Accommodation
Menorca has a wide variety of hotels and apartments to suit all tastes and
budgets, and most are available through the larger UK tour operators. The
leading trade organisation on the island who represent many of these
establishments is the
Menorca Hoteliers Association,
and this is always a useful site for information that travel agents are
sometimes less eager to provide. Also it may be worth while checking the actual
location of your chosen hotel before booking, and if your accommodation is
towards the rear of a resort confirming that they provide a courtesy bus service
into the town centre.
Airport Transfers
Most UK tour operators now consider the transfer from the airport to your resort
accommodation to be an "optional extra" and will charge anything up to £20 per
person for the service. As an alternative, you may wish to consider the service
being offered by
Menorca Airport Transfers.
They offer to meet you outside the airport arrivals hall with a uniformed driver
displaying a greeting board with your name on it.
Banks
Most Banks are open from 9am to 2pm Monday to Friday. Always remember when
exchanging any form of money to take along your passport, check the exchange
rate before dealing, and collect a receipt before leaving the premises. For
those who feel nervous about carrying large sums of money and their passport
around together, most hotels will also gladly exchange money at perhaps a
slightly lower rate. Many Banks also have hole in the wall type cash machines
where you can withdraw money using either your credit or debit card. The
official currency of Spain is now the Euro.
Bars
There is always a wide variety of bars throughout all resorts, most of which
either offer live music, karaoke, Sky Sports, or videos of films not yet
released in the UK cinemas.
Buses
The local bus service is at best unreliable. So, if you want to travel outside
of the resort check if and when, the return bus runs or perhaps consider hiring
a car. On a number of occasions throughout the year, visitors to Menorca ask us
for details of bus timetables, however bitter experience has shown us that the
term "timetable" is sometimes too generous a term to best describe the time the
buses actually run, although these are published each year on the local bus
stops in resort, and on the web site of
Torres Alles Autocares sa,
who operate the west coast service around Ciutadella, and
Transportes Menorca sa
for the rest of the island.
Chemist
You can always spot a chemist shop by the green cross they all display. Outside
of normal opening hours, a notice on the door will always give the address of
the nearest duty chemist.
Doctor
If you require urgent medical assistance, 24 hour English speaking doctors are
available throughout the island. Salus provide a 24 hour free phone service on
900 711 711.
Electricity
The voltage in Menorca is 220 volt, although most British items will work with
the correct adaptor from the UK standard 3 pin to Spanish 2 pin socket.
Euro
The Euro is the name of the common currency of the 12 countries forming the
European Monetary Union. Since January 1999 Spain has been a member, and the UK
has opted out at this time. Euro notes are issued in 5, 10, 20, 50,100, 200 and
500 denominations and are identical in all member countries of the EMU. The
designs symbolise European architectural heritage but not royal or national
monuments. The coins are issued as 1, 2 and 5 cents and are copper in colour,
10, 20 and 50 cents yellow in colour and finally 1 and 2 Euros white and yellow
in colour. Although all the coins have a common European face, each member state
is allowed to stamp their own motif on the reverse face.
European Health Insurance Card (EHIC)
The European Health Insurance Card, which is often abbreviated to EHIC, replaced
the old E111 Form on 31 December 2005, and entitles British citizens to reduced
cost, or sometimes free, medical treatment that becomes necessary while you’re
in a European Economic Area country or Switzerland.
The EHIC is normally valid for three to five years and covers any medical
treatment that becomes necessary during your trip, because of either illness or
an accident. The card gives access to state-provided medical treatment only, and
you'll be treated on the same basis as an 'insured' person living in the country
you're visiting. Remember, this might not cover all the things you'd expect to
get free of charge from the NHS in the UK and you may have to make a
contribution to the cost of your care.
Although the EHIC also covers any treatment you need for a chronic disease or
pre-existing illness, it won't however cover you if getting medical treatment is
the main purpose of your trip.
If prior to 31 December 2005 you ticked the relevant box on the E111 application
form, an EHIC would have been automatically sent to you during January 2006,
however, for new applications they are also available from the
Department of Health web site,
by calling the EHIC Applications Line on 0845 606 2030, or alternatively by
completing an EHIC application pack from any local Post Office branch.
Fiesta Dates
Not an exact science, so don't book your holidays relying on the accuracy of
these dates:
January 17th |
Fiesta of Sant Antoni at
Ciutadella and Mahon. |
March |
The Alaior Country Fair. |
Thursday following Ash
Wednesday through to the following Tuesday |
Most of the larger towns on
Menorca celebrate their annual Carnival. |
Easter Sunday |
Matances de Bujots at Ciutadella. |
First Sunday of May |
The Menorcan Horse Fair at es
Mercadal. |
23rd - 24th of June |
Fiesta of Sant Joan in
Ciutadella. |
June 29th |
Fiesta of Sant Pere in the port
of Mahon. |
July 9th |
Fiesta of Any de sa Desgracia at
Ciutadella.
|
July 16th |
Fiesta de la Mare de Deu del
Carme at Fornells and Mahon.
|
Third or Fourth Sunday
of July |
Fiesta of Sant Marti in es
Mercadal.
|
Late July or early
August |
Fiesta of Sant Cristofol at es
Migjorn Gran.
|
First weekend after the
10th August |
Fiesta of Sant Llorenc in Alaior.
|
23rd - 25th of August |
Fiesta of Saint Bartomeu at
Ferreries. |
3rd weekend of August |
Fiesta at Sant Climent. |
The weekend closest to
August 25th |
Fiesta at Sant Lluis.
|
September 7th - 9th |
Fiesta of la Mare de Deu de
Gracia at Mahon.
|
Food
Restaurants in Menorca cater for a wide range of tastes. In the larger resorts
you can get anything from a traditional English breakfast to a Chinese take
away. Traditional Menorcan cuisine makes full use of the islands home grown
produce, pork, fish and vegetable dishes are very popular, flavoured with
garlic, tomato and herbs.
Getting Married in Menorca
Getting married in Menorca can be extremely complicated. In very simple terms,
if one of the partners has lived legally in either Menorca or Spain for at least
two years, then the civil marriage can be carried out at the local town hall,
followed by a religious ceremony in church or other approved location. However,
if neither of the partners fulfil the above residence requirements, then the
civil marriage will have to take place in their country of residency, followed
by a religious ceremony in church. In practical terms for UK citizens, this
usually means a civil marriage taking place in the local registry office in the
UK, which can then be followed by the religious ceremony on Menorca. For further
information on marriage in Menorca our two recommended points of contact are:
Wedding in Menorca
Buzon Concentrado 30
07740
Addaia
Menorca
Tel: +34 971 971 358 330
Web site:
www.weddinginmenorca.com
Email:
info@weddinginmenorca.com
or alternatively Beth Neslany at the Menorca Weddings web site at:
Web site:
www.menorcaweddings.com
Email:
info@menorcaweddings.com
Golf
The only golf course on Menorca is the Son Parc course which first opened in
1977. The course is open 365 days per year and visitors are always welcome. The
course has recently been extended, to a full 18 holes, to the designs of Dave
Thomas who is an ex Ryder Cup player, and architect of many other quality course
worldwide, including The Belfry courses and the San Roque on the Costa del Sol.
The course is set among beautiful wooded hills and is of championship quality,
and is ideal for both beginners and experienced golfers alike. An additional
hazard, or attraction of the course, is the flock of peacocks who live next ot
the third green. Contact details for more information and bookings are:
Golf Son Parc Menorca
Urbanizacion Son Parc
Es Mercadal
07703
Menorca
Telephone: +34 971 188 875
Fax: +34 971 359 591
Web site:
www.golfsonparc.com
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