Leading Travel agency airflights.co.uk is advising its customers to book their Cheap Car Hire Menorca early this year. At peak periods wholesale Car Hire suppliers in resorts such as Tenerife, Lanzarote , Malaga, Paphos and especially the Balearic islands of Majorca and Menorca actually sell out of cars. Stop Sale as it is known in the trade is even more likely this year as nervous suppliers may not have increased the stock of cars due to the global recession. We are recommending that our customers get in early to avoid disappointment they say, people are very focused on buying from us their cheap flights and often lose sight of the need for an early Car Hire reservation.

Airline bmibaby starts a new service from Cardiff to the Spanish island of Menorca tomorrow (Friday.)

The line expects to carry over 13,600 passengers on the new service over the summer months.

Flights will depart Cardiff Airport on Friday and Sunday and will operate until 31 October 2009. Fares start from £36.99 one way including taxes and charges.

Crawford Rix, managing director, bmibaby, said: “We believe the route to Menorca from Cardiff Airport will prove very popular with families, couples and intrepid explorers alike and early bookings support this.”

If you’re planning on traveling to the Balearic Islands on holiday, you should consider renting a Spanish holiday villa. Holiday villas are perfect for travellers seeking privacy and convenience. Carry on reading to find out exactly how perfect your holiday can be.

Menorca is the second largest Balearic Island, and lies off the south east coast of mainland Spain. Menorca remains relatively quiet compared to its sisters, Ibiza and Majorca. There are many popular resorts along the south coast.

Menorca, located in the middle of the western Mediterranean, is especially popular amongst tourists wishing to experience one of the many traditional fiestas that are held throughout the summer.

There is stunning natural beauty on Menorca, from the Mediterranean coastline along the south to the rugged bays in the north, there’s something for everyone in the natural scenery. Mount Toro is really the only mountain on Menorca, and at 358 meters high it provides breathtaking views of the area. Many tourist enjoy taking a tour up to the 17th century Sanctuary of the Mare de Déu del Toro, which is located on the peak.

Many tourists enjoy the statue of the Verge del Toro (the Black Madonna) on the peak, which has been worshipped to for centuries. Many people still make pilgrimage to this church, the Spanish especially for the Festa de la Verge del Toro, in which the inhabitance descend the stairs on their knees.

If it’s cuisine you’re interested in, you’ll be stimulated in Menorca. Since it’s situated in the Mediterranean, the Menorcan cuisine is heavily dominated by the Mediterranean diet. You can enjoy the local tastes at any of the fantastic and highly service-oriented restaurants nearby, or visit a local shop or market to bring some fresh produce, cheese and/or meats home to your villa for a more comfortable and private dining experience.

If you’re looking for the local drink of choice, you might be surprised to find that gin is prevalent. Gin is considered to be a lingering influence of the British, who possessed Menorca in the 1700′s. During the local holidays called festes, local islanders drink Pomada. If you don’t like lemon, you shouldn’t try Pomada, as it’s the only other ingredient besides gin!
Whether you’re traveling with your family, friends or spouse, Menorca has something for everyone. Book your holiday villa soon, and enjoy!

Menorca is only the third-largest of the Balearic islands, yet it has more beaches than Mallorca and Ibiza put together. A fair few of these are only really approachable from the sea. My wife and I joined a catamaran day-trip to one such deserted cove; there was a delightfully Robinson Crusoe-like feeling to weighing anchor, diving in and swimming ashore, where a paella was cooked for us on a bonfire of driftwood.

Menorca shares many blessings with its visitors. The island is 10 degrees closer to the equator than the southernmost point in Britain, on a par with the far south of Italy. The Mediterranean minimises the extremes of climate – but has maximised the cultural intensity. From enigmatic stone structures built by pre-historic man, to dazzling 21st-century Spanish architecture, man’s impact on Menorca is fascinating.

And I am part of the latest, and mostly benign, invasion: tourists. Many of us are in search of an accessible yet discreet island whose strongest suit comprises beautiful, shady coves that serrate the southern coast. But it has plenty more on offer.  

The strikingly handsome port of Ciutadella, at the western end of the island, is steeped in naval history but now provides moorings for pleasure craft. It feels as cosmopolitan as St-Tropez or Capri Town, minus the bling and high prices. Ciutadella also provides a good location from which to explore the stone structures of San Catlar (including an impressive wall), and the cliff-side caves of Xoroi. At the other end of the island lies the capital, Mahon (or Maó in the local dialect). This is another pretty port, which seems frozen in mid-tumble to the harbour. It has the distinction of being the first place in Spain each day to welcome the sun – don’t miss the fascinating Churrigueresque touches in the church of San Francesc.

And then, of course, there is learning the ropes. Having made my first forays into dinghy sailing on the slate-grey waters of a reservoir near the M3 in Surrey, I can vouch for the fact that the warm, blue lagoon at Fornells makes for an altogether more enticing arena for the inevitable capsizes. I hired the dinghy by the half-day, but for those wanting a more single-minded nautical experience, various companies offer specialist sailing holidays (see below).

My father-in-law has since invested in a rubber dinghy with small outboard motor, in which we chug around the harbour, or into Mahon or nearby Cales Fonts to moor up outside the restaurants like proper yachtsmen do. Bobbing around on the water in any size of craft leaves you with the sense that you are fully part of Menorca. Jaunty sailor caps are entirely optional.

TRAVELLER’S GUIDE

GETTING THERE

Air links to Menorca are excellent. From the London area, easyJet (0905-821 0905; easyjet.com) flies from Gatwick and Monarch (08700 405040; flymonarch.com) flies from Gatwick and Luton. Monarch also flies from Birmingham and Manchester, while easyJet flies from Bristol, Liverpool and Newcastle. Jet2 (0871-226 1737; jet2.com) has services from Blackpool, Edinburgh, Newcastle and Leeds/Bradford.

Low-cost flights are operated from other UK airports by airlines such as Thomson and Thomas Cook Airways.

The island’s airport is close to the capital, Mahon. It is within walking distance of the centre (assuming you are not weighed down with luggage), or there are two buses an hour into town.

SAILING THERE

Minorca Sailing is based in Fornells but has a UK office in Richmond, Surrey (020-8948 2106; minorcasailing.co.uk). It offers packages that will fly you out to the island from a range of UK airports. Accommodation is in self-catering apartments. Courses include group lessons for dinghy sailing and/or windsurfing; an hour’s personal tuition at the end of each day; and racing every afternoon. Four people sharing a villa in July costs £2,114 per person (with reductions for children).

Alternatively, try the Mahon-based Menorca Cruising School (00 34 971 389003; menorca sailing.co.uk), which in 1994 became the first RYA (Royal Yachting Association) sailing school in the Mediterranean. Accommodation is onboard, with lunch and breakfast included. The five-day RYA Competent Crew most popular course for beginners costs £550 from May to October (high season) excluding flights.

 After the second rudder broke, it dawned on me that maybe I was doing something wrong: perhaps attempting to turn too sharply with the thing held too deep in the water. Who knows? The guy who hired out the dinghies on the shore of Fornells, a lagoon in the north of Menorca and an idyllic watersports nursery, seemed unperturbed, resigned even. Perhaps he had seen it all before. Or maybe his equipment was just well insured.

I had been coming to Menorca almost every summer since I met my wife; her father owns an apartment overlooking Mahon harbour, itself another safe playground for people who mess around on boats. For the first few years I was happy to explore the island by car or on foot. Then came a Damascene moment while sipping an aperitif on the balcony.

Having spent endless evenings watching all manner of craft come and go below, from cruise ships and Abramovich-sized yachts to small put-put launches and Biblical-looking fishing boats, I was suddenly struck by the realisation that, as a landlubber, I was missing an important dimension to this fascinating island.

 For more information: http://www.menorcaexplorer.com

THE Åland Games, now just 13 weeks away, is likely to be the biggest in the 24-year history of the NatWest Island Games.

The executive committee of the International Island Games Association (IIGA) met in Menorca, the 25th member of the Association, for the first time recently when chairman Jorgen Pettersson commented: ‘Menorca, the newest member of the IIGA, has brougADVERTISEMENTht cultural diversity to the IIGA and many good sportsmen and women to the NatWest Island Games.’

At the meeting in Mahon, Menorca the chairman of the organising committee of the NatWest Island Games 2009 in Åland, Dick Ekstrom, presented a detailed progress report.’We are well prepared and looking forward to welcoming all our friends to our island to enjoy friendship and sport,’ said Ekstrom.

The 13th NatWest Island Games will take place between June 27 and July 4 and has attracted more competitors than ever before. Of the 25 competing islands, Jersey will bring the largest team with 251 accredited personnel and St Helena will bring the smallest with six accredited personnel. The Isle of Man team will be flying together on one single chartered flight of 219.

Football is the most popular sport, with more than 500 competitors, while only 20 windsurfers will compete in their discipline.

Jerry Whitsey, representing NatWest, confirmed how delighted the sponsor company was to see the continuing increase in interest from the member islands and how pleased it was to play a part in bringing island communities together in friendly sport.’

Besides sponsoring the actual event, NatWest also supports the NatWest Sports Development Programme which is administrated by the IIGA. So far 20 islands all over the world have benefited from the programme and, thanks to the sponsorship have been able to develop sports on their own islands.

After Åland, the Isle of Wight will be the host for the next Games in 2011.

The four main islands of the Balearic archipelago – Majorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera – are famed for their beaches and 300 days of sun each year, but they also offer a surprising range of cultural opportunities.

In Palma, the Balearics’ capital, important places to visit include the Pilar and Joan Miró Foundation, the Muesum of Spanish Modern Art, the cathedral with its GaudÍ altarpiece, and the Gothic Maritime Exchange. The Es Baluard Modern Art Museum overlooking the port has three floors of galleries containing works by Miró, Picasso, Magritte, Tàpies and Calder. The King’s Garden, with its fountains, is a pleasant place to sit and watch the world go by.

A tour of Majorca reveals a variety of cultural treats, beginning with the Alfàbia gardens, in the Traumuntana mountains, where a 12th-century Moorish viceroy constructed a lush oasis with some 40 species of trees and flowering plants.

The town of Sóller, north of Palma, has Modernist gems such as St Bartholomew’s church and Can Prunera, a house dating from the start of the last century with an eleborate façade, while The Station Building Gallerie-sart gallery at the railway station on Plaça Espanya displays Joan Miró engravings and Picasso ceramics.

In Deià, southwest of Sóller, literary buffs can browse through Robert Graves’s house, now a museum where the writer’s books, personal items and printing press are displayed. Son Marroig, west of Deià, was the retreat of the Austrian archduke Luis Salvador who died in 1915. His mansion displays Mediterranean ceramics, antiques and paintings. The Deià International Music Festival holds classical concerts here from April to October.

Valldemossa, 18 km north of Palma, is the site of the Royal Carthusian Monastery founded in 1339. It was here that Frédéric Chopin and Baroness Amandine Dupin – the French novelist better known as George Sand – spent three months during the winter of 1838-39.

Treasures include the frescoes over the nave, painted by Goya’s brother-in-law, the perfectly preserved pharmacy and the Chopin and Sand apartments, including the original piano.

Pollensa, 55km northeast of Palma, is a pretty town inhabited since Roman times. Its international music festival held in July and August has attracted starts such as Rostropovich and Jessye Norman to perform in the St Domingo’s Convent cloisters.

For a completely different world, head to Menorca, the second biggest of the Balearic Islands, largely undeveloped and rich in Neolithic taulas (T-shaped stone monuments) and talayots (stone cones). Mahón, one of the main cities, was established as the island’s capital in 1722 when the British began their 80-year sojourn.

Four-storey Georgian town houses with sash windows still remain. The Scientific, Literary and Artistic Centre is filled with paintings and mementoes of Menorcan writers, poets and musicians, along with natural artefacts from seashells to stuffed birds. The Principal Theatre, built in 1824 as an opera house, is a miniature La Scala.

Menorca‘s main cultural events are Mahón‘s international opera week and the Capella DavÍdica concerts at the other main city Ciutadella, along with the summer organ festivals in Santa Maria Church, Mahón, and Ciutadella cathedral. Easter week in Mahón brings out spectral penitents, while in late June Ciutadella‘s dancing horses perform in honour of St John the Baptist.

Ibiza, long famed for sun, sand and hard-partying, is not without its share of music, dance, architecture and archeology. The walled medieval upper part of the town of Ibiza is a Unesco World Heritage site. The Contemporary Art Museum has interesting permanent and temporary exhibits, while both the Ethnography Museum and the Archaeological Museum show evidence of the many cultures that have inhabited the island over the past 3,000 years.

In mid-August Ibiza temporarily sheds its party image with opera nights held in the cloister of the Town Hall.

For guaranteed spring sun and the opportunity to witness some of Europe’s finest bird and floral specialities, head for the spectacular headlands and wetlands of Menorca, the sun-drenched steppes and plains of Extremadura, the imposing granite peaks of Sierra de Gredos, and Catalonia’s Parc National d’Aiguestortes.

Naturetrek still has availability on spring natural history tours to mainland Spain and Menorca.

Menorca – 8-days, departing London 1st May 2009.
Spring in Menorca promises an intricate mosaic of wild flowers such as White and mauve Cistus bushes, yellow Crown Daisies and a great assortment of vetches and Alyssum among the dunes. Avian highlights include Europe’s only sedentary population of Egyptian Vultures (up to 40 breeding pairs), Booted Eagles and a few pairs of breeding Ospreys.

Base for the holiday is a superb 18th century Menorcan farmhouse, lovingly restored and complete with large outdoor pool, situated amongst ten hectares of unspoilt countryside. From here, enjoy gentle walks along the coasts, through woodland and around the edges of wetlands – host to a variety of birds and some of the island’s flowers.

The tour costs £1,095 p/p including flights from London, taxes, transfers, accommodation with all meals and expert guiding.

Spain – Extremadura & Gredos Mountains – 8-days, departing London 9th May 2009
This two-centre holiday combines the contrasting habitats of central Spain – the undulating, sun-drenched steppes and shimmering plains of Extremadura, the rugged oak-forested hills of Monfragüe National Park, and the imposing granite peaks of the Sierra de Gredos.

Explore these exciting and wild habitats taking in abundant and colourful wayside flora of the plains and mountains, as well as butterflies and mammals. Highlights include one of the most exciting bird spectacles in Europe – the breeding display of the Great Bustard.

The tour costs £1,095 p/p including flights from London, taxes, transfers, accommodation with all meals and expert guiding.

Catalonia – The Eastern Pyrenees – 8-days, departing London 9th May 2009.
Initially guests are based at the monastery of Santa Maria de Bellpuig, near les Avellanes. Nearby, avian species such as Blue Rock Thrush, Cirl Bunting and Bonelli’s Warbler occur, whilst surrounding areas host flora species including mulleins, thistles, mallows, asphodels and Judas Trees.

Later, head northeast where floral delights include a mix of Mediterranean, northern European and Alpine species. Here, birds of prey may include Golden Eagle, together with Woodchat Shrike, Hoopoe, Red Kite and Short-toed Eagle. At Parc National d’Aiguestortes spectacular displays of alpine flowers are on offer, including Alpine Pasque Flower (Pulsatilla alpina ssp. sulphurea), along with bird specialities such as Crossbill and possibly Black Woodpecker.

The tour costs £1,095 p/p including flights from London, taxes, transfers, accommodation with all meals and expert guiding.

For more information, log on to Naturetrek.co.uk.

Menorca Airport is situated approximately 4.5 kilometres to the south-west of Mahon which is a large port and the the island’s capital.

It is primarily a tourist airport with a large number of charter flights, especially during the summer. Most of the traffic passing through the airport is international, with the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy accounting for the greatest number of passengers. Nationally, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca and Madrid are the busiest destinations.

For the size of the Island, Menorca is a busy airport and handled 2,605,938 passengers and 31,804 flights in 2008. 61% of all passengers arriving at the airport are International travellers with the remainder made up of Inter-Balearic Island passenger traffic.

Like many of Spain’s airports the airport at Menorca gets extremely busy over the summer months when it deals with around 90% of its annual passenger traffic. You can more or less get anywhere in Menorca within an hour so transfers from the airport should not be too long and tedious.

Hotel Balears lowering to 15 percent the price of the package tour to promote the early and counter forecasting a decline of 20 percent in sales for the season.

The campaign launched by the hotel industry will continue until April. The aim is to stimulate the market and offer to tour some favorable sales expectations to keep their programming air and cuts that do not materialize augurs chain management.
This initiative will add promotional campaigns crash in the UK and Germany. According to Vazquez, president of the Association of Hotel Chains, “the consumer will not give up their holidays, but delayed the purchase because they expect a better price.” Before the crisis, tourists will probably choose to shorten their stay and cheaper options than in the past.

“The year is complex, but they are taking all possible measures,” he said yesterday Aurelio Vazquez, who emphasized that this situation is repeated in the main competitors, apart from Morocco and Turkey, and assured that “no time” to remedy the situation with “the tools and strengths of the available Balears.

Vazquez said it is important not to make decisions that compromise the medium term, as the market is in a very volatile situation “and the statistics may experience significant changes in a few weeks. At this time falling reserves ranging from 10 percent of Mallorca, Ibiza and Menorca 15 percent for the German market, and 12 percent of the Pitiusa increased to 20 percent of Menorca for the British market .