Welcome to Hooked on Walking Holidays and our walking holidays in Spain. This particular hiking vacation in Spain is on the Island of Menorca which is part of the Balearic Island group. This walking tour is available as a level 2 walking holiday.
Menorca is the greenest and most authentic of the Balearic Islands and the perfect place to get acquainted with the true beauty of life in the Mediterranean: deep blue bays, white sand beaches, spectacular cliffs, rolling hills, quiet farmland, historical towns, and ports full of tiny boats and seafood restaurants. You’ll follow the Camí dels Cavalls, a horsemen’s trail established by English settlers in the 18th century, which has recently been way-marked as a GR long-distance walking path. Your trip begins and ends in the capital of Mahón (also spelled Maó), a convenient base for easy travel to Menorca. Each day, you walk a section of the route circling the island. With the help of an occasional taxi transfer or bus ride, you’ll walk the best routes and skip the less interesting parts. You start off walking northwards into S’Albufera Natural Park, then along the coast to reach Cape Favaritx and the fishing village of Fornells. The next few days, your walks will take you past varied scenery: enormous watchtowers, steep cliffs, peaceful orchards, bizarre prehistoric structures. As you walk, you’ll come to appreciate the island’s natural beauty and understand why Menorca was declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1993. Intriguingly varied plant life surrounds you, as you walk from beach to beach and village to village. Midweek, brings you to the friendly port town of Ciutadela. You then move onward, along the busier south coast. Traversing deep ravines and Mediterranean woodlands, your tour ends on return to the capital city of Mahón.

Available 1st April to end October
Level 2 self guided tour.

Day 1 Arrival in Mahón 
Arrival on Menorca, where you settle into your accommodation in the capital of Mahón, a pretty port city situated on hill overlooking the bay, a good base from which to explore this intriguing spot, occupied by English, French and Spanish troops over a period of 150 years (from the late 17th to the early 19th centuries). The atmospheric city centre includes an interesting mix of architectural styles, with stately manor houses and monuments such as the churches of San Francesc and Santa María and the Teatre Principal.

Day 2  Es Grau à Port d’Addaia  19 km 5-6 hours up/down 350m.
Transfer to the fishing village of Es Grau, just outside S’Albufera Natural Park. Your first walk on the Cami de Cavalls, takes you through marshes and dune areas around an enormous freshwater lake. Once past Cape Favaritx, the landscape becomes steeper and rockier. The only splash of colour in this stark landscape are the bright pink blooms of Carpobrotus. You’ll admire the island’s unique flora, then move into areas with salt-water marshes. Your walk ends in the holiday town of Port d’Addaia. Short transfer to your accommodation, in Menorca’s northernmost fishing village. Accommodation in Fornells.

Day 3  Fornells à Cala S’Alocs 17 km 5-6 hours up/down 600m.
Taxi transfer to Cap de Cavalleria, where you pick up the Cami de Cavalls for a walk along the rough, isolated coastline of the island’s most mountainous area. The terrain alternates between rocky cliffs and low marshlands, and you traverse Mediterranean woodlands which are home to a wide variety of birds. Along the way, you can stop for a rest at a café on the beach, before reaching Cala S’Alocs, where you’ll be met for the transfer to your accommodation. Accommodation in Cala Morell.

Day 4  Cala S’Alocs à Cala Morell 14 km up/down 200m 4 hours.
You start walking at Platja Cala Pilar, first through a flatter landscape and open farmland. The local cheese produced here is called Queso de Mahón, made on the old farmsteads which date back to the 17th and 18th centuries. A relatively easy day and time this afternoon to relax ‘round the swimming pool at the Agroturismo.

Day 5  Cala Morell to Cales Picas  14 km 4 hours up/down 250m.
Today’s route starts in Cala Morell, and takes you into an area adorned by ancient dwellings from the Talayotic period. Surrounded by typical Mediterranean vegetation rosemary, rockrose, chamomile,  you walk toward a dry limestone plateau, where the tramuntana wind blows constantly across fields enclosed by high walls. No modern houses in sight, just the strange pyramidal structures from earlier times. Your route ends in Cales Piques, where you catch a bus (or continue on foot) to the pretty port town of Ciutadella. Accommodation in Ciutadella.

Day 6  Son Xoriguer à Cala Galdana 15 km 4.5 hours up/down 250m.
Short transfer to Son Xoriguer, to continue your trek along the coast. The countryside here is mainly flat, while you walk through woodlands of evergreen oaks, firs and wild olive trees, passing gorgeous coves such as Platges de Son Saura or Cala en Turqueta. Later, the terrain becomes more rugged, and you traverse deep ravines, or barrancos, to reach the coastal village of Cala Galdana. Optional excursion into the Barranc d’Algendar, Menorca’s most spectacular gorge, and time for a swim at the pool or in sea!

Day 7  Cala Galdana à Son Bou 14 km 4.5 hours up/down 300m.
The last walk of our program starts on the beach at Cala Mitjana, situated at the edge of a holm oak with remains of ancient ovens where charcoal was traditionally made. You cross Migjorn plateau, home to the Mediterranean species, Hermann’s tortoise (Testudo hernanni). Later, you leave the Cami de Cavalls and, having walked 14 km, come to the ruins of the 5th century Paleo-Christian chapel at Son Bou. Transfer back to Mahón.

Day 8  Departure

Accommodation: family run hotels and farmhouses.

Difficulty: Level 2 tour.

2012 Prices

How to get there
By Plane to Menorca.

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Cycling Holidays in Spain

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