Planning a family holiday to Cala Galdana in Menorca Spain? We would highly recommend it! With shallow waters, great weather and good transport links, Cala Galdana in Menorca Spain is a great pick for a top family holiday in the Balearics. The flight time to Menorca is only 2 hours 30 minutes which is another reason why Cala Galdana is such an inviting option for families flying with small children. Keep reading to discover our comprehensive guide to the best of Cala Galdana in Menorca Spain including: what do to, where to go, the weather and easy family-friendly days out!
Where is Cala Galdana?
Cala Galdana is on the south west side of the island of Menorca. It is 30 minutes by car from Cala en Bosc in the west and Son Bou in the east. Cala Galdana is also only a 40 minute drive from Mahon Airport making it very central and a great place to explore the island from.
What is Cala Galdana Like?
Cala Galdana in Menorca Spain is lovingly known as the ‘Queen of the Calas’. It is a small and very pretty coastal resort and a great destination for families looking for a quiet and easy family holiday in Menorca.
One of the best things about Cala Galdana is the weather. The weather is good from April to October, meaning it’s a great holiday option from the start of the holiday season in Easter to the very end. We visited Cala Galdana in October and we certainly got the best of the last days of that glorious summer sun.
One of the best things about Cala Galdana is how accessible everything is on foot. In Cala Galdana you can choose to spend your time weaving between the shops, bars and the beach as you walk barefoot around the bay one day. Then the next day you can scramble over the rocks behind El Mirador Restaurant to watch the sunset and enjoy the boats in the marina. And then go off on a cliff top adventure for some amazing views down on to Cala Galdana beach!
Things to do in Cala Galdana in Menorca Spain
Here’s a short list of the best things you can do and see in Cala Galdana town with kids:
1. Tobogán Cala Galdana – a great place for families to spend some time, complete with two water slides for children to play on while you have lunch or a drink in the sunshine.
2. Hire a boat with any of the vendors offering their services along Passatge Rui for some adventure and snorkelling opportunities.
3. Búnker de la Guerra Civil Española – a great way to explore the rocks and cliffs around the bay. May not be appropriate for smaller children.
4. Eat, drink and be merry – lots and lots of choice for snacking, drinking and eating all around Cala Galdana.
5. Cala Galdana Beach – The jewel in the Cala Galdana crown. This beach is as beautiful as it is perfect for families!
Cala Galdana Beach
The beach of Cala Galdana is a beautiful white sand beach which is well looked after and wonderfully flat. The water is welcoming, calm and really really shallow. It’s a parents dream.
There are fish around the rocks on either side of the bay, which makes it a great place to do a little snorkelling and the kids can play in and out of the water without fear of big waves or deep ledges.
The town around Cala Galdana is small, but it has everything you might needed. A couple of little supermarkets for essentials, a good number of restaurants and some nice bars along the beach.
There is also a good bus service from Cala Galdana for a few days out. If you can tear yourself away from the beach that is!
Day trips from Cala Galdana in Menorca Spain
Cala Macarella
A 30 minute alpine walk west of Cala Galdana is another picture perfect cove called Cala Marcarella. This beach is smaller than Cala Galdana but full of character. It is also home to a very cool little beach bar at the back of the bay.
However, the walk from Cala Galdana is not buggy friendly at all. The path is riddled with tree roots and rocks and there is a large set of stairs at the end that takes you down to the beach.
We learnt this the hard way (and in the rain may I add) but I have to say it was totally worth it!
We arrived on the beach while it was still raining and I couldn’t stop the kids jumping in the water! It was that inviting.
A section of the beach is covered in pine trees which makes great cover from the sun (and rain) and there are a few caves in the rocks to spot and explore.
Cala Macarella is such a lovely place to spend some time and a great beach for kids. If you visit Cala Galdana, you must take a walk to Cala Macarella too! I would just ditch the buggy or anything on wheels and carry everything you need.
Cala Mitjana – walk from Cala Galdana in Menorca Spain
A 40 minute walk east of Cala Galdana will bring you to Cala Mitjana. This really is one of the best walks to do from Cala Galdana Menorca.
This walk is another one that is definitely not buggy friendly. There are steps, rocky paths and even a little scramble down some pretty steep rocky hills, so bare this in mind if you are travelling with little ones. It might be worth considering carrying small kids in carriers if you have them so you can leave the buggy behind.
However, the initial glimpses of the beach and the views are nothing short of stunning. Plus the colour of the water is amazing! The types of blues you can only see when the sea and sand is this pristine.
There are no facilities on this beach and no umbrellas. It’s just a gorgeous beach.
What makes Cala Mitjana special are the walks around the bay. You must explore the cliffs and see the views opposite the bay. It makes for a wonderful day out.
Day Trip to Ciutadella de Menorca
There are some really good bus links from Cala Galdana so it would be silly not to optimise them. There is only one bus stop in Cala Galdana so it’s not confusing or complicated to get about. We thought a day trip to Ciutadella de Menorca was one of the best days out from Cala Galdana in Menorca Spain.
The bus ride to Ciutadella de Menorca took a little over 30 minutes. The bus station is centrally located and easy to find for the return journey. If you need a little help, download the Google Map of the area so you can use it offline. I usually do this and it is so helpful!
Ciutadella is extremely pretty with a typically Spanish feel about the place. The old town is full of cute bakeries, quirky food shops and browsable souvenir shops.
You can walk around most of it in a couple of hours and the mix of the harbour, the grand squares, the shops, architecture, fort and stunning views make Ciutadella a really enjoyable day out with kids.
It is also worth mentioning the obelisk in the city’s main square of Placa d’es Born is a reminder of a really important moment of Ciutadella’s history.
In 1558 the Turkish attacked and took the city including all its inhabitants. No-one was left and the survivors were either killed or taken back to Turkey as slaves.
The obelisk is there as a reminder of this day and although it is pretty impressive to look at, I thought the story was even more moving.
Day Trip to Mahon
Mahon is about an hour from Cala Galdana on the bus. The buses to Mahon run less frequently so you need to make sure you are paying attention to the times.
Mahon is the capital of Menorca and is small and charming. Unlike other capital cities Mahon feels very residential and homely.
There are some good shopping opportunities through the ‘high street’ centre of town and the indoor market of Sa Plaça – Mercat de proximitat de Maó which is a great place to wander around and spend some time.
The best bit for us was the walk around the harbour. The views, the water and the restaurants along the harbour made this a very lovely and welcoming place to be with the kids. We genuinely enjoyed our time here and not to mention it was extremely pretty in its typical Menorcan way.
There were also lots of locals in all the bars and restaurants which definitely gives this place a sense that it’s a city for the people, not the tourists and I really enjoyed that.
Although be warned, the shop keepers of Mahon and the bigger less resorty places are fiercely protective over their stock and shops. They really really do not like little playful hands touching their goods.
Shops are mostly independently owned in Menorca although there are very few big chains. I totally understand their wariness as it’s their livelihoods. Whether you agree or not though, it is a small adjustment to make and something to be aware of if you are travelling with kids.
Conclusion – Cala Galdana in Menorca Spain
So, is Cala Galdana nice? Yes, it’s very very nice. Simply put, a holiday to Cala Galdana is very very easy! The beach is easy to spend time on. It’s flat and calm and in a bay. The weather in Cala Galdana in Menorca Spain is good from the start of the season til the very end. This means booking package holidays to Cala Galdana with companies like Jet2 are very easy and they will offer a whole host of different types of holidays including all-inclusive and self catered. Transport links from Cala Galdana are excellent and there are more than enough places to visit, such as Cala Mitjana, Mahon and Ciutadella de Menorca to keep you busy. O, and did I mention Cala Galdana is absolutely beautiful! definitlely not a bad place to spend a week relaxing in!
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