Why Menorca is our favourite Balearic for beaches, villas and old towns

It may be a less famous Balearic than Mallorca, less bougie than Ibiza, but a family holiday in Menorca is easily the best as far as Katie Bowman and her family are concerned.

Ciutadella, Menorca

When Covid saw many families confined to a garden paddling pool – that’s if they were lucky – my crew was stuck in Spain. We had snuck out of the country for our summer holiday thanks to the traffic-light system – remember that? But, however hard we tried to return home, every flight kept being cancelled.

That’s how we discovered Menorca, a short ferry hop from Mallorca, where we’d holidayed for so many years. What began as an inconvenient reroute quickly turned into a happy accident and, years later, a family holiday in Menorca quietly became our firm favourite.

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Take your pick of beautiful beach restaurants

How a family holiday in Menorca gently seduces

Where the Mallorcan capital Palma is blighted by content creators and cruise ship passengers, Ciutadella and Mahon – the two biggest towns in Menorca – are stylish and serene waterfront hubs. Children will love bakeries selling ensaïmada pastries filled with custard, and harbourside markets for five-euro souvenirs, while parents will be smitten by the hushed, cobbled side streets and palm-lined plazas.

Mahon and Ciutadella’s local-owned boutiques and buzzing fish restaurants are every bit as sophisticated as you’ll find in Palma too, but the crowds are non-existent. Order the Menorcan red lobster caldereta stew at s’Amarador restaurant in Ciutadella or the salted cod at Passio Mediterraneo in Mahon – while the kids devour jamon croquetas as they watch the boats anchor – and you’ll never consider another Spanish island again.

And we haven’t even made it to the beaches yet.

Cala San Bou, Menorca

Let’s talk about this Balearic’s beautiful beaches

As all families know, the seaside is where the perfect holiday can be made or broken. Long ago, I’d come to accept that the idyllic pebble cove at the end of a remote track does not suit a toddler (nor a teen for that matter). And a busy, brash, sandy runway might have all the facilities, but if we can’t roll out a towel without encroaching on another family’s paella picnic, then that’s no good either.

But, for us, a family holiday in Menorca has the balance just right, with thriving beach culture and seriously good fish restaurants moments from the sea, but no heavy development allowed upon the shoreline.

Our favourite example of this is Son Bou, an unabashedly family-friendly resort town, with ice cream kiosks and postcard racks, that leads to a long, untouched strip of immaculate sand as far as the eye can see. Even in August, you need only walk for five minutes – having loaded up with takeaway bocadillo sandwiches in town – to find an untamed stretch of beach perfection. And barely another parasol in sight.

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Cova d’en Xoroi, Menorca

Some day-trips to add to your family holiday in Menorca

Day trips are as low-key or as life-changing as you want them to be on this island. Pre-schoolers will be mesmerised by the glass-bottom boat tours that sail out of Mahon harbour, spotting schools of fish and the underside of multi-coloured kayaks.

In the north of Menorca, you can hire a traditional wooden ‘llaut’ – or Balearic fishing boat – along with a skipper, who’ll take your crew to secret bays and clear-water coves.

Teens will swoon at the sight of Cova d’en Xoroi, an extraordinary open-air bar and nightclub built into the natural cliffside (families are welcome by day for snacks); it’s impossible to take a bad photo of this architectural oddity.

Or there’s Illa del Rei, where art titans, Hauser & Wirth, have opened a gallery within a former hospital on a lone island. The art is easily digestible for all ages, with outdoor sculptures, gorgeous gardens and surely the greatest museum gift shop and restaurant in Spain.

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Illa del Rei shop ©Daniel Schaf

Where to shop in Menorca

Speaking of which, shopping is unexpectedly genteel for such a small, rural island. Avarca sandals hail from Menorca – the soft leather slip-on you’ll spy on every islander – and you’ll pay a fraction here compared to the UK. So good is the leather and the shoe design, even market stalls are a treasure trove (pricey Mascaro shoes and Pretty Ballerina flats? From Menorca?).

We’ve already mentioned the amazing flaky pastries, but Menorcan cheese is glorious too, filling everything from sweet cheese flans to wine platters: Binifadet being the best vineyard on the island.

Villa Privilege, Son Bou, Menorca

Where to stay on your family holiday in Menorca

So it’ll come as no surprise when I tell you the hotels and villas are also elegant, from old-school agroturismos roofed in terracotta tiles to bling boutique stays pushing all the design boundaries. Villa Le Blanc is one hotel that manages to bring together high style to a family holiday in Menorca: my daughter adored the seafront pool here, along with the spa that offers treatments for children aged 10 years upwards.

But where we really love to stay in Menorca, particularly as we get to know the island like locals year on year, is in a villa of our own.

Our greatest find last summer was Villa Privilege (clue’s in the name) in Son Bou, with its stunning sea views, huge terraces and hotel-standard swimming pool. The fact we could walk to the beach in 10 minutes was my favourite feature, but just one of the many reasons we’re already thinking of booking it for our next Balearic summer. A privilege indeed.

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