Son Bou en Menorca

The longest beach in Menorca

The Son Bou beach is located within the limits of the town of Alaior, on the southern coast of the island. It is the largest beach on the island with almost 4 kilometres long. Its clean and crystalline waters contrast with the white sand of the beach.

It has all types of services: umbrellas, deck-chairs, restaurants, newsstands, showers, water sports and coastal rescue service, among others. Son Bou is classified as an Area of Special Natural Interest (ANEI in Catalan) with an extensive wetland area of freshwater reed beds just inland from the beach which also has an excellent dune habitat.

THE ISLAND OF MENORCA

Menorca is the easternmost of the Balearic Islands. Its area is 702 square kilometers and it has 216 kilometers of coastline. The maximum distance between two points is 47 kilometers, between Ciutadella and Maó.

The population of Menorca is 96.000 inhabitants, which are concentrated in the eight municipalities into which it is divided: Maó, Ciutadella, Alaior, Ferreries, Es Mercadal, Es Castell, Sant Lluís and Es Migjorn Gran.

There are three other urban centers: Sant Climent, Llucmaçanes and Fornells; the first two belong to the municipality of Maó and the third to that of Es Mercadal.
The island has two distinct regions: the northern part, with a rugged and uneven coastline, very rugged and with little vegetation, dotted with islets and beaches of reddish or dark sand; and the southern part, flat and formed by calcareous rock, with soft cliffs, ravines sculpted by the waters and coves of white sand surrounded by pine trees.

The highest elevation in Menorca is Mount Toro, 375 meters high.

The island's climate is typically Mediterranean, highlighting its pleasant temperatures whose annual average is between 16 and 17 degrees Celsius. In summer it reaches 24 degrees and in winter 11 degrees. Its climate can be described as "mild" and its landscape is characterized by the fresh north wind, called here "tramuntana". The maximum of precipitations is concentrated in autumn, being scarce in spring and summer.

The main characteristic of the Menorcan natural environment is the environmental diversity existing in only 700 square kilometers of extension. Thus, the island offers the possibility of finding representation of almost all the habitats of the Mediterranean. Among them, the most prominent are the ravines, caves, wetlands made up of lagoons and marshes, dune systems, coasts and islets.

Menorca was declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1993, and it is a territory in which human activity develops in a manner compatible with the conservation of natural resources, with the aim of ensuring its persistence for future generations of inhabitants and visitors to the island.