The Best Calas on Menorca and How to Get to Them Without a Car Park Fight
Updated October 20, 2026 · 6 min read
Menorca’s best-known beaches are calas, small coves cut into the limestone, backed by pine and reached by a path from a car park. That description is also the problem. The coves are small, the car parks are smaller, and the same five or six names are in every guide.
This is a guide to those names and to the part the photographs leave out: how you get there.
The coves most people mean
Cala Macarella and Macarelleta. Two linked coves on the south coast, and the island’s most photographed pair. Macarelleta is the smaller one, reached on foot from Macarella.
Cala Turqueta. A cove with pines to the edge, on the south-west side. The car park is not on the sand but a walk away; sources differ on the walking time and the facilities, so bring water and food.
Cala Galdana. Not a hidden cove but a developed bay with a resort around it. It is the base for the glass-bottom boat and the starting point for the walk to the coves on either side.
Cala Mitjana and Trebaluger. Quieter coves near Galdana. They are the ones that boat trips mention by name because the sea route makes them easier than the walk.
Getting there by land
The key fact for 2026 is that Menorca is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and is tightening access at its busiest coves. In summer, private cars are restricted at the Cala Macarella car park and a shuttle bus runs from Ciutadella instead. The sources we found give different start and end dates and different prices, so check the Ciutadella council or the bus operator for this year’s timetable, and book the ticket ahead if the service takes reservations, because the buses are small.
Cala Turqueta has a summer bus from Ciutadella, and Cala Galdana has a regular service in season from Mahón, Ciutadella, Alaior, Es Mercadal and Ferreries. These are summer timetables and they change, so confirm them before you plan a day around them.
If you drive, the sensible rule is to go early, before the day-trippers arrive and while the car park at the end of the road still has space. This is where a rental car stops being a convenience and starts being a plan: if you want to reach the quieter coves on the south coast, a car lets you pick the hour. You can compare rental cars for Menorca before you decide, and check the excess and deposit terms in the booking, because they vary by supplier.
Getting there by sea
The other way to see the coves is from the water, which solves the parking problem and gives you something the path does not: the cliffs from below. Four trips on GetYourGuide cover this coast.
| Trip | Duration | Price per person | Rating | What the listing says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boat trip to coves and beaches with optional paella | 3.5 to 7 hours | €40 | 4.3 from 2,557 reviews | Cruise from Ciutadella to Macarella, Macarelleta and Cala Turqueta; half-day or full-day |
| Full-day boat tour with paella lunch | 7 hours | €55 | 4.5 from 1,526 reviews | South coast, including Son Saura, Cala Turqueta and Macarella-Macarelleta, with paella on board |
| South-coast sightseeing boat trip from Cala’n Bosc | 3.5 hours | €35 | 4.6 from 1,168 reviews | Unspoilt beaches from the sea, with an hour’s stop on a beach to explore, snorkel and swim |
| Glass-bottom boat trip from Cala Galdana | 2 hours | €28 | 4.4 from 719 reviews | Cala Macarella, Cala Mitjana and Cala Trebaluger, with the sea life seen through the glass |
The first of these has by far the most reviews of any Menorca trip in GetYourGuide’s listings. Two points matter when you choose.
The longer trips let you swim and eat at the coves, which is the point of going. The short one gives you a look and a photograph. The glass-bottom trip is two hours; the listings do not say whether you can leave the boat at any of the coves, so do not assume you will be swimming.
If your plan is a walk, there is also a boat from Cala en Bosch to Cala Galdana, a return ticket at €28 that gives you two hours free time in Cala Galdana.
Which to choose
- You want to swim at the famous coves and are unsure about parking: the boat from Ciutadella solves both.
- You have a car and an early start: go to Turqueta or Mitjana before the day-trippers.
- You have no car and little time: take a boat from Cala’n Bosc or Cala Galdana.
- You want the calm of a cove and nothing else: go on a weekday in the shoulder season, when the shuttle may not run at all. Check this before you rely on it.
For the full list of trips that leave from the island’s harbours, see boat tours in Menorca and sailing and catamaran trips. If you prefer the caves to the beaches, read about cave kayaking from Cala en Porter.
