Menorca

[Koeketiene]

Anyone cruising Menorca right now (or cruised here recently)?
Any advice on
- things to see/do?
- sheltered anchorages with good holding?
- planning to visit Mahon and Ciutadella at some stage. Which days are busiest and best avoided?
- etc...

TA

 

[Ray Purchase]

Don't be tempted by the gin factory in Mahon, the stuff is horrible, the market in the upper town is nice for a wander.

 

[Hooligan]

We spent 4 years there as a base for the Balearics. South side of Island is where best anchorages and coves are. Ciutadela is a must and preferable to try get a berth in town against the quay as the anchorage outside can be pretty rolly. There is a great storm shelter anchorage at entrance to Mahon on starboard side. Also a good place to anchor to visit the castle. Easy dinghy into the city although a little far. Fornells is windy and you can get trapped in there for a few days post a blow as waves build up outside. Mahon is lovely. There is a major walk all around the island in about 10 sections. Called Cami de Cavalls that is fantastic. You can download an app I think that shows you the trail and sections. So you can moor and do a section or two. Lots of restaurants along the way. One suggestion is the trail between Mahon and Es Grau. Half way around overlooking the sea is a great restaurant. Hope this helps.

 

[Davy_S]

We have just come back from Menorca, but as tourists not cruisers, Ciutadella was our favourite we preferred it to Mahon.

 

[Koeketiene]

We spent 4 years there as a base for the Balearics. South side of Island is where best anchorages and coves are. Ciutadela is a must and preferable to try get a berth in town against the quay as the anchorage outside can be pretty rolly. There is a great storm shelter anchorage at entrance to Mahon on starboard side. Also a good place to anchor to visit the castle. Easy dinghy into the city although a little far. Fornells is windy and you can get trapped in there for a few days post a blow as waves build up outside. Mahon is lovely. There is a major walk all around the island in about 10 sections. Called Cami de Cavalls that is fantastic. You can download an app I think that shows you the trail and sections. So you can moor and do a section or two. Lots of restaurants along the way. One suggestion is the trail between Mahon and Es Grau. Half way around overlooking the sea is a great restaurant. Hope this helps.

I've been to the anchorage near Mahon (Cala Teulera) - there isn't room to swing a cat right now, let alone anchor safely.
All the berths in town are booked solid till mid/late August. I couldn't believe it at the prices they charge.

Am in Fornells right now.
Might stay a few days as a nice easterly is forecast for Saturday/Sunday.

Hope to be able to secure berth in Ciutadela early next week.

 

[Yngmar]

Beware of the Rissaga in Ciutadela. Fornells and Addaia have good shelter. Mahon is crazy expensive and some "marinas" are just a pontoon in the middle of the cala with no service and no shore access. Cala Teulada is a madhouse in summer and stay duration is limited (a harbour patrol boat will knock in the morning and give you a marina flyer). Arenal d'en Castell was surprisingly good if you don't mind the curious pedalboaters.

 

[Davy_S]

This is Arenal d' en Castell showing yachts and pedalboaters

 

[Sea Change]

We spent a good chunk of summer 2022 in Menorca. Addaia became a bit of a base for us- zero swell, easy access to Mahon by bus, some nice walks and little beach in the village although there's very little else to the place.

Fornells was a bit frustrating, there's a lot to like but we never really managed to figure out where to anchor without upsetting anybody or dragging.

Mahon, as said, well worth visiting, the anchorage by the fort is pretty good if you can find a space.

Found most other places too swelly, especially the south coast. Perhaps we were unlucky.

 

[Koeketiene]

We spent a good chunk of summer 2022 in Menorca. Addaia became a bit of a base for us- zero swell, easy access to Mahon by bus, some nice walks and little beach in the village although there's very little else to the place.

Fornells was a bit frustrating, there's a lot to like but we never really managed to figure out where to anchor without upsetting anybody or dragging.

Mahon, as said, well worth visiting, the anchorage by the fort is pretty good if you can find a space.

Found most other places too swelly, especially the south coast. Perhaps we were unlucky.

Am anchored of Illa D'en Colom right now.
Fornells was getting a bit too crowded - lots of boats trying to anchor in a very small space.
Lots of areas that used to be anchorages are now off-limits because of posedeina sea-grass.
Had replies from both Mahon and Ciutadela that they're fully booked July/August but that I can call them every day after 13:00 to see if they've had any last minute cancellations.
Heading back to the mainland tomorrow - there's a nice NE-ly tomorrow afternoon/evening and night Sat/Sun which will allow me to sail most of the way.

Menorca's nice, but next time round I'll be here May/June rather than July.
Too crowded and too expensive.

 

[Sea Change]

Am anchored of Illa D'en Colom right now.
Fornells was getting a bit too crowded - lots of boats trying to anchor in a very small space.
Lots of areas that used to be anchorages are now off-limits because of posedeina sea-grass.
Had replies from both Mahon and Ciutadela that they're fully booked July/August but that I can call them every day after 13:00 to see if they've had any last minute cancellations.
Heading back to the mainland tomorrow - there's a nice NE-ly tomorrow afternoon/evening and night Sat/Sun which will allow me to sail most of the way.

Menorca's nice, but next time round I'll be here May/June rather than July.
Too crowded and too expensive.

We headed to Mallorca for peak season and hung around Pollensa for several weeks. Yes it got a bit boring after a while but there's a lot to be said for a huge shallow anchorage with no swell.

 

[Goldie]

We spent a good chunk of summer 2022 in Menorca. Addaia became a bit of a base for us- zero swell, easy access to Mahon by bus, some nice walks and little beach in the village although there's very little else to the place.

We really liked Addaia, and used to go as far up as depth would allow. However, in 2023 the lagoon area was buoyed off as a no anchoring zone beyond the narrows and anchoring space reduced significantly.

 

[Koeketiene]

We headed to Mallorca for peak season and hung around Pollensa for several weeks. Yes it got a bit boring after a while but there's a lot to be said for a huge shallow anchorage with no swell.

Noted for future reference - thanks

 

[Sea Change]

Noted for future reference - thanks

The main downside of Pollensa is the constant procession of powerboats steaming in and out of the place, often sending pretty nasty washes everywhere and at times making it feel unsafe to swim too far from the boat.
But it's quite a nice town, if busy, and the old town is definitely worth visiting.

 

[Goldie]

The main downside of Pollensa is the constant procession of powerboats steaming in and out of the place, often sending pretty nasty washes everywhere and at times making it feel unsafe to swim too far from the boat.
But it's quite a nice town, if busy, and the old town is definitely worth visiting.

Make sure that you anchor well clear of the flying boat operating area. I have a video of a British yacht being ‘encouraged’ to move by one of the water bombers - I hope his hatches were closed…

 

[Ray Purchase]

Can you still use the port for three day periods in Pollensa?

 

[Star-Lord]

Anyone cruising Menorca right now (or cruised here recently)?
Any advice on
- things to see/do?
- sheltered anchorages with good holding?
- planning to visit Mahon and Ciutadella at some stage. Which days are busiest and best avoided?
- etc...

TA

Nelson’s favourite anchorage outside Mahon is very small! First time I went aground and had to be main halyard pulled out by a 15hp dinghy.

 

[RupertW]

Don't be tempted by the gin factory in Mahon, the stuff is horrible, the market in the upper town is nice for a wander.

Utter sacrilege, the Xoriguer gin beats many of the 40-50 euro gins and we missed it a lot when we moved the boat west.

 

[Ray Purchase]

Utter sacrilege, the Xoriguer gin beats many of the 40-50 euro gins and we missed it a lot when we moved the boat west.

More of a Seagrams drinker myself, and that Menorcan gut rot is available all over the show, I've see it from Barcelona to Madrid and on

 

[RupertW]

More of a Seagrams drinker myself, and that Menorcan gut rot is available all over the show, I've see it from Barcelona to Madrid and on

We’ve gone a lot further West than that