Summer Trip/Wedding Planning- Menorca July25

Happy summer holiday's everyone! I have had a bit of a hiatus as late, as we booked a very last minute trip to beautiful Menorca for a little summer break to see family, combined with some wedding venue/location planning. 

Ever since my fiancé and I got together 11 years ago now, we have been visiting the island together. We try to come out at least twice a year (mostly to see family whom emigrated out here).  We fell in love with the island and when we got engaged we knew straight away we wanted to incorporate Menorca into our wedding. We booked a last minute return flight each (using Easy jet)  set ourselves up in our family villa which is situated in S'algar (not far from Mahon) and got ready for 5 days of relaxing, exploring & wedding location planning! 

I want to share all of the new exciting places we found exploring the island on this trip, and some of the amazing sights we saw. 

(disclaimer: All photographs were taken by myself on my android phone). 

 Credit: Glamtravelguide.com

As mentioned above in my intro our family villa is situated in S'algar, so what better place to start our trip than here, read on for more: 

S'algar & Mahon:

S'algar is a small residential town situated on the south-east coast line of the island, it is around a 20 minute drive from the main airport and port Mahon. S'algar is quiet and relaxed with fairly limited nightlife compared to some areas of the island. It is perfect for couples who want to purely relax during the day, and get out for a romantic meal in the square and a few drinks in the dinky bar during the evening. 

S'algar although small and has no beach, does have a cute little harbour with a beach club where you can pay for a sunbed and use of the pool. There are a few hotels scattered around one large family hotel Alua illa de Menorca the larger family friendly hotel or smaller sister hotel opposite which is adults only- AluaSoul Menorca. 

We ate in the beautiful square at a restaurant called Isabella- just watch out for the mosquitos they are out in full force! 

Places to visit: You must visit nearing neighbourhood Alcafar (pictured above) which has one of the most tranquil beaches, so picturesque, a smaller beach with some boats mooring in the harbour. There is a lovely little restaurant on the beach open during the high season, which is perfect for a little drink and a bite to eat on a hot day. 

Punta Prima, another great beach next to Alcafar & S'algar-slightly more touristy,  with a large beach, lined with lovely beach side restaurants open till late. You must also check out the beautiful markets which are open till late during the summer evenings. Selling an array of unique clothing and accessories, and little touristy souvenirs to take home with you. 

Mahon harbour/port: You must come and visit, this harbour is the largest natural harbour, why not take a boat trip/cruise from here? or do a spot of shopping/eating along the port. You must come early in the morning for a coffee/pastry in one of their many gorgeous cafes. 

Cala en Porter: 

On the first night when we arrived we wanted to take a drive from S'algar to watch the sunrise, we stumbled upon Cala en Porter which was around a 25 minute drive from where we were staying. As you can see from the photograph above it was beautiful. This is close to the famous Cave Club. Menorca's most notorious bar/club-Cova d;en Xoroi- this is worth a visit as you get to party the night away under the caves, some amazing views to be had. 

If you want something to eat we found a lovely little square full or restaurants and bars a short drive in. This area is quite touristy so gets a little busy during the evenings, but most restaurants stay open until early hours. There is also a great little ice cream/gelato shop on the square you must visit! 

Es Grau; 

We visited Es Grau one evening, we visited the small little beach area and had some lovely beach restaurants and a little bar, which was a nice place we stopped off for a cooling drink. We had a little walk around the residential streets and the houses were so pretty and some lovely colourful ones to lust over. 

This place is great if you are a lover of water sports, you can rent Kayaks here or if you fancy hiring a boat/ taking a little trip this has a great port to visit. Due to its size it did feel a little busy/cramped during the high season. Parking can be a bit tricky so I would advise visiting early to get a good spot. 

Es Castell, Saint Lluis: 

Es Castell is  a beautiful little waterfront town located south east in Saint Lluis a few miles out from our villa in S'algar and Mao the islands capital. It features two harbours, Cales Corb & Cales Fonts (as pictured above) we usually head into Cales Fonts as they have some lovely little waterfront restaurants to grab a drink or a bite to eat.  During the evenings they also have cute little market stalls and a few smaller shops which offer some of the islands best clothing and accessories. (You can tell I am going with a theme here). It is well worth a visit not only in the evening but also during the day when it is less busy. On the hill they have lots of parking and a lovely little Chinese restaurant called 'Way' which is an absolute must if you are in the area (make sure you book to avoid disappointment). 

Fornells: 

Fornells was a bit of a new find for us both as we hadn't really ventured out this side of the island much during our previous few visits. We stumbled upon this during one visit to Ciutadella  one evening and just knew we wanted to come back during the day. Again Fornells is similar vibe to Es Castell with pretty restaurants and lots of shops scattered along the harbour. They have lots of boats and kayaks for hire too during the day if you are looking to venture out into the sea across the island. All in all I would give this place a go if you are in the area. 

There really was just so much to see and do on the island, these above were just a few highlights from this month.  I would love to do a little blog post on each place in more detail, I have so many photographs to share from our trip so stay tuned a part two in the near future. 

If you have visited Menorca this summer please share what your favourite part of the island is with us all? Make sure you save these to your next bucket list.....