Majorca or Menorca
 

As new members of the Fodors family, we are hoping you can help us out with this simple question:

Would you spend 6 days in Majorca or Menorca as part of a three week Spanish vacation?

We are a couple in our mid-thirties and we will be in Spain in late July/early August, visiting Bilbao, San Sebastien, and Barcelona for the first two weeks of our trip and we want to have an island experience at the end of our vacation.

Thank you very much.

David and Alexandra

Depends what experience you are after. Minorca is small and quiet(er), Majorca is much more well known and well visited but does have areas less frequented by tourists although that might be less true for both places during the time you want to visit.

Late July/early August: look for a hotel with own beach.
The southern coast of Menorca is beautiful, but overran. The Northern coast (Fornells etc.) is a bit less crowded (also a bit less appealing).
Around Colonia de Sant Jordi (Mallorca), you may find extended relatively quiet beaches (with no beds or umbrellas, however).
The best beaches by far in the Balearic Islands are at Formentera (Platja Mitjorn).

If it's not for beach holidays, check the hotels in the historic center of Palma de Mallorca or of Soller.

We do not mind basing ourselves in Palma and having a car to drive to a different beach for a few hours each day as we explore the island (Palma does look beautiful).

Would that work?

Your dates really are the height of the season

Consider Cala Galdana in Menorca. Nice cove beach (great for swimming and snorkeling) and nice town. Good restaurants and food generally. Very picturesque. Good walking paths near/along the coast (although might be a bit hot for that when you go). Although great for the many families that visit, I think it also caters for couples more than many family type resorts. Lots to do at night although not a real 'nightlife' scene. With a couple of high end hotels (one adults only) and the other a plush Melia, and a couple of nicer restaurants, you've got some more sophisticated options for nights out if you're happy with a quieter town. Easy car hire options in town if you wish to explore a bit.

Hi,

We know that it will be busier that time of year but we enjoy the warmer waters of the Mediterranean during late July and early August and it will also be a bit warmer and drier in northern Spain when we are in Bilbao and San Sebastien.

We are leaning towards Majorca simply due to Palma. Is it as beautiful as people say?

Thanks again.

The first time we visited Majorca we just flew into Palma airport and high tailed it out to Cala D'Or ( LOVE it there)... but the next time we visited we had to meet some family so we stayed in Palma for two nights.. BIG mistake as we LOVED Palma.. I had no idea it was so darn cute.. we loved wandering the little streets in older part of town in the evening and finding little hole in the wall places with live music... The old town is so atmospheric too... We went in june so perhaps not as crowded as summer.. but we didnt feel overwhelmed by the other tourists generally.

The historical medieval center of Palma is rather nice (not the ugly suburbs, however).
But the drive from there to a somewhat uncrouded beach may last a certain time.

If you hire bikes you will find both islands easy to get about, hiring a car, not so sure.

I've been to both islands and hired cars in both. It's easy. You may find parking issues at some beaches but generally it's easy. Villages/resorts and beach areas will have some congestion but I found getting around both islands to be easy even in the high season.

I don't think that it's a question of hiring a car OR hiring a bike. A bike is not well suited to getting around the island, unless you are a hardcore cyclist (and enjoy riding your bike in 35c hot sun) and your aim is to cycle rather than simply get from A to B. There are some bicycle routes that you can do for pleasure or use a bike for getting around your resort/village but, for example, for a day trip to Mahon from one of the resort areas or even going to relatively close by villages or resorts, forget it. I am a cyclist and generally would much prefer cycling to driving but I never really thought "I wish I had a bike" in Menorca or Majorca. Depending on what you want to do, I just don't see many scenarios where it's a choice between car and bike. You want to get around your own resort - walk or hire a bike. You want to get around the island, you need a car.

agreed