Illa d'en Colom
the wild north of Menorca you can only see from the sea

Illa d'en Colom and its two unspoilt beaches

Off Es Grau rises Illa d'en Colom, the largest islet of Menorca: some 58 uninhabited, protected hectares separated from the coast by a channel of calm water. Its treasure is a pair of twin west-facing beaches, Es Tamarells and s'Arenal d'en Moro: pale sand and turquoise water that no road will ever reach. You can only get there by sea, and that is exactly its magic.

Anchored off the sand, the channel's waters are shallow, crystal-clear and very sheltered: perfect for swimming to the shore, paddleboarding and snorkelling, or simply floating while you gaze at the island. If you're after more places like this, we have a whole guide to the coves of Menorca you can only reach by boat.

An island with history (and a lizard found nowhere else)

Silence reigns today, but Illa d'en Colom wasn't always this quiet. In 1785 it became a quarantine island: barracks, a hospital and even a cemetery were built to isolate crews that might carry epidemics across the Mediterranean, years before the great Lazaretto of Mahón harbour was built. Barely a few ruins remain among the vegetation.

Its current owners are of another kind: the island is home to the Colom wall lizard, a subspecies of the Balearic lizard (Podarcis lilfordi) with an olive-green back that exists nowhere else on the planet. If these endemic creatures fascinate you, its black cousin lives on Isla del Aire, in the south: we tell the story in our guide to Menorca's two secret islands.

The Sa Torreta tower and Cala Tamarells

On the mainland, right opposite the island, stands the Sa Torreta tower, a defence tower the British built between 1798 and 1802, during their last rule over Menorca. It keeps a delightful anecdote: next to the tower lived the dragoons, cavalry soldiers whose mission was to raise the alarm on foggy days, when the enemy couldn't be seen from above. Two centuries on, it still stands guard over Cala Tamarells, another unspoilt beach that completes the postcard.

Cala Tortuga and Cala Presili, the lighthouse's wild beaches

Heading north, two of Menorca's most beautiful unspoilt beaches appear: Cala Tortuga and Cala Presili. Fine sand, dunes, transparent water and, behind the beach, small lagoons where the natural park's birds take refuge. No beach bars, no umbrellas, no road: by land they can only be reached on foot along the Camí de Cavalls from the lighthouse area. By sea, you arrive barefoot: we anchor off the sand and the beach is yours. Cala Presili also offers one of the best views of the Favàritx lighthouse peeking over the dunes.

The Favàritx lighthouse, an almost lunar finale

And suddenly, the landscape changes planet. Cap de Favàritx is a tongue of black slate more than 290 million years old — some of the most ancient land in the Balearics — reaching into the sea without a single tree. On top of it, since 1922, stands the Favàritx lighthouse, the first in Menorca built entirely of concrete, defying the Tramontana wind with its black-and-white striped tower. Seen from the deck, with the dark rock gleaming in the sun, it's one of those route finales you never forget.