Menorca in 1 Day: all you need to know

You may need more than five days to visit the whole island and see everything there is to see in Menorca, but one day is definitely enough to know that you need to come back to see more. The itinerary I have prepared for you aims to show you as much as possible in 24 hours on the island.

From the daytime activities to the restless Menorcan nightlife, just a few hours on the island will leave you wanting to spend a few more days to get a closer look at its culture and traditions.

To start with a day plan in Menorca, I recommend you to book a horseback riding tour around the island's emblematic sites.

As you have time on your hands, I would recommend booking the shortest routes to save time and allow you to see other places of interest. The ideal tour is an hour to an hour and a half, starting at 8:00 a.m.

Usually, this type of activity takes you around a large part of the island. These excursions depart from different coves. Some tours start from Cala Fustam, others from Cala Rotja and others from Cala Mitjana.

If you want to try adventure away from the adrenaline of the sea and you like horse riding, you will love this experience.

Option 1: With a visit to Cala Rotja

Departing from Ferrerías, the itinerary includes a ride through important and emblematic places of the island.

On this tour you have the chance to enter private estates and also ride a horse along the Camí de Cavalls. This opportunity allows you to have a complete experience of different environments.

One of the places to visit during this tour is Monte Toro, the highest place on the island. The most interesting thing about this is that you can climb it on horseback and at your own pace.

In Cala Rotja you can experience riding in the water with your horse. This equestrian experience is suitable for children as well as for experienced and inexperienced adult riders.

The horses used for this type of adventure are constantly in training so that the user, regardless of their relationship with this practice, feel safe and at ease. It is an activity that you can enjoy with your family, as a couple or with children.

The estimated duration of this activity is approximately one hour and a half. For this reason, I recommend that you start the day at 8:00 am. The starting point is in Ferrerías and after an hour and a half of the tour, you return to the starting point. The tour can cost from 110 euros per person.

Traveller Tip

Wear comfortable clothes and closed shoes. I also recommend wearing a jacket and long trousers.

Option 2: Tour with visit to Cala Mitjana

This tour, which can be done by experts and beginners alike, takes you to magical places on the island. The starting point is from Ferrerias, it runs along part of the Camí de Cavalls and ends at Cala Mitjana. The tour is truly magical and promises you to connect with nature.

Part of the experience offers to take you to a high point of the cove, where you can have spectacular views of the island. In Cala Mitjana you can also go horseback riding on the beach and get into the water together with the horses. It is a unique experience that you will surely want to repeat.

Before taking part in this adventure you must take into account some minimum conditions, among them, having a weight of 95 kilograms or less. You should also take into consideration that pregnant women or people suffering from any kind of back ailment will not be able to take the tour.

From Ferrerias to Cala Mitjana and back takes approximately one and a half hours. Departure times are every hour from 9am to 12 noon. You can book this activity from 113 euros per person.

Right after the horseback ride, the next place on the itinerary I suggest is a visit to the Binissuès Museum.

To get there you can take Av. Verge del Toro towards Av. de Jaume Mascaró. Then head towards Camí de Tramuntana and drive straight to Binissués. The journey takes just 10 minutes in a private vehicle.

A visit to the Binissués Museum is an experience not to be missed. It is definitely a fascinating activity to do in a single day.

This experience will give you first-hand knowledge of life in the Menorcan countryside, as well as the opportunity to sample local flavours and learn about the attractions of the museum.

It will take you around two and a half hours to go through the entire museum, including all the activities you will do on the tour, so I recommend that you continue with this activity right after arriving from the previous route, so that you can enjoy all its attractions without any time restrictions. You can get tickets for the museum from 18 euros per person.

Folklore show

To start with this experience you will experience a unique spectacle of art, culture and traditions that you will hardly find anywhere else. During the show you will have the opportunity to learn about life in the countryside. From the sowing of wheat to the recognition of the spaces of the farm and its animals.

During this show you can even participate in the preparation of wheat bread cooked in the typical wood-fired ovens used in ancient times. Tasting sausages and feeding the farm's animals are also part of the show and a journey back in time.

The best thing about this tour is that all the participating actors make you feel as if you were in the past thanks to their characterisation of how the peasant generations of ancient times looked like.

Cheese making and tasting

During the production and tasting of typical Menorcan cheeses, you will be able to participate in the production process, learn about the techniques used to achieve their flavours and, at the end, you will be able to taste the result for yourself.

The cheese-making formula has been in use for 100 years, so not only will you get to know its flavour, but you will also learn first-hand about the living history that characterises the island. It is a rewarding experience for couples or families. This activity is available in English, Spanish and Catalan.

House museums

During the tour you will also have the opportunity to find out how the inhabitants of Menorca lived in the 1700s and 1800s. One of the most interesting tours is inside the manor house. The Salort family, who formerly lived in what is now the museum, spent their holidays and springtime in this manor house, so you will be able to see what life and comfort were like for these people in the 1800s.

In another of the houses, the farmhouse, you can discover how the peasants and the underprivileged, such as the Salort family, lived.

You will have a tour of all the spaces in the house, the kitchen, the large living room and other places inside the building. The farmhouse was the place where farm work was organised in the late 1700s and early 1800s.

Another part of the visit to the house museum presents a complete collection of everything to do with the tools that were used in the fields.

In this collection you will see everything from horse saddles to kitchen utensils and other items necessary for tilling the land. You can also see the first vehicle to circulate in Menorca.

Natural Science Museum

The Natural Science Museum of Binissués has an impressive number of species from Menorca and the world. There are around 8000 species that form part of a private collection belonging to the Carreras Torrent brothers.

The most interesting thing about this visit is that you will be able to see the rarest, largest and least known species from all over the world among this large number of animals.

Something interesting you will see inside the museum is the representation of more than 1500 mushrooms of 350 different species typical of the island of Menorca. These species are handmade to be presented to tourists.

One of the most attractive species to see during the tour is the Potosia Cuprea Ferreriesensis beetle, which has remained intact since it lived in the age of the dinosaurs. It is considered to be one of the strongest and largest animals in the world, with the capacity to carry up to thirty times its weight for an hour.

Inside the Museum of Natural Sciences you can wander through four sections of the natural world: zoology, malacology, geology, mycology and botany. Each of them has different species for the whole family to discover and enjoy.

After a light lunch at the museum's restaurant (or buy something to take on the way if time is short), it's time to continue the tour, this time going on a half-day excursion to the southern coves.

The embarkation point is in Cala'n Bosc, just 20 minutes from Binissués. To board the boat and start the tour you should arrive about 20 minutes before the departure time.

This excursion is available at 10:00 and 14:00. In the case of the itinerary I have prepared for you, you must book the 14:00 option. To board, you need to arrive at the port of Cala en Bosc at around 13:30.

On this trip you will get on board a medium-sized boat in which you will be able to visit all the coves in the south of the island.

The idea of this excursion is for you to get to know the most unspoilt beach spots on the island. Among the coves you can visit are Turqueta, Macarella, Macarelleta, Mitjana, Trebaluger and Galdana.

At Cala Galdana the excursion goes back and forth for a few minutes, which extends the tour for a further thirty minutes. This happens on the afternoon tour, which is the one we have chosen.

The return point will be the same as the initial starting point. The duration of the tour is approximately 3 hours and 30 minutes.

To enjoy this truly enriching experience, you can find tickets from 36 euros. This is a tour that you can do with family, friends or your partner. If you go with children, you can get on board without any problems.

After a busy day of activities that you will surely enjoy a lot, there is nothing better than relaxing a bit by having some refreshing drinks and eating good food in the restaurants of Ciutadella.

Possibly, when you are walking around you will realise that for your next visit to the islands you can't miss a tour around all the attractions of Ciutadella.

If everything goes as planned, you can go and enjoy the nightlife in Ciutadella from 18:30 or 19:00.

To start the night off with something simple, I recommend eating something in the trendy bars and restaurants. The gastronomic options are varied and you can choose between hamburgers, pizzas, typical Mediterranean food, fish and chips, among other dishes of this style to liven up the night.

Wine tasting and other refreshing drinks are also available at each of the venues in the port of Ciutadella and the city in general. If you prefer other drinks such as tea or coffee, you can also get a wide variety of coffee places to enjoy on your own, with friends, family or partner.

Once you have recharged your batteries with a good meal, you can continue the night in any of the bars and discotheques that are ready to kick off the night's partying. You will be able to enjoy a wide range of rhythms that will get you dancing and enjoying yourself.

Once your day in Minorca is over and you want to leave the island, there are different ways to get to the airport from your hotel. You can take a taxi, public transport or a private car.

You can also leave Menorca by sea. In this case, I advise you to take the sea route to the mainland and from there fly to whatever your destination is.