General & Geography
According to abbreviationfinder, Menorca is an island of the Spanish Balearic Islands and is home to around 100,000 inhabitants on around 700 km². The Catalan name means “the smaller one” and refers primarily to the relationship to the much better known neighboring island of Mallorca.
Despite its comparatively small size, Menorca is a fascinating holiday island with impressive contrasts. The northernmost island of the Balearic Islands surprises with romantic old towns, craggy cliffs, bays lined with pine trees and sandy beaches like in the Caribbean.
While the northern part of Menorca (Tramuntana) offers ideal conditions, especially for surfers, the south is a true paradise for beach vacationers.
The capital of Menorca is the municipality of Maó with around 30,000 inhabitants, which astonishingly has the second largest natural harbor in the world after Sydney. In general, Menorca is a very green island with large forest areas and a lot of agricultural use.
Almost half of the island’s area is now under nature protection, and UNESCO has declared Menorca a biosphere reserve. Tourism has developed very gently compared to other Balearic Islands and therefore not only inspires classic beach holidaymakers, but also nature lovers in particular.
The journey is either by plane to Menorca International Airport near the capital Maó (Mahon) or by ferry connections to Palma and Alcúdia (both on Mallorca) as well as Valencia and Barcelona.
Climate in Menorca (Balearic Islands)
The island of Menorca has a typically Mediterranean climate, as it largely applies to the entire Mediterranean area. The summer months are warm to hot, there is only very seldom little rainfall. In general, significantly more rain falls in the rugged north of Menorca than in the south of the island, which is more important for tourism.
The temperatures in the south are usually up to 2 or 3 degrees higher than in the northern part of the island. Basically Menorca has the highest rainfall values in the Balearic Islands. Our climate table shows an annual value of an average of 550mm of rain on 66 rainy days – for comparison: Mallorca (406mm), Fuerteventura (427mm).
However, this is not a disadvantage at all, as the main travel season in particular remains quite dry and the precipitation ensures that Menorca is so impressively green and offers beautiful flora. The winter remains quite mild with daily values of 15 degrees, and there is usually no frost on Menorca at night.
When is the best time to visit Menorca?
In general, Menorca can be visited all year round, as the island is ideal for active holidaymakers even between late autumn and spring with appropriate clothing. However, some hotels are closed outside of the main season and open primarily between April and November.
The best travel time for Menorca begins with the significantly rising temperatures in May, the real bathing season with water temperatures of 20 to 25 ° C runs between June and October. We recommend June to the end of September as the absolute best time to visit the small Balearic island.
Temperatures, precipitation, sunshine
| Jan | Feb | March | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
| Daytime temperature | 14 ° C | 14 ° C | 16 ° C | 17 ° C | 21 ° C | 25 ° C | 28 ° C | 29 ° C | 26 ° C | 22 ° C | 18 ° C | 15 ° C |
| Night temperature | 8 ° C | 8 ° C | 8 ° C | 10 ° C | 13 ° C | 17 ° C | 20 ° C | 21 ° C | 19 ° C | 15 ° C | 11 ° C | 9 ° C |
| Water temperature | 14 ° C | 13 ° C | 14 ° C | 14 ° C | 17 ° C | 20 ° C | 23 ° C | 25 ° C | 23 ° C | 21 ° C | 18 ° C | 15 ° C |
| Precipitation in mm | 59 | 47 | 42 | 48 | 37 | 14 | 3 | 22 | 48 | 81 | 85 | 64 |
| Rainy days | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Hours of sunshine | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 |
| Sunrise | 8:05 | 7:35 | 6:55 | 7:05 | 6:30 | 6:15 | 6:25 | 6:55 | 7:25 | 7:55 | 7:30 | 8:00 |
| Sunset | 17:45 | 18:20 | 18:50 | 20:20 | 20:50 | 21:15 | 21:10 | 20:40 | 19:55 | 19:05 | 17:30 | 17:20 |
Temperatures
The annual average temperature is 16.9 ° C. For comparison: Munich reaches an average of 8.6 ° C, in Berlin it is 9.6 ° C. The warmest month is August (25 ° C), coldest month of January with mean values of 10.8 ° C. The maximum water temperature is 25 ° C. Comfortable bathing is possible at these temperatures. The months of May, June, July, August, September, October and November have a water temperature of at least 17 ° C. Bathing is then possible to a limited extent. The months of July, August, September and October have a water temperature of at least 21 ° C and are therefore suitable for a beach holiday.
Precipitation
The annual precipitation is 550 mm on 66 days with precipitation. For comparison: In Munich, 967 mm, in Berlin 570 mm, precipitation is measured annually. There is no rainy season, i.e. months with more than 175 mm of precipitation. Snowfall is generally not expected in any month.
Sunshine
As our climate table shows, July is the sunniest month with an average of 11.4 hours of sunshine per day. The average annual sunshine is 7.4 hours per day. For comparison: In Munich and Berlin, the sun shines an average of 4.7 hours per day throughout the year.
Menorca weather in March, April and May
Average daily temperatures between 16 ° C and 21 ° C can be expected over the next three months. In Menorca it gets warmest in May, while March is a little cooler.
Do you want to go on a beach holiday? The water temperatures are in March, April and May 14-17 ° C.
In March, at about days 7 expected precipitation in April at about 7 days, and in May at about 5 days.
In the period from March to May , the sun shines an average of 7 to 9 hours a day. The sunniest weather is in May in Menorca, with less sun you will have to get along in March.
