Menorca - Mahon or Cala en Bosch

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I haven’t been to Menorca before, but love Ibiza and Formentera so we’ve booked flights to Menorca this summer.

I’m completely torn between Mahon and Cala en Bosch for the following reasons:

• Cala en Bosch is purely based on staying at this hotel www.lagoresortmenorca.com/en/hotel-suites-del-lago/ However, from reading about the resort it’s very different to the kind of place I’d usually stay and it appears that many of the restaurants in the area are run by hotels. Is it a predominantly British resort?


• Mahon keeps ‘turning my head’ from the Cala en Bosch even though the hotel looks lovely. I think I’d enjoy the cosmopolitan town atmosphere in the evening, and there are some stunning looking chic hotels. Think I might also prefer the dining options in Mahon, although I do want to dine at Godai in Cala en Bosch.

we will hire a car either way.

If you’ve holidayed in either of these places, what were your overall impressions? It feels like an impossible decision at the moment.

Two very different propositions. Mahon is the capital, busy with day trippers, lots of shops and restaurants and a huge harbour but no beach.

Cala n Bosch a man made resort with Marina and very popular with the British market and such has bars with tribute acts alongside restaurants and entertainment.

The island is small and easy to get to other places as basically there’s one central road that runs down the middle with roads leading off it to the other resorts. It’s easy driving.

I would say both Ibiza and Formentera are far hipster than Menorca. It’s nice, safe for families and very popular with the Brits, Spanish and to a degree the Italians. There are some very British resorts and I would classify Cala n Bosch as number 3 in the Brits popularity beneath another two.

The hotel you’ve listed looks great if you accept that the surrounding area is as I’ve described in a low key popular British family abroad way. If you want architecture, tapas bars and good restaurants you may want to consider the old capital Ciutadella as a good alternative.

if you want upmarket villa style Binibeca would be my choice. Love it there and it’s close to Mahon for days and evenings out.

Thank you.
Right, I’ve just cancelled the hotel based as based on your description I’d regret it if I didn’t and saw/heard a tribute act on my holiday.

I think I’m a bit late to Ciutadella - looks like a lot of the accommodation has gone, although I’ll look with fresh eyes in the morning.

Look at Ed Castell too if you can, there is a lovely traditional fishing harbour which comes to life at night. Restaurants are very nice and the Spanish there seem to think so too, which is a good sign. It's literally up the road from Mahon, 5 minutes away. I prefer this side of the island. If you have a hire car, there are some amazing beaches to visit. There is a hotel in Es Castell which is convenient for both there and Mahon.

*Es Castell

Binibeca is a man made resort too. Cala Galdana has a nice beach.

Oo hotel Melia Cala Gandala looks lovely, although bigger than the accommodation is usually chose. Definitely looks like an area to drive to!
@bellamountain We’re keen walkers and runners, so moving between Mahon and Es Castell looks relatively straightforward.
I can’t stop looking at Jardí de ses Bruixes Hotel.

Cala n Forcat is my go to resort, have been going every year for 10 years, hiring a car is essential and finding hidden beaches is a must!

But I found that the demographic of travellers has changed post covid and didn't enjoy it last year so won't be going again this year.

Menorca is a bit like marmite though, its quiet, its a biosphere reserve so is not overly urbanised, some places are run down, but thats the beauty of the rock, and long may it stay that way.

The walk between Mahon and Es Castell is straight forward, or you can hop on a quick bus.

Check to see if there are any Fiestas on when yours there, St Jaume is held in Es Castell at the end of July each year, but others are held in other resorts year round.

Have stayed in cala galdana (villa) and it is lovely. Huge beach. We ate at the melia Hotel a couple of times - delicious food and great atmosphere.

Sa Mesquida beach is close to Mahon, definitely worth a visit.

Question for @Greentomatoes21 and others please.

I've been looking at Menorca but have never been before. We'd definitely want to visit both Ciutadella and Mahon and possibly the north coast, but don't want to be doing loads of driving (I've tried to drive a LHD car and just can't get my head around it so DP has to do all the driving).

So I'm now thinking that somewhere fairly central on the south coast might work as there will be enough locally (on holiday we normally go to the beach and read/snorkel/have lunch in a beach bar for a few hours each day) then we could have a trip out every other day to Mahon, Ciutadella, the north coast and it's only about 30 mins each way.

Somewhere like Cala Gandala looks ideal for that, do you agree? I can also see a couple of other little beaches about half an hour walk in each direction, so that would also be good as we like walking around on holiday. We'd probably be renting an apartment so would need a few restaurants and a supermarket/convenience store where we could buy breakfast things and drinks/snacks.

Thanks @bellamountain I finished reading The Rough Guide to Mallorca and Menorca yesterday and don’t think I read about that beach. I didn’t find the guide all that helpful to be honest 🤷🏼‍♀️ Much prefer to see what people on here and the TripAdvisor forum have to say.

Will definitely be purchasing a decent quality beach umbrella for beaches like Sa Mesquida.

@Electriq I just miss a fiesta either side of my visit unfortunately.

Thats a shame, it's a great experience, and the pomada, yum!

Menorcan Gin, Xorigeur, is something special!

Yes @Electriq If I stay in the hotel I’m looking at, I plan to visit the fish market and the Xorigeur distillery and have a ‘foodie afternoon. Do you have any other food/drink tips?

@BarbaraofSeville Cala Galdana js nice, if you stay there you'll have easy access to Mahon. Binibeca and Punta Prima are other options.

Thanks. I'll also look into the other two suggestions