Travelling to Menorca… ¡with kids!

Última actualización: 12/12/2015

We are working together with Laia from Mammaproof preparing a guide to travel to Menorca with kids. Laia is the mother of Emma (5) and Marti (2) and she’s an expert in travelling with the family to Menorca as she has been doing it since Emma was born 5 years ago.

While we finish it, here you can have some recommendations so you can plan your vacations with your family and kids.

Going To Menorca With Kids

There are two ways to arrive to Menorca; by plane or by boat. Choosing one or the other depends mainly on the departure point, the time you are willing to spend in the island, the needs of each family and the comfort that you feel with each transport.

There’s people who fear the plane or people who become very dizzy with the boat.  In this section we will give you some clues that we hope will help you to take the best decision.

By Plane, ¡I’m in a Hurry!

The plane is the fastest transport to get to the island. In 30-45 minutes you’re there. Moreover, it’s usually more affordable than the boat, and although in summer the prices go up, you can find affordable tickets.

If you have few days to enjoy the island, the plane is definetly your best choice. You can bring small baggage, rent a car in Menorca (in the same aeroport there are rental car companies) and, if you travel with a baby, you can even rent a pram or anything you need in My Baby Stock. Rosa can advise you in everything you may need.

An ergonomic baby carrier can also be very helpful and convenient, because as you will see, the island is plenty of beautiful virgin beaches that have difficult access on wheels.

By Boat, ¡I Bring My Car!

If you are planning to stay some days in the island, the boat is a very comfortable transport. It allows you to bring your own car instead of spending money on renting one, and it also allows you to bring all the baggage you need without paying extra money.

There are two companies that travel from Barcelona to Menorca: Balearia and Acciona (Transmediterranea). The main differences between the two companies are::

• Trasmediterranea arrives to the port of Maho, and Balearia arrives to Ciutadella port.
• Trasmediterranea doesn’t have the fast ferry option while Balearia does.

What company should I choose? Depending on the part of the island where you are staying, you can choose one or the other. You can allways compare prices. Although Balearia is usually a bit more affordable, in summer both companies have offers that you can take.

Regarding the type of ferry, we suggest you to get the slow one (it travels during all night) if you are going with children. In the fast ferry of Balearia (in priciple 4-5 hours travelling) you can’t go outside and there is the possibility that the travel extends up to 6-8 hours if there is heavy swell.

If you go with grown children that don’t feel dizzy easily, you can try it. During the travel they put two movies and, if everything goes well, you don’t notice it when you’re already in the port.

The slow ferrys, both Acciona and Balearia, travel during night in the outbound trip (Barcelona-Menorca) and during the day in the return trip (Menorca-Barcelona). If it doesn’t exceed the budget, booking a cabin is great. You can sleep peacefully and leave all your things.

If you don’t book a cabin, you have to take into account that the Neptuno armchairs of Balearia only cost a few more euros than the Sirena chairs (the most cheaper ones) and you can recline them completely, so they are much more comfortable to sleep.

Both companies have facilities for kids and pregnant women, playroom and children activities for the younger ones during the high season. You can check it in their websites:

• Pregnant, Babies and Kinds in Balearia
• Pregnant, Babies and Kids in Acciona Transmediterranea

Combination Of Both Boat And Plane For The Professionals

This is a very personal option that we explain you just to give you the idea.

What we do many times is that one of the adults (daddy) travels by boat with the car and all the baggage, arrives to the island in the morning, does the shopping and settles into the house.

The rest of the family travel by plane the next day (faster for the kids and more affordable)

Beach With Kids

All of us travel to Menorca to enjoy its beaches. Beaches that in many occasions are still virgin and that are just as beautiful as other glamorous destinations.

To arrive to most of them you will need a car, but the island is pretty small (45km lenght and 20km width) so wherever you are, you can arrive to wherever you want in a short time.

The golden rule and very important to succeed in your beach day is to always check the direction of the wind. If the north wind blows, your best options are the beaches of the south. If south wind blows, you should go to the north.

During warm months, don’t forget to bring your umbrella, cap and suncream.

The big beach wraps are very useful because they are very lightweight and with them you can also improvise a good awning. For little babies, an ergonomic baby carrier  will be essential to arrive easily to the most inaccessible beaches.

We usually go to the beach (especially in August) during the low sun hours: or early in the morning (around 10h) or late in the afternoon (around 17h). This way we avoid not only the agglomerations in the beaches and parkings but also the heavy sunshine hours.

All these recommendations and a bit of common sense is all you need to enjoy your family vacations in the beaches of Menorca. Here we recommend you our favourite ones…

¿Do You Want More Information To Travel With Kids?

Contact us  if you want more information or if you are interested in buying a guide of Menorca with kids before we publish it.