Ciutadella is a very pleasant town, more Spanish in character than Mahon where the British influence of the eighteen century is still obvious in some of the Georgian houses around the harbour area there.

As Debbg says, Ciutadella port and marina is very attractive, as is the old town area with it's narrow streets and pleasant squares like the Plaza des Born with it's Obelisk and Ajuntament building. I don't know Mahon as well but we enjoyed the harbour cruise on the Don Joan catamaran in the afternoon we spent there. We are going back to Menorca in October and intend to spend another day looking round Mahon. We might even have a quick look at the famous pipe organ in the Esglesia de Santa Maria church while there.

I also agree that if you can, hiring a car is a great option as the size of Menorca (it's only 32 miles long by 9 miles wide) means that travel time from one end of the island to the other is no more than about an hour anyway.

We bused it into Mahon, without any problem... both worth seeing, but Mahon is now obviously the centre of everything, so lots of trips go there, buses all go there etc..

is Mi Pizza still going strong just down the road from the Hotel Aguamarina? - had many a good night in there... 2 for 1 drinks and they don't know the meaning of a "measure"....

We bumped into a couple who said they go there, but only have a couple of drinks.. We thought this was because they don't drink so much.. HOW WRONG could we be ! We ordered 2 drinks (meaning 1 drink plus the 1 free one) but got 2 drinks with 2 free. So I'm say with 4 pints of local lager and my partner had 4 vodka and cokes. However they were tall glasses and they just poured vodka till they got fed up.. She was rolling by the third drink... LOL

That rings a bell, i will have a look in 16 days time!!!!!

Thanks everyone. Will probably hire a car and see everything then.

Mahon for me every time. Lovely

you cannot beat Cuitadella harbour at night - lovely

CALA N BOSCH - They will love it , there is a waterpark , and a fun amusement place called goody goody - Cala n bosch is a great family resort i have been taking my kids their since they was 3 and i am still taking them now at the ages of 14 and 17 yrs old and they still like the resort as it gets better every year . I would recomend staying at either princessa Playa with Cosmos or Viva Menorca with First Choice.

The post said no kids.

kind regards
stewart

cala galdana is nice , but as menorca is mainly popular with families i
couldnt promise no kids!

Ciutadella is brilliant - I've been there a couple of times in recent years. The harbour's great, the architecture's great, it's compact and easy to walk around, the museum (Bastio de sa Font) is worth a tour, the shopping and eating's very good (if overpriced right on the harbourfront), the little lookout tower on the headland (open Tue-Sat mornings IIRC) is cute and, in spite of what I have read so many times, it has a small beach at the head of an inlet - Sa Platja Gran/Cala des Degollador. It's very relaxing but there are things to see and do if the weather's wobbly.

Have a look at the resorts to the south of Ciutadella - Cala Santandria and Cala Blanca. There are apartment complexes there, with the associated entertainment, but it's easy to get into Ciutadella itself for a greater choice of restaurants and to escape from any kids.

Thomson have a Gold property in Arenal De'n Castell called Castell Playa Fiesta Hotel. It only accepts bookings for parties over the age of 16 and is only available to those travelling with the Thomson group!

Thanks for the replies will post again after we chose for some local info

I am going to be a sheep here its got to be Ciutadella for me. Its a lovely place and is gorgeous at night.

Mahon is worth a visit though as its nice to get a boatride around the harbour and a nose through the town.

sorry but its got to be Cuitdella for me much more relaxed and refined
try the "Curros" in the sqaure

Mahon is ok but a bit to big for me (plus i still have nightmares about barriers in car park l) although the trip around the harbour was quite nice

Es Castell near Mahon makes a nice change. Its a Menorcan "village" and obviously more authentic than some of the beach resorts. They have an excellent harbour with lots of tapas bars/restaurants. We hired an apartment for 250 per week (but no pool).

Yes, es Castell is a lovely picturesque resort with several small harbours and a main waterfront with bars and restaurants etc. All very laid-back.

The only downside is that there reallly isn't a beach there.

But if you're keen on photography or painting, it's a great place to go.