Menorca Airport Car Hire - Spanish Airport Guide

Car Hire

Hiring a car in Menorca is be far the best way to explore the island. During the quieter winter months when competition for business is fierce it is worth shopping around as there are some good deals to be had. If you are visiting Menorca in the summer it is a different story and you must book your car hire early to ensure that you get the vehicle you require at a good price.

Driving in Menorca

I am a nervous driver but found that driving in Menorca is very easy as most roads have good surfaces and are well signposted. There is just one main road (the ME1) that runs from Mahon up to Cuitadella with most of the resort roads running off it You can access most of the best south west beaches off this main artery, turning off at Es Mercadal to drive up to El Toro (Mount Bull) which is the islands's highest point rising to 357 metres

Menorca is a small island with 216km of coastline and a maximum distance of 48km between Cuitadella in the north and Maó (Mahon) in the south. Because of its volcanic origins and ancient river systems the landscape on Menorca varies widely in such a compact area. The north has a wild and rocky coast with a number of small islands and dark red-sandy beaches. The south is flat limestone rock with cliffs and white sandy coves edged by pine trees.

The roads aren't anything like as busy as the UK and the Menorcans tend to be pretty tolerant and don't go in for the constant unnerving honking of horns that you tend to get from Spanish drivers.

The main cities of Mahon and Cuitadella are usually pretty busy and Mahon has a network of narrow streets with parking generally a free for all, especially at peak shopping times of early morning and between 5:00 pm and 8:00 pm.

Cuitadella is a quieter town, again full of winding streets and old buildings, including several churches. Whenever I visit either of them I don't attempt to drive in to the centres but park just slightly outside and then enter on foot!

Just one thing to bear in mind is that if a driver flashes their lights at you it means "Coming through - stay where you are" which is the opposite meaning of the UK.

In towns and resorts if the parking bays are outlined in blue it means a ticket must be obtained from a nearby machine and displayed inside your car windscreen.

By Linda Craik Google+