Subaida Cheese Farm on Menorca: Is the €14 Visit Worth It, and What Else to Taste

Mahón-Menorca cheese is protected by name: it can only be made on Menorca, and the designation has existed since 1985. If you want to understand why a block of it costs what it does, a farm visit is the cheapest way to find out.

The most reviewed farm visit on GetYourGuide is the guided visit to the Subaida cheese farm. It costs €14 per person, lasts 1.5 hours and is rated 4.6 from 231 reviews.

What the visit is

The listing describes a guided walk round the estate (the description says one hour, the listing as a whole gives 1.5 hours): you see the animals, learn how artisan cheese is made and taste typical Menorcan products. It does not say which products or how many cheeses, and it does not say whether you can buy at the end.

What Mahón-Menorca is

It is a pressed, uncooked cheese, square with rounded edges. During ageing the rind is rubbed with olive oil, or a mix of oil and paprika, which gives it the orange colour you see in shops. The name Menorca was added to the designation in 1998.

You will see three ageing stages on labels:

• Tierno (tender), aged for a few weeks. Soft, mild, a little salty.
• Semicurado (semi-cured), the one most people buy. Firmer, with more flavour.
• Curado (cured), aged for many months. Hard, sharp, good grated.

The exact day counts are in the designation’s rules.

Who it is for

It suits a short rainy-day or hot-afternoon stop. At €14 it is one of the cheapest food experiences on the island. It is a poor choice if you want a full meal, because the listing promises a tasting and nothing more.

Families should read the listing for age limits. We could not verify any, and the farm animals are the draw for children.

When to pay more

The farm tour with cheese-making workshop is a different product: two hours, €65 per person, rated 4.9 from 111 reviews. The listing promises that you become a cheese artisan for the day, so you make something rather than watch. It names foodies, nature lovers and families.

That is more than four times the price of the Subaida visit. If you want to taste, take the cheaper one. If you want to leave with a skill, take the workshop.

The other farm stops

• Binissuès manor museum with a cheese-making demonstration: €12, 1.5 hours, 4.6 from 49 reviews. The ticket also includes entry to the Museum of Natural Sciences of Menorca. A demonstration is not a workshop; you watch.
• Olive oil experience in Binissaida: €22, 1.5 hours. A stroll through olive groves and a guided tasting. It has only 12 reviews, so the 5.0 rating tells you little yet.
• Family winery tour in Ciutadella: €25, one hour, two wines to taste, 4.7 from 86 reviews.

Getting there

A farm on a country road is not a place you will reach by chance. We could not confirm a bus stop at the gate, so assume a car or a taxi. If you have no car, you can compare rental cars for Menorca and check the excess and deposit in the booking, because they vary by supplier.

All seven food and wine offers on the island start at €12; see food and wine in Menorca for the full list. If your day is also about the sea, Mahón harbour by boat takes one hour.