Cala Bona y Mar Blava

About Cala Bona y Mar Blava

Cala Bona y Mar Blava suits couples and small families who want a simple base close to Ciutadella, the old capital of Menorca. The two-star hotel stands on Avenida Del Mar, about 1.1 km from the old town on a straight line, so the cathedral, the palaces and the narrow port are reachable on foot in the evening. It is a practical west-coast address rather than a resort in its own right.

Cala Bona y Mar Blava is rated two stars and has a guest score of 4.7/5 from 786 reviews. Expect a small hotel with an outdoor pool, a terrace and a bar rather than a large complex. Breakfast is available and free wifi is listed. Evenings belong to Ciutadella, 1.1 km away, where the old town stays open well outside the summer season, unlike the resorts along the coast.

Location: Ciutadella

Ciutadella was the capital of Menorca before Maó took over, and its centre still holds the island's cathedral, palaces and narrow port. Cala Bona y Mar Blava has an address on Avenida Del Mar, 1.1 km from that centre on a straight line, close enough for guests to walk in for dinner and take a taxi back afterwards. The town keeps its shops and restaurants going through the year.

Wheels make the coast easier. Cala Turqueta is 9.2 km away and Cala Galdana 12.2 km, both straight-line figures along winding lanes, and the car parks at the popular southern coves fill early. The Naveta des Tudons is 4.9 km off, Es Mercadal and Monte Toro 22 km, and Maó port 38.4 km at the far side of the island. In July and August Ciutadella is lively late into the evening; May, June and September are calmer.

Rooms and facilities

Bedrooms at Cala Bona y Mar Blava are listed with air conditioning, a fan, a desk, a TV, a radio, a refrigerator and a minibar, plus a hairdryer. Non-smoking rooms are available and a cot can be requested, which suits couples and parents of small children. The hotel also lists a safe, a smoke detector and security features, useful if you travel with a laptop or camera.

Breakfast is served at Cala Bona y Mar Blava and coffee is listed, so an early departure for the coves need not start hungry. Free wifi and internet access help with checking bus times or booking a table in Ciutadella. Car rental service, laundry service and luggage storage are listed too, handy if you arrive before your room is ready or leave late on a ferry. Confirm with the hotel which rooms take a cot, whether the pool is open during your stay, and the current check-in and check-out times.

Getting there

Menorca Airport (MAH) is 35.8 km from Cala Bona y Mar Blava on a straight line, near Maó at the eastern end of the island. The drive crosses Menorca from east to west, and a hire car collected at the airport is the straightforward choice with luggage. A taxi is quicker after a late landing. Bus services are more frequent in summer; check the island bus operator for times that fit your arrival.

Maó port, where the overnight ferries from Barcelona dock, is 38.4 km from Cala Bona y Mar Blava. Ciutadella has its own ferry link with Alcúdia on Mallorca, which lands much closer to the hotel. Crossings and flights thin out in winter, so a spring or autumn trip may offer fewer departures to choose from. Tell Cala Bona y Mar Blava if you expect to arrive late.

Beaches, sights and food nearby

Ciutadella old town at dusk is 1 km from Cala Bona y Mar Blava, and the walk is the best value evening on this coast: the cathedral square, the palace streets and the port where the sun drops behind the harbour mouth. The Naveta des Tudons, a boat-shaped prehistoric tomb on the road to Maó, is 4.9 km away. Cala Turqueta, 9.2 km off, is white sand under pine.

Menorcan cooking follows the water and the island's British century. Caldereta de llagosta, the lobster stew tied to Fornells in the north, turns up on menus around Ciutadella, and the local cheese, Mahón-Menorca, has a protected designation of origin, sold in markets and shops. The 18th-century British garrison left Maó its Georgian windows and a taste for gin that outlasted the troops. Ciutadella's market and bakeries keep normal hours through the year.

A day from Cala Bona y Mar Blava

Leave Cala Bona y Mar Blava early and drive the 9.2 km to Cala Turqueta before the car park fills; the southern coves are why many visitors base themselves in Ciutadella. Stop at the Naveta des Tudons, 4.9 km from the hotel, on the way back for a short walk around the prehistoric tomb, part of the Talayotic Menorca World Heritage listing. Lunch in town, then the pool terrace while the afternoon heat passes.

Late afternoon is for Ciutadella: walk the 1.1 km from Avenida Del Mar into the old town and follow the cathedral, the palaces and the port as the light goes. Dinner in the centre, then a taxi back if you prefer not to walk. A second morning can take the 22 km to Es Mercadal and the sanctuary on Monte Toro, about 358 m, with both coasts in view, or the 12.2 km to Cala Galdana.

Practical tips

Outside July and August the island quietens, and many hotels, beach bars, boat trips and seasonal buses close roughly from November to April; confirm Cala Bona y Mar Blava's opening dates with the hotel before booking a winter stay. In Ciutadella the old town fills after dark in July and August. Ciutadella's hotels, Cala Bona y Mar Blava among them, charge the Balearic sustainable tourism tax per person per night, with rates that depend on the accommodation and season, which are lower in low season, and children under 16 are exempt; check the Govern de les Illes Balears.

Questions about Cala Bona y Mar Blava