Menorca Holidays – Then and Now

A long, long time ago, the concepts of Menorca holidays were a little different. Unlike modern-day breaks, which are all about the sun, sea and sand, many families came here simply for the fishing!A different coloured oceanIn the mid-1960s, just before the real dawn of large-scale foreign holidays, many families’ only experience of the sea was the rather grey-green and forbidding Channel, North Sea or Atlantic.Most families that could afford holidays in the 1950s went to traditional UK resorts. As a result, an entire generation of British children grew up with the view of the sea as being freezing cold and unwelcoming – though that didn’t stop them doing their best to try and fish it with their toy rods and little nets!Then new destinations arose – including Menorca. Holidays there were a real eye-opener for youngsters of the time for many reasons and, if they arrived there at night, their first sight of the Mediterranean the next morning often left them speechless. More than one child would have been moved to gasp, “but the sea’s a different colour”! The vivid blue of the Mediterranean is as far removed from the UK’s murky winter shores as one could imagine.Menorca and the rod/netIt didn’t take those same children very long to discover a few other things about Menorca: the fabulous beaches with warm waters; adventure-filled rocky coves; the amazingly friendly people; and the ports, harbours and jetties where, incredibly, you could actually see large fish just swimming lazily around. A new holiday pastime was discovered – fishing! It became a common sight to see the children set off in the early morning with their rods and nets, not returning until sunset. It is these same children, now grown up with their own families, who return year after year to Menorca. Holidays for families are well-catered for and, although fishing may not be the popular pastime it once was, there is still plenty for the young ones to do.The legacyMenorca still has the charm of yesterday and it is a relatively quiet and peaceful island ideal for families and more discerning travellers. There are some beautiful resorts here. The north and west coasts (south of Ciutadella) have some of the quieter and more rustic resorts such as Santandria and Cala Blanca; while the south coast has larger resorts with a more international flavour (such as Santa Galdana), but even these have been developed sympathetically in line with the natural environment.While the island has certainly changed since the 1950s, its charm has remained. On Menorca, holidays are big business and tourism is now its largest industry, but the best compliment its visitors can pay it is in the fact that they return year after year to, often, the same villas and hotels.