I recently took a short adventure trip to visit the island of Menorca. To be honest, I haven’t traveled much of Southern Europe yet, so I had never really heard about Menorca. Part of me just assumed it was a smaller part of Mallorca, and boy was I wrong.

Menorca is wonderful. It is green, lush, vibrant and everything you were hoping for when you hopped off that plane to Mallorca (minus the massive beer tents and naked drunk men running down the beach).

And while there are many, many beautiful spots to explore off the tourist strip of Mallorca, there are enough inspirational blog posts online to have you travelling the hidden gems of Mallorca in no time, but what you may not have considered, was an additional trip to check out the amazing and unique culture in Menorca as well! ?

Menorca or Mallorca, whatever you choose are both incredible destinations, but I wanted to give you some insight into the smaller island of Menorca in order to broaden your horizons when looking for trips to take in Southern Europe.

Here are 10 reasons to consider visiting Menorca, Spain:

1. Menorca is GREEN

For those looking for a relaxing experience where you can get out into the nature, avoid the crowds and embrace the silence, Menorca is a beautiful place for just that. Head out of the city and into nature where you’ll find plenty of activities such as hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding and more!

2. Menorca is SMALL

Depending on where you visit in Mallorca, you’re likely not going to get that same small town feel when you’re exploring the city. Menorca is still a popular destination for travelers, but their towns are small, quaint and easy to navigate. There are only about 94,383 people living in Menorca in comparison to the whopping 869,067 on Mallorca. 

3. Menorca FOOD is delicious

I recently wrote a post about Menorca over on Travel Dudes called 10 Things to Must Do When Visiting Menorca, and intentionally mentioned as the number 1 thing to do, to enjoy a full menu meal at a local restaurant. These meals are much more than a meal deal at McDonald’s, it is a grand buffet of appetizers, soups, meats, cheeses, fruits, cakes, alcohol, and coffee. Almost. Every. Time. It is heaven.

4. Menorca LOCAL PRODUCTS are superb

I say this because I enjoy shopping local and one of their most popular products in the Menorca Sandal. These have recently become popular in Europe and I find many girls showcasing their new Menorca Sandals on the streets of Düsseldorf, Germany. They’re comfortable, they last a long time and they’re stylish!

5. Menorca BEACHES are a dream

There are many ways to embrace the beaches in Menorca, and there’s certainly no limit of beaches around the island. With more than 130 beaches, you can certainly find your own excluded beach, especially if you take a kayak or canoe to one of the more remote beaches that is inaccessible by land.

6. Menorca is HISTORICAL

You might not believe it, but Menorca is home to more than 1,500 archeological sites. My suggestion to the tourism board is that we should be creating an app map of these 1,500 sites around the island and allow travelers to explore the largest sites and the smallest ones hidden between gaps in the cliffs. Neat, right?

7. Menorca is for the ADVENTURERS

There are so many activities to take part in across the island, my favorite was kayaking. You’re able to kayak along the water’s edge, exploring places that many people won’t get the opportunity to explore while on land. While boating may pose a problem when you want to explore deep into the caves, kayaking is an easy way to really get your adventure on!

8. Menorca is filled with MYTHS and MYSTERIES

This is your time to find a local who has lived here longer than you’ve been around. There are stories about cannibals and pirates and princesses who roamed the island in search of gold. Would you believe it? I’ll let you ask the locals as they tell a much more compelling story.

9. You can HIKE 186 kilometers around Menorca

For such a small island, it’s amazing that you can hike around the entire perimeter in less than a week. Many true adventurers take the opportunity to explore Menorca’s beautiful nature and pristine beaches.

10. Because I said so, okay?

Look, that’s me, chatting with a local news reporter about why I loved visiting Menorca! Can you tell I’m happy?

I’m not saying you shouldn’t explore Mallorca as well, but Menorca is certainly underrated sitting next to its big sister island, Mallorca. Menorca is filled with wonderful places to see and beautiful people to meet, it’s definitely worth heading to Menorca even just for a long weekend.

What about you? Have you been to Menorca? Have you been to Mallorca? What would you suggest? Can you pick a favorite? Let me know if the comments section below!