Menorca - resort recommendations

[Teensy]

Hi there, looking for some recommendations for resort suitable for family - 2 year old and 4 year old.

We went to Cala en Blanes and it was just about acceptable but no more. I would heartily recommend staying away fron Cala en Forcat - grotty hole, enormous cockroaches in the street, just grubby. We found the very edge of the strip ok though. Oh, and the beach wasn't great. And don't get me started on the whole door locks/ baby gate farce.

We prefer the Greek islands....

Sorry, didn't mean to be so negative! We had a lovely time but stayed near our apartment's fab pool rather than in the resort IYSWIM. We are used to going to smaller, quieter places on package hols where they don't do evening entertainment and definitely not bingo, ever and it was a bit of a culture shock for me, I think.

Hi, we were thinking of arsenal den castell which looks very quiet...which Greek island would u recommend. Never been with young kids....

Hi, we were thinking of arsenal den castell which looks very quiet...which Greek island would u recommend. Never been with young kids....

went to arsenal long time ago and liked it. rhodes, kefalonia, thasos, and stoupa on mainland all nice. very hot in school hols though. just steer clear of the drunken resort that most islands have.

Lourdas in Kefalonia (quietest)
Georgopolous in Crete (quiet)
Achravi in Corfu (busier)
Tsilivi in Zante (busiest)

I went to arenal del castell a couple of years ago with my kids, and the beach is lovely, nice and clean, soft sand and clear shallow water, lovely for kids. the resort is very quiet though, we stayed in an all inclusive though so just stayed there or went down to the beach.

Arenal is gorgeous, would recommend the Isla Paraiso aparthotel or Arepar apartments especially. Lovely, pretty resort, horseshoe bay, great beach and perfect for children and adults alike. We first stayed there when DS was 4.

Son Bou is also lovely, as is Cala Galdana, Playa de Fornells and Santo Tomas. Again, all have lovely beaches, they are quite "Spanish" resorts, smattering of good restaurants and a few bars.

If you would consider going independently, there are some great apartment deals on Owners Direct. www.ownersdirect.co.uk/balearic-islands-menorca.htm

I am at Springforward's experience. Don't think I have ever seen a cockroach in 10 years of holidaying in Menorca. Plenty of alien-like giant Spanish grasshoppers and wild tortoises, but no cockroaches. I would not stay in Cala'n Forcat or Cala'n Blanes either though - not my cup of tea.

The Greek Islands are lovely, but after almost being arrested for non-payment of a bar bill from a day we weren't even at our apartment, I wouldn't ever go back. Turns out the apartment owner tried this scam on with everyone, most people paid when he threatened to call the the police - not us though. Awful man.

Santo Tomas great for young kids. Very quiet with lovely beach. You can hire a car easily to get out and about.

Would also like to add that I have never, ever seen anyone playing bingo in Menorca. Lots of naked boules on the nudist part of Son Bou beach, but you have to be 85 and German to join in.

(Top tip - don't go to an AI hotel)

I would second Santo Tomas and also Cala'n'Bosch which is lovely too. The latter has two beaches, a dotto train, nice playground and a harbour around which there is a nice selection of restaurants to choose from

There is a also a nice waterpark at the Cala'n'Bosch end of the island.

Love CalaGaldana and have been a couple of times. Couple ofhotels round a lovely sandy bay.

One of my favourite places in the world.

Hi Teensy, I did a lot of research on resorts as we got cheap flights to Menorca for the end of August. We have got two young children and are going self catering so wanted somewhere very family orientated with lots of restaurants and bars nearby. We have chosen Cala n'Bosch as it ticks all the boxes for us. There are two lovely beaches nearby plus loads of restaurants and bars around a Marina. There is also a waterpark and childrens playpark with rides etc nearby and a little train. It sounds and looks lovely and on speaking to others since I've booked I've only heard positive stories about it. We've never been to menorca before but can't wait to go

This is a really good site, and will answer every question you might have about any resort on the Island.

www.menorca-net.co.uk/

jollymollie it is lovely

Cala n Bosch was lovely.

Calan Blanes/forcat,yes, a few years ago was probably the most built up area, offering lots of Karaoke and bingo etc, however, most people who go to Menorca aren't really after that kind of thing, and in the last few of years there are more Spanish and Italians staying there due to it's close proximity to the beautiful old town of Ciutadella.There are now fewer bars geared up to the Brits Abroad, and each year more quality, Spanish and Catalan restaurants open. Diabolo mentions some beautiful resorts, and Jollymollie mentions Calan Bosch which is beautiful, too. Some resorts are incredibly quiet, whilst some are slightly livelier, but there is nothing like the noisy resorts you will find on the other islands or the mainland.
As for cockroaches, yes, it is a hot country, there are cockroaches! The council spray the drains regularly, to keep them under control, but there are nothing like the amount you will see in the Canaries or hotter countries.
All resorts are very family friendly, crime is almost non existent, it is beautiful , all the beaches win awards for cleanliness. Menorca is stunning!

Just wanted to add that although Calan Blanes is getting better, it is still a bit grotty, I don't like Calan Porter much either, for the same reasons. Plenty of people do, though, all down to taste or lack of...!

I'm not a fan of Calan Porter either (though the villa I rent these days is in Sant Climent which is not far away).

Only been once, about 8 years ago on the way to the Caves of Xoroi, and saw that loads of the villas had English flags flying in their gardens. I found that a bit odd, and I've not seen it anywhere else on the Island.

Yes, Diabolo, lots of Expats there!! When are you over next?

We went to Menorca 3 years in a row when our Ds were younger. Cala Galdana (enormous beach, busy in high season) Punta Prima and En Castell (both nice smaller beaches and quieter resorts.) Very famiy friendly. You'll love it.

lop37 - back in 7 weeks

Looking forward to seeing the Ferreries bypass! How sad am I?

Thanks everyone so much for your advice - I now cant decide between Arenal or Cala n Bosch! Think as our kids are so young, Arenal might be better with a couple of visits to Bosch? Need to find out how many restaurants etc in Arenal. Thanks again

Lots of restaurants in Arenal, from cheapie cafe types to gorgeous Spanish (Alcalde & Sa Gavina are fantastic). There are enough places to eat in a different one every night, but not hundreds.

There is a good one (the red one) down on the beach, but I can't for the life of me remember its name.

sorry to hear about the lady nearly being arrested in greece - think you were very unlucky as we have found them to be lovely. they brought extra free treats for our boys to eat in restaurants when our kids were younger and the hotel owner lent us money (with no paperwork) as there wasn't a cashpoint locally and we had run out. when we got a nail in our tyre we weren't charged extra (though that was an expat, but justified within our hire agreement)