The best coves on the south of Menorca to visit by boat

The best coves on the south of Menorca to visit by boat are, nearly all of them, the same ones that in summer are a nightmare to reach on land: car parks full by mid-morning, a shuttle bus you have to book and a walk in the sun. By sea you have them in front of you, one after another, with no queues. In this article I'll tell you which are worth it from the water, which you can only see by boat and what you need to know about anchoring, which is the bit hardly anyone goes into.

I sail this coast every day in a 9-metre Menorcan llaüt, leaving from Es Canutells, right on the south coast. So this isn't a copied list: it's what I see every day depending on the sea, the wind and the time.

Why the south is better enjoyed from the sea

The south of Menorca is the coast of white-sand coves and turquoise water, with pine-clad ravines running down to the shore. The catch is access. Many of the loveliest have no road, or have one with the car park restricted from June to September. Others simply can't be reached by car: you have to walk an hour along the Camí de Cavalls or swim across from the cove next door.

From the boat the problem disappears. You set off, sail close to the coast and string the coves together. And there's a part you only see from the water: the rock arches, the caves at the foot of the cliffs and the rocky bottoms where the snorkelling gets interesting. From your towel, you don't get any of that.

The best southern coves, west to east

I've put them in the order you'd find them under way. I don't promise to reach them all in a single trip: it depends on the distance, the sea and the wind on the day. The honest thing is to tell you that on an unhurried trip you enjoy three or four properly.

Cala Macarella and Macarelleta

The two sisters of the west, and among the most famous on the island. White sand, water that runs in turquoise and two walls of pine. Macarelleta, the small one, has no car access: on land you only reach it on foot, while by sea you see the two of them together. It's one of the furthest coves from my base, so it fits a full day best. I tell you all about it on the page for the Cala Macarella boat trip.

Cala Trebalúger

One of the great wild coves of the south. No road, no beach bar, with a green ravine behind it and a wide beach that's nearly always calm. Getting there on foot is a long walk; by boat you have it within easy reach and it's usually far emptier than Macarella. The bottom is sand, comfortable for anchoring and swimming. Here you have the Cala Trebalúger trip.

Cala Mitjana and Mitjaneta

Next to Cala Galdana, with that very pale sand and the shallow water that makes it ideal for a long swim. Mitjaneta, its miniature version, is right beside it. It has reasonable access on foot, but in August it fills up, and from the sea you spare yourself the crowds on the shore. More detail on the Cala Mitjana trip.

Cala en Porter

It changes the tune. Here what impresses are the cliffs, high and sheer, with the cove set between rock walls. It's one of those sights you only really understand from below, looking up from the deck. I tell you about it on the Cala en Porter trip.

Cova des Coloms

Here's a clarification that saves confusion: the Cova des Coloms in Menorca, in the Barranc de Binigaus, is a land cave visited on foot, not by going in with the boat. What is worth doing by sea is the Binigaus coast: you follow that stretch of the south, see the ochre cliffs and the sea caves at water level from the deck, and anchor off the unspoilt beach to swim where almost no one reaches by land. The cave, if you fancy seeing it, is a separate walk. I tell you all about it on the Cova des Coloms boat trip.

To these five, on a full day and if the sea is kind, you can add one in the west like Cala Turqueta. But I don't take it for granted: the route always adapts to the state of the sea.

One thing worth understanding about this coast is the geography. The south isn't a straight line of beaches: it's a run of ravines that die in the sea, and each cove is the mouth of one of them. That's why between one and the next there are stretches of cliff with no sand, and why the green of the pines comes almost down to the water. Under way you notice it: you go from a rock wall to an open beach in a matter of minutes, and that contrast is a good part of what makes the run so good.

What you see snorkelling in the south

The water in the south is clear for a specific reason, and it's no accident: the posidonia filters and oxygenates, and the bottom mixes pale sand in the swimming areas with rock at the foot of the cliffs. That mix is what makes the snorkelling good. Over sand the water looks almost white and shallow; as soon as you get near the rock the cracks appear, and that's where the life is.

What you see without much looking are sea bream, saddled bream, salema and rockfish working the walls. On some cliffs, like the one at Macarella, there are submerged caves a few metres from the shore that are worth a look with a snorkel. You don't need to know how to dive: with mask and snorkel, on a calm day with the sun high, the visibility in these coves is huge. On the llaüt there's kit on board and a bathing platform at the stern to get in and out of the water with ease.

The coves you can only see by boat

If I had to settle on the strongest argument for going by sea, it's this: there are corners of the south that, for the ordinary visitor, simply don't exist on land.

• The Binigaus coast. The unspoilt beach, the cliffs and the sea caves at water level of Es Migjorn Gran can only be appreciated from the sea (the Cova des Coloms itself is on land and visited on foot, separately).
• The cliffs of Cala en Porter. The cove has access from above, but the mass of rock can only be appreciated from the water.
• Macarelleta and the arches of the Macarella cliff. Macarelleta has no road; the arches and the submerged cave, only from the boat.

And then there's having a wild cove almost to yourself mid-morning, before the midday boat traffic arrives. You can't book that: you just get up early.

Anchoring and posidonia: what you need to know

Here's the fact hardly any tourist blog mentions, and it matters. The south of Menorca has meadows of posidonia, a protected seagrass that is what keeps the water so clear and the seabed alive. Anchoring on posidonia is forbidden in the protected areas, and it's policed: there are patrol boats at several points along the Balearic coast and serious fines.

That's why a boat that sails with its head on always anchors over sand or on a buoy, never on the meadow. In several southern coves the strip of good sand for dropping the anchor is narrow, and knowing it is part of the trade: it's the difference between a safe anchorage and damaging the seabed. In areas like the Illa de l'Aire, to the southeast, there are also fields of eco buoys and a perimeter where anchoring isn't allowed.

There's another practical detail that changes the route: the southerly wind. The southern coves open to that quarter, so with a southerly component anchoring becomes uncomfortable or downright bad. When it blows from the south, the sensible thing is to find shelter or switch coasts. It's exactly the kind of decision you make watching the forecast in the morning, not the day before.

How to see them: the options

To get to know the southern coves by sea you have basically three ways:

A private skippered trip. It's what we do. You go out with your group, no sharing the boat, and the skipper decides the day's route according to the sea. You get the anchoring sorted, the knowledge of where the good sand is and the freedom to stay longer wherever it's best. On the Sea Travel llaüt there's room for up to 7 passengers plus the skipper, with snorkelling kit and a paddle board on board.

Hiring a boat without a licence. For small engines you don't need a qualification. It gives you autonomy, but the anchoring and reading the wind are down to you, and in the south that counts.

Kayak or on foot. For a single, nearby cove it works. For stringing several together in a day, it doesn't.

If you're after the first option, on our trips along the south coast you'll see how we set up the half-day and full-day trips, and which coves we reach depending on conditions.

On how much to take on: a half day is enough for three coves at leisure, without rushing, which is how you really enjoy this coast. The full day is what the west asks for, where Macarella and Turqueta are, because they're the furthest from Es Canutells and trying to do them in half a day leaves everything tight. The difference isn't just time: with the whole day you can eat at anchor, wait for a group to leave a cove so you have it quieter, or stay wherever it's best. Hurrying, at sea, almost never pays off.

Tips for the day

• Get up early. First thing the sea is flatter, the coves emptier and there are fewer boats. Midday in August is another story.
• Watch the southerly wind. It's what spoils anchoring on this coast. A day of light westerly or calm is gold.
• Bring little and good: a cap, sun cream, water and your own snorkelling mask if you have one (there's kit on board, but your own always fits better). In the south there's no signal in many coves, so download what you need beforehand.
• Respect the seabed. If you go on your own, anchor only on sand or a buoy. The posidonia is the reason the water is the way it is.

The south of Menorca is worth coming back to many times, because no two days are the same. If you'd like me to take you to the best coves the way they look best, from the water and without queues, tell me your date and we'll sort it out: check available dates.