The resorts of Cala'n Porter and its nearest neighbour Son Bou are the largest coastal developments of the municipal district of Alaior, along the central south coast of Menorca.

At a little over 12km, or 8 miles, the transfer into the resort from the international Aeropuerto de Menorca, is possibly one of the shortest on the island, and should usually take no more than 15 minutes from the time you leave the airport grounds.

If you are one of those brave souls who prefer to hire a car at the airport and make your own way into the resort, driving to Cala'n Porter is very straightforward, once you've adjusted to driving on the "wrong side of the road".

One thing that you should also be aware of, is that in recent years the local Government has re-numbered most of the roads on Menorca, so make sure that you have an up to date map before setting out!

As with the other resorts on the island, we have put together the basic route for this journey, complete with links to maps where appropriate, and this is available from the Route Map link on the left hand frame of this page.

For the growing number of independent travellers who don't have the option of a tour operators coach transfer, and for whatever reason choose not to drive, there's always a large number of taxis available outside the arrivals hall.

Although in theory at least, these taxi all operate on a fixed price basis, the total cost of the journey is known to vary slightly, however as a very rough guide the transfer to Cala'n Porter should cost around 20€ for a taxi carrying 4 people plus luggage.

It's also worthwhile mentioning that as a rule, these taxis do not normally carry child seats, so very small children will have to sit on their parent's knees for the journey. If this is a cause for concern, we strongly recommend that you make arrangements for a pre-booked taxi to be waiting for you, and clearly specify at the time of booking that a child seat is needed for the journey. Pre-booked taxis are often a little more expensive, although as with all things in life, you only get what you pay for.

Once you are in the resort, and have settled in to your accommodation, the journey back into Mahon for shopping or sightseeing, is then fairly easy by public transport. During the summer months there's usually around 5 or 6 buses a day running into the capital, and once there, further connections are then available to travel further afield.

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 bus stop in town, and on the web site of the Transportes Menorca sa, who are the local bus operators on the island, although clearly no responsibility can be accepted as to either the content or accuracy of information provided on these external links.

The resort centre of Cala'n Porter, along with most of the holiday accommodation and amenities, sit proudly on the high cliffs overlooking the bay and beach area. The most direct route between to two is via a very steep set of 192 steps, and trust me on this I've counted them on more than one occasion.

Now if I was to devise a particularly cruel game for the TV show "Its a Knockout", it would involve a couple with a pushchair, a beach bag and an inflatable crocodile struggling up these steps in the full heat of the Menorcan day.

However, if you can't wait for it to appear on TV you'll be able to see the "live event" most summer weekday mornings, with a repeat performance from 4pm onwards for the return journey.

Once there, the beach is very large and being protected on three sides by the cliffs, does become a real suntrap during the summer. Behind the beach area is a small area of marshland which is home to a large family of ducks.

However, as with the ducks at the resort of Son Bou by around 11am each day every small child in the town has already tried to feed them, and they've usually disappeared into the reed beds for the rest of the day.

The resort of Cala'n Porter is recognised as being one of the largest developments on the south coast, and is often described by the major tour operators being "lively". By Menorcan standards it probably is, however, don't go expecting to find another Magaluf or Playa de las Americas here, Menorca just isn't like that, which for most people who holiday here is attraction enough.

As with most resorts on the island, evening entertainment here is mainly hotel based, however, during the summer months at least, Cala'n Porter does have a small number of lively bars, and at least one late night disco at the Cova d'en Xoroi, which we'll cover in more detail on our Attractions and Amenities pages.

Cala'n Porter is very popular with British visitors, and in recognition of the high number of private holiday villas' and self catering apartments in the town, the resort has a good selection of shops and SPAR type supermarkets that should cater for the everyday holiday essentials, with most also stocking a wide selection of UK recognised branded goods, albeit at slightly higher prices than you would normally expect to pay back home in the UK.

Looking now inland from the resort, the spiritual centre and highest point of the island Mount Toro, is clearly visible on most days, along with the 17th Century Sanctuary of the Mare de Déu del Toro, which is again something that we will endeavour to cover in more depth on our Attractions and Amenities pages.

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This website was launched on 1 May 2002

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