Minorca
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What to know about Minorca

Minorca is a Spanish island known for its beaches and nature. Its economy is based on gastronomic, active, cultural and nature tourism, and its tourist season runs from March to October, with July and August being the busiest months.

On this page you can find tourist information about everything you can do in Minorca during your holidays, with special emphasis on cultural, gastronomic and sports tourism.

From visiting traditional farms, to renting bicycles, motorcycles, kayaks or a car for your holidays, to all kinds of visits of cultural and sporting interest, such as excursions, hiking, visits to factories of local products and local artisans, and much more.

The geography of Minorca

With almost 700 km² Minorca is the second largest of the Balearic Islands archipelago. It is approximately 47 km long and, on average, about 15 km wide.

The highest point on the island is Monte Toro, at 358 meters, and its 216 km of coastline is home to more than 75 beaches, although that number depends on the definition of a beach, since the number of places to bathe on the coast of the island is much higher.

The climate of Minorca

It’s been years since Minorca has experienced true winters. It can be said that between October and March a long spring takes place, with torrential rains normally in autumn.

The climate of Minorca is purely Mediterranean, with a green winter, a flowery spring and a hot and humid summer from the beginning of June to well-seasoned September.

Weather forecast in Minorca

In the following links listed below you will find all kinds of weather information about Minorca that will allow you to prepare your holidays to the island with much more accuracy and detail.

• The weather in Minorca
• The wind in Minorca
• Time of sunset in Minorca

The temperature of the water in Minorca

The water temperature in Minorca takes time to rise, the end of June or the beginning of July being the moment in which one can bathe in relatively warm waters.

In the same way, sea water takes time to lose the temperature it acquires during the summer, so it is normal to see people bathing well into October.

Evolution of sea temperature in Minorca throughout the year

To find out more about the temperature of the sea water in Minorca in the different months of the year, click here

Summary of the history of Minorca

Minorca’s first inhabitants arrived on the island around 2200 BC. and they would inhabit it for at least 2,500 years, from when their culture would be diluted by waves of new civilizations.

Although these first inhabitants came into increasingly intense contact with other cultures of the Mediterranean, such as the Egyptians, the Phoenicians, the Greeks and the Carthaginians, it would not be until the Roman conquest that a culture alien to the local Talayotic one created its own settlements on the island.

We are talking about Mahón, Ciutadella and the now extinct Sanitja.

The Roman Empire became Christianized and evolved into the Byzantine Empire, with Menorca being under its influence for almost 900 years, except for a brief period of Vandal domination.

The Roman-Byzantine era would end with the Islamic conquest in 902 AD The Arab rule, despite changing its dominant groups several times, would last until the Christian conquest by the Crown of Aragon in the year 1278.

At the beginning of the 18th century, Minorca would be the object of desire of the great European powers because of its great port, changing hands up to 6 times.

Despite the many conquests and reconquests that Menorca experienced during that convulsive 18th century, broadly speaking we can talk about practically a century of British domination that ended with the return of the island to the Spanish Crown, at the beginning of the 19th century.

Tourist services in Minorca

Minorca has been, since the 1960s, a first class tourist destination in this area of the Mediterranean Sea and, as such, has a huge range of tourist services that we will list and show in detail on this website.

The tourist activity of Minorca is framed and at the same time restricted by the protection of its nature, landscape and biodiversity.

In this sense, the island is not a destination for mass tourism and endless partying, but rather a place to enjoy the landscapes, the beaches, the culture, the history and of an intrinsic peace in its inhabitants.

Yes, there is also a festival and yes, in July and August a lot of people travel, but in general Minorca can be considered as a destination for active, cultural and gastronomic tourism.

Contacts of interest for tourists in Minorca

In this section you can find the contact for all kinds of transport services in Minorca and emergency and information telephone numbers, which can be really useful before and during your holidays on this small Balearic island.

Public buses in Minorca

• Click here to access the timetables of regular bus lines in Minorca.
• Click here to access the map of the regular bus lines in Minorca.

Taxis in Minorca

In Minorca, a single switchboard brings together and coordinates the entire offer of taxis on the island:

Phone numbers for emergencies in Menorca

Ferries in Minorca

In this section we present the regular boat and ferry lines that arrive in Minorca from other parts of Spain and from France

Keep in mind that the duration of the sea trips described below may vary depending on the company, the weather and the type of boat.

Also keep in mind that the availability and frequency of these ferry and boat trips may vary throughout the year, with summer being the time with the most sea trips to Minorca and winter being the time with fewer options to travel to the island by sea.

• Majorca - Minorca
  • Duration: between 2 and 4 hours
  • Balearia: Tel. +34 912 660 215
  • Trasmediterranea: Tel. +34 91 736 99 57
  • Trasmapi: Tel. +34 971 324 307 (operate through menorcalines.com)
  Barcelona - Minorca
  • Duration: 9 hours
  • Balearia: Tel. +34 912 660 215
  • Trasmediterranea: Tel. +34 91 736 99 57
  Valencia - Minorca
  • Duration: 9 hours
  • Trasmediterranea: Tel. +34 91 736 99 57
  Toulon (France) - Minorca
  • Duration: 12 hours
  • Corsica Ferries: Online
  • Availability: Summer only