Llucalari Nou

About Llucalari Nou

Llucalari Nou suits families and groups who want space and a base of their own in the south of Menorca. The four-star hotel sits beside Son Bou, the island's longest beach, and pairs an outdoor salt water pool with kitchens, cots and high chairs, so a week with children does not mean eating every meal out. Couples using it as a quiet base for the south coast coves will find the same self-catering layout useful.

Expect an easy, self-catering kind of stay rather than a full-service resort. Llucalari Nou is listed with kitchen and kitchenette equipment, a dishwasher, a washing machine and a terrace, which points to bookings of a week or more. The salt water pool, table tennis and garden give the days shape without a programme. Shops, cafés and restaurants around Son Bou cover the rest, and the nearest talayotic village is a short drive inland.

Location: Son Bou

Son Bou fills the southern edge of Menorca with the longest beach on the island, backed by dunes and a strip of wetland that keeps the hinterland green. Llucalari Nou sits just off it, about 0.1 km away on a straight line, so the sand and the dunes are effectively the local neighbourhood. The mood is relaxed and family-led, with the cliffs and deep cove of Cala en Porter about 5.8 km away and the centre of the island at Es Mercadal about 10.1 km off.

The immediate area around Llucalari Nou can be covered on foot, beach included. Anything else needs wheels: Cala en Porter at about 5.8 km, and Es Mercadal and Monte Toro at about 10.1 km, are car, bus or taxi trips, and a hire car also opens the south coast coves. July and August fill the beach and its car parks early; May, June and September keep the same short walk quiet, with the sea at about 18-19 °C in May and 23-25 °C in September.

Rooms and facilities

Rooms at Llucalari Nou are listed with the practical kit that makes a longer stay work: a kitchen or kitchenette with oven, microwave, toaster and coffee equipment, plus a dishwasher, washing machine, iron and board. Families can ask about cots and high chairs, and the desk, safe and free wifi cover the working bits. Bath, bidet and hairdryer appear in the listed facilities, with a terrace, fan and TV for slow afternoons out of the sun.

The outdoor salt water pool, garden and table tennis give children somewhere to go between beach trips, and non-smoking rooms are listed for anyone who needs them. Late arrivals should confirm arrival arrangements with Llucalari Nou before travelling, since reception hours are not something to assume. It is worth asking which rooms have the full kitchen and which the kitchenette, whether pool towels are provided, and whether a cot charge applies; the hotel confirms all of it at booking.

Getting there

Menorca Airport (MAH) is about 12.8 km from Llucalari Nou on a straight line, which makes the transfer short by taxi or hire car. Hiring at the airport is the simplest option if the plan includes Cala Macarella and Monte Toro, both well beyond walking distance. Buses run to Maó and, in summer, to the resorts; the island bus operator publishes current lines and times, and they are worth checking against your arrival day before booking a car.

From Maó port, about 16 km away on a straight line, the drive south towards Son Bou crosses the middle of the island by way of Es Mercadal. Travellers arriving on an overnight crossing from Barcelona reach Maó in the morning and can be at Llucalari Nou soon after. Winter brings fewer flights and fewer sailings, so a stay outside the season needs a timetable check with the operators and a word with the hotel about its own dates.

Beaches, sights and food nearby

A talayotic village stands about 2.2 km from Llucalari Nou, close enough for a short excursion into the island's prehistoric past, the remains that joined the World Heritage list in 2023 as Talayotic Menorca. Cala en Porter, a deep cove between high cliffs, is about 5.8 km away, and the white sand of Cala Macarella under pine is about 12.5 km off along the south coast. Monte Toro, at about 358 m the highest point, is about 10.1 km away.

Menorca's kitchen runs on seafood and cheese: caldereta de llagosta, the lobster stew associated with Fornells on the north coast, and Mahón-Menorca cheese with its protected designation of origin. The long British period left a gin tradition in Maó and Georgian windows around the harbour. From Llucalari Nou, the kitchen, terrace and dishwasher make it easy to cook what the fish counters and markets of the south sell, with Son Bou about 0.1 km away for a post-lunch swim.

A day from Llucalari Nou

Start early and drive to Cala Macarella, about 12.5 km from Llucalari Nou, since car parks at the popular southern coves fill early in summer and some carry seasonal limits; Cala en Porter at about 5.8 km is the shorter alternative. Or stay put and walk the 0.1 km to Son Bou for a morning swim before the sun is high. Return to the hotel for the salt water pool and lunch on the terrace.

In the afternoon, drive inland to the talayotic village about 2.2 km away, then carry on to Monte Toro, about 10.1 km from Llucalari Nou, for the sanctuary and the view across both coasts. Finish with an early evening swim at Son Bou, 0.1 km off, and a slow meal. A car makes the day simple, though a bus or taxi covers the shorter legs if you would rather not drive.

Practical tips

Much of Menorca's tourism business closes roughly from November to April, so check Llucalari Nou's own opening dates before booking a winter or early spring week. July and August are the peak, when Son Bou and its car parks fill; late May, June and September suit the same beach with fewer people. The Balearic sustainable tourism tax is charged per person per night by the accommodation; rates vary with season, category and length of stay and children under 16 are exempt, so check the Govern de les Illes Balears before you travel.

Questions about Llucalari Nou