak Menorca where you can go on a highly-rated kayaking tour without having to drive anywhere!
Book a Kayaking Tour with Monkey Kayak Menorca! ๐๐ป
Cons to staying in Cala en Porter: The little town and nicer restaurants nearby are going to require quite an uphill walk. As you can see from the viewpoint photo, Cala en Porter (and Hotel Osprey) are located at the bottom of the hill.
Alternative Location: Cala Galdana
While I enjoyed Cala en Porter, some may prefer an area with more activity. A good option for your two night beach stay, in this case, is near Cala Galdana Beach.
Pros to Cala Galdana: More restaurants and stores nearby, flatter walk to the restaurants, more hotel options, the meeting place for a lot of the tours, where several hikes start as well
Cons to Cala Galdana: More busy than Cala en Porter, hotels are more expensive
Either option will provide you with a nice beach within walking distance. I think it is worth being in one of these spots for a least a couple of nights! (but I also enjoyed being in one of the cities for the remainder of the nights as well.)
Menorca Itinerary Day 2: Boat Tour & Explore Cala Galdana Beach
The water in Menorca is so incredible; you REALLY need to get out on a boat while you are there! The boat tour was one of my favorite things on this Menorca itinerary!
Most boat tours leave Cala Galdana Beach. So after your boat tour, spend the second half of your day enjoying this beach and the area around it!
Morning: Southern Coast Boat Tour
Spend the morning out on the boat! There are several different boat tours that drift along the south coast of Menorca. The best one for you depends on what you are looking for.
I was a 34 year old solo traveler looking for a chill boat ride, so I opted to book a boat tour with Marenostrum.
This is a 3.5 hour tour that leaves from Cala Galdana on a smaller boat that only fits 12 passengers.
The tour consists of a peaceful ride up and down the coast that goes as far west as Son Saura and as far east as Cala Fustam and Escorxada.
You will make a couple of stops to swim and snorkel or stand up paddle board. They also provide water and some snacks throughout the tour.
I found the tour to be a good amount of time with appropriate time for swimming as well. I definitely recommend taking it!
Cruise Around the South Coast & Snorkel!
Marenostrum Boat Tour
Price: ~$85 USD
Time: 3.5 hours
Group Size: Only 12 people
A More Lively Boat Tour Alternative
While I enjoyed the more calm boat tour, on the tour I saw another company with the music and the drinks, giving a very different vibe than I had ๐
The tour with Excursiones Menorca is more lively and is a full day tour rather than half day. You begin and end in Cuitadella and spend 9 hours cruising the coast, swimming in two different coves and floating in and out of several others.
It includes one free sangria or soft drink and lunch as well as offers optional pick up.
Book a more lively full-day Menorca boat tour ๐๐ป
Afternoon: Enjoy Cala Galdana Beach
After your morning boat tour, you will arrive back at Cala Galdana Beach by 1 pm (if you take the morning boat tour). This beach is bigger than Cala en Porter and has a lot to do around it.
(If you opt for the more lively full day tour, you may only have time for dinner in the Cala Galdana area.)
Cala Galdana is a beautiful beach with plenty of food options, shops and free shade. It also has a great path to a view from above, which I recommend taking!
Menorca Itinerary Day 3: Explore Binibeca & Mรกo
After two days of beaching and splashing in the water, take a day to enjoy a couple of the towns on the island.
I opted to spend two days in walking distance to a beach and then 3 nights in a more central home base. There are two main cities on Menorca, Cuitadella and Mรกo.
Cuitadella is a beautiful city with very historic architecture and charm. However, in general, it tends to be more expensive than Mรกo.
As a solo traveller on this trip, I opted to stay in Mรกo.
It is the capital city of Menorca and is actually very charming as well! I recommend staying at the Hotel San Miguel. It has a great location and nearby public parking that is reasonably priced and free on the weekends and evenings.
Book a Room at Hotel San Miguel!
Has a GREAT, central location, clean and large rooms and was reasonably priced.
Morning: Explore Binibeca
Check out of your hotel early and plan to spend the morning explore Binibeca and St Luis if you wish.
Binebeca is a small, white-washed fishing village located about a 28 minute drive from Hotel Osprey.
The fishing village is quite popular on the island and parking is limited, therefore I recommend starting here.
The highlights of Binibeca are the white washed buildings of the main village and the beaches of Cala Turret and Cala Binibeca.
Afternoon: Explore Mรกo
Once you get your feel of Binibeca and the nearby beaches (I only spent about an hour and a half here) you can head toward Mรกo!
On your way, you will drive through Sant Lluรญs, home to the islands famous windmill. While there isn’t much in this area, you can stop by and see the windmill if you so wish.
Afterwards, carry on to Mรกo, your home base for the next 3 days!
Mรกo is a pretty small and very walkable city. You can see a lot of what it has to offer in just half a day. However, if you are basing yourself here, you will have a few other nights to explore the capital as well!
Mรกo is unique in that the old town sits on a hill that overlooks the harbor below (which is one of the naturally deepest harbors in the world and the reason the capital was switched to here.)
You can explore the old town, located above the harbor with incredible viewpoints from each side of the park down below.
Things to do in Mรกo:
- Take in the views at the port overlook
- Explore and shop in the old town
- Walk down to the harbor
- Visit the Pont des Castell viewpoint
- See Casa Mir and the views from there
- Stop by Bar Cafรฉ Quiosc Rochina for a drink or snack with a harbor view
- Church of Carmen
- Santa Maria Church
Again, Mรกo isn’t super large. If you being walking around old town, you are likely to pass all the highlights of old town!
Menorca Itinerary Day 4: Explore Cuitadella & the West Side of the Island
Cuitadella was once the capital of Menorca and the second-largest city on the island. It is home to medieval and charming architecture and has a lot of history. If you don’t opt to stay here, you still need to add it to your Menorca itinerary!
morning: Explore Cuitadella
The drive from Mรกo to Cuitadella is only about 45 minutes. So, you can get to the city before the crowds arise without having to get up extremely early.
You can find free parking (marked on the provided map) just outside the city center if you are willing to walk about 10 minutes into the center.
Highlights to see in Cuitadella:
- Cathedral Basilica of Ciutadella de Menorca
- Ciutadella de Menorca City Hall
- Port de Cuitadella
- Palacio Torresaura (former palace)
- Mirador des Bastiรณ des Governador (view point)
- Mirador des Port de Ciutadella (view point)
I visited in July, and, in all honesty, I was sweating to death while exploring Cuitadella. So, while it was definitely a beautiful city, I didn’t spend a lot of time here. I, instead, opted to explore some of the nearby beaches for most of the day!
Afternoon: Explore Cala en Brut, Blanc & en Bosc Beaches
There are LOTS of beaches on the island of Menorca. While many of the popular ones are on the south side of the island, the west side has no shortage of coves and beaches with crystal clear water as well.
Cala en Brut
Starting just north of Cuitadella, you can visit Cala en Brut Beach. There is plenty of parking nearby and a short, fairly flat walk to the beach.
This cove has a little beach area with palm trees and shade and a play area for kiddos as well as a small restaurant. The beach was a little crowded for me, but there is also a rocky edge along the cove where you can find a spot to relax with minimal people around.
Since I was tired of sweating in Cuitadella, I spent a bit of time here swimming and reading.
Cala Blanc
Afterwards, I did a bit of beach hopping just to see different shades of blue and what beaches were available on this side of the island.
From Cala en Brut, you can head south and see several beaches on the west coast before making your way back to the east side of the island.
Cala Blanc beach, which is rather small in the “beach” department, has really blue water as well. Though the small beach can get crowded, it has a rocky landscape along the edges you can escape the crowds if you prefer.
Parking is a little tricky here; it is limited by the beach, but you can park up street and walk down.
Also, near Cala Blanc are the Cova de S’Aigua, some really unique caves. I tried to visit these, but the tickets were sold out.
If I were to go back, I would add this to the itinerary! Tickets can be purchased on the Menorca tourism website. The tours only last about 45 minutes, so if you time your day right you should be able to fit it into this day easily.
However, the tours are around 10 euros for adults, but they are seasonal (May to October.)
Cala en Bosc
At the southwest tip is Cala en Bosc, another town with hotels and resorts nearby Cala en Bosc Beach (mislabeled as Platja de Son Xoriguer on Google maps, which is a little further down the coast.)
This beach has a much larger sandy beach area and is within walking distance to several restaurants and hotels.
In this regard, it is much more like Cala Galdana and can be another option for a beachside home base as well.
With the roomy beach and restaurants nearby, this is a good place to grab dinner and catch sunset before heading back to the east side of the island!
Menorca Itinerary Day 5: Hike to Cala Macarella & Macareletta Beaches + Hike to Mitjaneta Beach + San Bou Beach
I think day 5 was my favorite day of this Menorca itinerary (besides maybe the boat tour.) It was definitely my most active day, but some of the best views in Menorca come after a good hike!
Morning: Hike to Cala Macarella and Macareletta Beaches
Again, some of the best beaches on Menorca require either hiking and/or a lot of stairs. Cala Macarella and Macareletta are at the top of this list (in both regards.)
Both are EXQUISIT in water color and views. However, both ALSO require quite the hike and quite the amount of steps to get to them.
You can’t access these beaches by driving. To access them you have to either:
- Drive to Cala Galdana and hike about 2.8km (1.7 miles) one way
- Drive to Cuitadella where you can hop on a bus that will take you
Once you get close, you still have to descend nearly 200 steps to the beach of Cala Macarella.
If you are getting an early start (like me,) once you arrive to Cala Macarella, the sun will be reflecting on the ocean and the water won’t be super blue like it will be mid day. I recommend continuing your hike to Cala Macareletta.
Cala Macareletta
Cala Macareletta will have beautiful turquoise waters pretty early in the day. To get to this beach, you will continue to the far side of the beach of Cala Macarella.
You will see stone steps that lead to a viewpoint with the famous wood fence that overlooks Cala Macarella.
Continue climbing to the very top of these steps until you see the turquoise hues of Cala Macareletta!
To get to the beach, you will have to then descend several more steps (I know, a lot of steps!) Once you get here, you can jump into the refreshing water and enjoy a little beach time. You’ve earned it!
I do recommend bringing some form of shade with you, however. There is very little natural shade at this beach.
Cala Macarella
Once you finish your beach time, you can continue (back up the steps) to Cala Macarella.
By mid-day, the BLUE hues will be coming out and make for much better photos from the viewpont!
Cala Macarella is a more popular place for beaching. It has a bigger area, more natural shade, a public restroom and a restaurant. So, if you prefer, you can just view Cala Macareletta from above and go back to Macarella for your beach time.
Afternoon: Hike to Cala Mitjaneta
I started the hike to Cala Macarella at about 9:00 am and was back to my car by around 12:15pm. Therefore, even with the bit of hiking it takes to get to Cala Macarella, you will have plenty of time to see other beaches in the afternoon.
Again, there are a million beaches to choose from.
I opted to take another (shorter) hike to Cala Mitjaneta. It is another beach with beautiful blue waters and is surrounded by beautiful white stone cliffs (I noticed the white cliffs on our boat tour!)
And, of course, I love a view of the beaches from the top and this beach has one (up on the white stone cliff!)
After you enjoy some beach time, climb up to the viewpoint (which includes quite a few rocky steps) and enjoy a snack with a view.
Again, there is not a lot of shade at this beach and the shade that IS available will likely be taken if you arrive in the afternoon. Therefore, I recommend bringing your own form of shade.
Evening: Son Bou
After spending all day hiking, I opted to visit an easily-accessible beach for my last beach of the day.
Son Bou beach is quite different than the other beaches of Menorca. It is REALLY family friendly because it doesn’t require ANY hiking to get to. If you have ever been to Florida, it really reminds me of the beaches of the Florida panhandle!
This beach has about 2.4 km (1.5 miles) of fine, white sand, making it Menorca’s longest beach by far.
Up and down the beach you can find little tiki huts that you can rent (not sure how much.) Otherwise, there is minimal natural shade and you’ll want to bring your own (again.)
I wound up at Sunset Beach Bar where I grabbed a drink and dinner and read by the beach. Perfect end to an eventful day!
The drive from Son Bou to Mรกo is only about 2o minutes, so you will be able to get home and packed for your flight out at a reasonable time!
Day 6: Fly to Barcelona
If you are coming in from the United States (or elsewhere) there is a good chance you have a connection in Barcelona.
Rather than having to try to catch a late flight from Barcelona to the US on day 7, I opted to stay in Barcelona for a night so I could get the first flight back to the US.
Therefore, I had a little bonus day in Barcelona to see some of the highlights before flying back to the US!
WHERE TO STAY IN BARCELONA?
Hotel Lloret Ramblas has a GREAT location (though a little loud due to being very central.)
In all honesty, my room was outdated, but the rest of the hotel was quite nice and the price was good for the walkable location.
Menorca Itinerary Final Thoughts
Menorca is an extremely beautiful island and I enjoyed the mix of beach time, activity and city exploration on this itinerary!
If you have looked at a map, you may have noticed this itinerary doesn’t include the north side of the island.
While the north side of the island has beaches, they tend to have darker, brownish sand (which I don’t find as appealing) and they are also pretty spread out. I opted to spend my time with the bluer waters of the south coast and in the cities of Menorca.
However, with an extra day, you may want to see the north side of the island (I’ve marked some beaches to see in purple on the map I provided!)
Also, if you don’t want to move hotels in the middle of your trip, this itinerary is still very doable by staying in one home base!
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