Ibiza / Menorca cycling

My daughter is 3 as well, she loved it, particularly playing around the pool in the hotel, it was a very good one, loads of slides and things, perfect for pre school age children. And as we went during term time that is exactly who it was packed with! Friendliest bar man in history too, always a big smile on his face, the kids all loved him.

We know people who stayed in Viva Menorca, it is just as nice, the pool there has the added advantage of a pirate ship for the kids to play in. It is slightly further walk from the beach though, Holiday Village was no more than 5 mins, Viva Menorca, maybe 10 mins.

Resort itself is very quiet, 4 or 5 big hotels, most were all inclusive so I don't think there is a huge choice of restaurants, there is a nice marina though that has a few I seem to remember. Of course with a hire car though you'll have no problem venturing further afield.

Beach is a nice sandy one, not huge though, maybe 200 meters wide, set in a cove. It will be fine in May (as it was in late Sept) but in the height of summer I imagine it could get very busy. Summer 2013 we stayed in Playa de Muro (Majorca) which was a much better beach in terms of size....huge.

Outside all of the hotels, there are these pedallo bike things you can hire for a 30 mins or an hour for the whole family, blimey, that thing was harder than an alpine col, wife glass cranking beside me and 3yr old in the back wanting more speed

Yes, Ciutadella is where they are based, coach from the airport went through it, must only be 10 mins up the road in a car. Most bike rides you'll probably head in that direction, then on to the Me-1. On the coach journey to/ from the airport we used that road, wife remarked to me how many cyclists there were using that road, like all of Menorca really it is fairly quiet, certainly nothing like that motorway type road heading up to the north west of Majorca, that I certainly wouldn't want to cycle on.

Re: Ibiza, I have not experience of cycling but hired a scooter there a few years back and roamed around the island, I think there is a bigger network of roads than Menorca, although you would want to stay off the main road from Ibiza town to San Antionio I reckon as that was quite a busy one.

markhewitt1978 wrote:

chieflordy wrote:

I stayed with my family in Cala en Bosc last September,

Ah excellent! How did you find the resort in general? It's going to be myself and my wife with 3 year old daughter. We'll be going self-catering (even though all inclusive seems to be the thing in Menorca?) because we like eating out in different restaurants most nights.

I had every intention of hiring a road bike from these people http://www.velosjoan.com/index.php/en/ but injury meant I was unable to. They deliver to most of the hotels

They are based in Ciutadella right? So I could pick up the bike from there? We'll have a hire car so that's no problem.

, one tip, in case you are staying at the Holiday Village Menorca (I'd recommend it!), it is listed by its 'real' name, Grupotel Turquesa Mar on the drop down.

We were thinking of the Viva Menorca. We didn't see Holiday Village but I'll give it a look.

From what I saw, there were still a good number of road cyclists out and about, although you are right the routes are fairly limited with no extensive coast road to allow for circular routes. I saw alot of cyclists on the Me-1 main road which wasn't busy at all then heading off left and right, the middle of the island is fairly hilly.
In my opinion there are enough cycling options for a few days riding in amongst a family holiday.

Thanks. What I did last time we were away (in Mallorca), was a 40 mile ride one day, a pottering around the doors the next day then another 40 mile ride, so nothing massive. But I'd quite like to ride up to that monastery, which does mean tacking the Me-1 - although you say that won't be too bad?

I used to live in mahon in menorca for four years. Go up monte torro (only mountain on the island 366 meters or there abouts i think? But very steep in places so a good work out, the road from fornells to mahon is one of the best on the island but you will find its like a tom and jerry cartoon fish skeleton all the roads go out and back from the main spine road running cuitadela mahon. Do not ride this road, in 10 years of living in the balearics its the most dangerous road i know the taxis are suicidal and its not a cliche. Also my other favourite ride would be from alaior take the back road south towards calen porter, check a left towards san climent (steak restaurant on your left called can bernat best steaks on the island) then go through sant climent and turn right take the back road round the airport to binibeca. Stop at johns bar (the smugglers) then ride back from there. And if you have a hire car watch for the few speed cameras on the main road especially the one in the middle of the is,and in mercadsl as the limit is so low you seel like your walking pace and the cameras work and the fines are big as spain is skint so watch how you go.
Cuitsdells well worth a walk round and watch the sun set behind the mountains of mallorca. Lovely ice cream shop on the main sq by the church too on the right in the high street.

More like wickers world on here than a cycling forum ;-)

Beautiful island and lovely people, miss it loads :-(

I've been to Ibiza a few times recently and always think it would be great riding there. There isn't the cycling infrastructure like Mallorca but the roads away from Bossa, San An and Old Town are very quiet. The only other place to avoid is the roads near Cala Compte, several of which are unmade.

Being less than 20 miles from Mallorca, the climate is identical.