Cicerone Guide Book: Walking in Menorca

Cicerone Guide Book: Walking in Menorca

16 day and 2 multi-day routes, by Paddy Dillon 

This guidebook explores Menorca through 16 mostly inland one-day walks plus a 4-day coast to coast and the 10-day GR223 trek of 185km round the whole coastline. 

The trek uses historic bridleway trails to offer plenty of opportunities for walking, cycling and horse riding. Easy walking generally but routes can be combined.

This guidebook to walking on the Balearic island of Menorca in the Mediterranean includes a wide variety of walking. The first part of the guide includes 16 day walks that lead inland, exploring Menorca's rich history of castles, military fortifications, picturesque houses, windmills and towns as well as protected nature reserves and the prehistoric marvels of huge stone taulas and talaiots.

The guide also includes two longer-distance treks. The first is a coast-to-coast route from Maó to Ciutadella lasting 4 days over the gentle hills and countryside. The other trek is the GR223 Camí de Cavalls, the 10-day, 185km walk around Menorca's coast. This trek leads you along dramatic coastline and hidden beaches, and was entirely restored in 2011 for walkers, cyclists and horse-riders. 

From city walks through Maó, to trails through woodlands and along clifftops with the surf crashing below, Menorca has a great deal to offer any walker. The best time to walk in Menorca are spring and autumn, but especially spring if you have an interest in wild flowers, or want to see the island at its most colourful.

This guidebook is a perfect aid to explore Menorca, with practical information on transport and accommodation, to passages on the history and culture of the island. Menorca is more than just its beaches, this guidebook helps show you why.

illustrated with detailed mapping on all routes and stunning photography

useful tips on making the most of Menorca, when to go, what to take with you

insight on the long and colourful history of the island, from prehistoric to the present


Activities
Day walks, the long-distance Camí de Cavalls, nature trails and historical sights. Coastal, woodland and hill walks.

Seasons
Summer can be very hot, while mid-winter can be wet and muddy underfoot. Spring and early summer are excellent, with the island at its greenest and most colourful, but autumn is often very good too.

Centres
Maó (or Port Mahon) and Ciutadella have the best bus services. Most coastal resorts only open fully in summer, but Fornells is open all year.

Difficulty
Gradients are often gentle, but occasionally steep for short periods. Conditions underfoot are often easy, but can be rough and stony in places, making walking and cycling difficult. However, with enough time available, all the routes can be completed easily enough by ordinary walkers.

Must See
Attractive coastline with dramatic cliffs and secluded beaches which vary according to the changing geology. Amazing archaeology dominated by huge stone 'taulas' and 'talaiots'. The historic bridleway - Camí de Cavalls - has been restored as a long-distance, round the island walking, cycling and horse-riding route.