Walking in Menorca. Paddy Dillon
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and Autos Fornells www.autosfornells.com all post timetables online, and up-to-date bus timetables for the whole island are also printed in the local newspaper, Menorca Diario Insular, on the Transportes Autobuses page.
The only real bus station on Menorca is in Maó. When leaving it to access walking routes in the city, simply follow pedestrian signposts from the Plaça de S’Esplanada to the ‘Port’ or ‘Centre Històric’. To return to the bus station from the city centre, follow signposts for ‘Estació d’autobusos’. Buses from Ciutadella operate from two different locations so, if changing there, be sure to ask the driver from where the next bus departs. In other towns and villages, if the bus stop isn’t evident, ask someone for directions to the parada (bus stop).
Taxis
Taxis are available in all towns and most villages throughout Menorca, usually close to the main squares. Cars operate under the aegis of the Asociacion Menorquina De Radio Taxis (tel 971-367111). The telephone number covers the whole island, and all you need to do is to state where you are and where you want to go, and leave it to the operator to locate an available car. The green sign Lliure/Libre means ‘free’ and any taxi displaying this can be flagged down. In case of difficulty ask your hotel, or a roadside bar, to call one for you. Offer a couple of Euros if they demur. A general rule of thumb is that a long taxi journey will cost five times more than the bus fare. If three or four walkers share a taxi, the individual cost is close to the bus fare for the same journey. Tips of ten per cent are customary.
What to take
Even in winter on Menorca, walkers need take no more than they would take for a summer trip in Britain. The weather will probably be warm, and might be very hot and sunny, so take clothing that will protect against sunburn, as well as sunscreen and a hat. On the other hand, if it rains, be prepared with lightweight waterproofs. Footwear is a personal choice, and walkers wear everything from heavy boots to lightweight sandals. However, bear in mind that the ground can sometimes be rocky or stony underfoot and occasionally steep, and after a spell of rain some parts can get quite wet and muddy.
Waymarking and access
(Left to right): signs on the PR-IB-Me 2 trail (Walk 7); marker post on the Camí de Cavalls; signs at a junction of the Camí de Cavalls
Most routes available for public use around Menorca are exceptionally well waymarked and signposted. The long-distance GR223, or Camí de Cavalls, is particularly well-marked. GR stands for gran recorrido, and the route is flashed red/white in the usual European fashion. The waymarking is particularly helpful where the route passes through woods or scrub, where it is not possible to see far ahead; however, it is easier to lose the route in towns and villages where there are lots of distractions. There are also two waymarked PR (pequeño recorrido) routes, PR-IB-Me 1 and PR-IB-Me 2, which are flashed yellow/white, with a particular emphasis on archaeology.
Many walking routes are also marked as cycleways, so keep your eyes and ears open, and hope that any mountain bikers on the trails also have your well-being in mind! Only a couple of routes cross private property, where walkers have been tolerated for many years, but bear in mind that the landowners could withdraw access at any time. Walk 10, through the Barranc de sa Cova, and Walk 15, around Sa Torreta, are examples.
Maps
The best map for exploring Menorca on foot is the Editorial Alpina Menorca sheet, at a scale of 1:50,000 (www.editorialalpina.com). This highlights the long-distance Camí de Cavalls (in green) and many other walking routes, as well as showing the intricate network of roads and farm tracks around the island. Its detail is equal to what walkers would expect of the Ordnance Survey Landranger series of maps in Britain.
Extracts from the Editorial Alpina map have been reproduced in this guidebook by kind permission of the publishers. These are fine for each of the walking routes, but if you want to see how all the routes relate to each other, then either obtain the complete map in advance of a visit, or look out for it on Menorca, where it is widely available and widely used by walkers. UK stockists include Stanfords (12-14 Long Acre, London, WC2E 9BR, tel 020 7836 1321, www.stanfords.co.uk) and The Map Shop (15 High Street, Upton-upon-Severn, WR8 0HJ, tel 01684 593146, www.themapshop.co.uk).
Food and drink
There are plenty of restaurants, cafés, bars and shops in the towns and villages around Menorca, so it is usually easy to obtain food and drink. Even some remote beaches have a small café/bar or restaurant. However, there are some walks that have little or nothing, so it is always a good idea to carry enough food and drink for the day. See Appendix B for food and drink items.
Tourist information offices
There are five tourist information offices around Menorca. They offer plenty of local information and might help with accommodation searches, attractions, opening times, bus timetables and so on. They should have information about the long-distance Camí de Cavalls, as well as knowledge of nearby walking and cycling opportunities.
Airport Arrivals Hall, tel 971-157115
Plaça de S’Esplanada, Maó, tel 971-367415
Moll de Levant, Port de Maó, tel 971-355952
Plaça de la Catedral, Ciutadella, tel 971-382693
Casa del Contramaestre, Fornells, tel 971-158430
Emergencies
If emergency assistance is required on land, phone 112 and explain the nature of the incident to an English-speaking operator. If a rescue is required, a response might be mounted by the fire service (bombers) or the police. The police can be contacted directly, either phoning 092 for the Policía Municipal, 091 for the Policía Nacional, or 062 for the Guardia Civil. Alternatively, for a medical emergency, phone 061. For sea rescues, phone 112 or 900-202202.
Using this guide
These walkers are evidently backpacking, but where do they intend to camp, since it is illegal to camp wild?
There are 20 one-day walks in this guidebook; 16 of these are spread around most parts of Menorca, but are particularly concentrated within easy reach of Maó. The Coast to Coast route across the island from Maó to Ciutadella, a total of 71km (44½ miles), is divided into four one-day stages. Most walks are easy, but sometimes there are short, steep, rocky or stony slopes, and some areas are densely vegetated, where it is possible to become disorientated. Many of the walks, not just the Coast to Coast ones, link with adjacent walks, so that it is possible to extend the distance.
The only thing that really makes a walk difficult on Menorca is distance, particularly in the peak summer period when it is very hot. There is enough information in the introduction to each day’s walk for readers to choose walks that are appropriate to their abilities.
The long-distance GR223, or Camí de Cavalls, completely encircles Menorca, and while many stretches can be completed as simple day-walks, walking the full circuit day after day requires a lot of planning. See the separate introduction to this long-distance walk later in the guidebook.
Note that the spellings of place names used in the route descriptions match the spellings that readers will encounter while in Menorca, on street signs and the like. In some places these do not correspond exactly with those that appear on the official map, and therefore on the route maps. However, the differences are small and places easy to identify.
DAY WALKS