A Perfect Day in Es Grau, Menorca: The Beach, the Island, and the Long Lunch

SpainTravel
Written By Ashley

Everything in this guide comes from a Menorca trip we paid for ourselves. No comps, no press rates. Just what we'd tell a friend.

The verdict: Es Grau is the best family beach day in Menorca, and it was one our favorite days of our week long trip. It's a horseshoe bay of white houses and fishing boats fifteen minutes north of Mahón, sitting inside the S'Albufera des Grau natural park at the core of the island's UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The water stays ankle deep for a very long way out, which makes it genuinely relaxing with small kids. Rent a kayak on the sand and paddle twenty minutes to Illa d'en Colom, the offshore island with two white beaches you can only reach by water. Then lunch at Tamarindos, a drink under the tamarind trees at its beach bar, and a look through the village shops on the walk back. That's the whole day, and you don't need to plan any of it, except a reservation at Tamarindos on a summer day.

Why Es Grau

Es Grau is a working fishing village that never got developed, and the reason is legal rather than lucky. It sits inside S'Albufera des Grau, the natural park that forms the core of Menorca's UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, so the building stopped where the protection started. You get a couple of streets of low whitewashed houses, llaüts pulled up on the sand, a freshwater lagoon and pine woods behind the dunes, and no hotel strip at all.

The beach itself is a wide horseshoe facing east, sheltered at its mouth by Illa d'en Colom, which kills almost all the swell. The water is shallow for well over a hundred feet out and stays that way. If you have travelled with a three year old and spent the whole beach day standing waist deep with your heart in your throat, you will understand why this matters. At Es Grau you can sit down.

There's a second half to the beach past a rocky outcrop where the sea floor drops off and the rocks make for good snorkeling, so older kids and adults have somewhere to go too. That split is the thing that makes Es Grau work across ages, and it's why we'd send families here before any of the famous south coast calas.

One practical note that shapes the day: you park in the village and walk in. There's no beachfront parking, the lots fill by mid morning in August, and the walk is short. Come early, or come after three when the first wave of traffic leaves.

Kayaking to Illa d'en Colom

Illa d'en Colom is the large uninhabited island at the mouth of the bay, 58 hectares of scrub and rock rising about 49 meters out of the water, and it's part of the same protected park. On its sheltered western side are two white sand beaches, Arenal d'en Moro and Es Tamarells, and there is no road, no path from land, and no facilities of any kind. The only way there is across the water.

Kayak Es Grau sits right on the beach and rents singles and doubles by the hour, in the region of 12 euros for a single and 20 for a double, with life jackets, a whistle and a dry bag included. They'll let you leave your things with them, which removes the one logistical problem with the whole plan. Two hours is comfortably enough to paddle across, swim, and come back. Menorca en Kayak operates from the village too and runs guided trips if you'd rather be led, and there's a taxi boat from the pier at around 41 euros a head if nobody wants to paddle.

The crossing is short and the water is flat, but read it honestly before you go. The gap is narrow at the closest point and the paddle is about twenty minutes at an unhurried pace, well within reach of a reasonably fit adult with a child in the front of a double. It is still open water in a protected marine area with boat traffic in August. Go in the morning when the bay is glassiest, check with the rental staff about wind before you push off, and don't attempt it on a day when the tramuntana is up. Take water and take shade, because there is nothing on the island at all.

What you get for the effort is a nearly empty beach, even in the height of summer.

Lunch at Tamarindos

Tamarindos is the reason to stay for the afternoon rather than driving off at noon. It sits right on the water at the village end of the beach, and the terrace looks straight out across the bay to Illa d'en Colom, which means you eat lunch looking at where you spent the morning.

The cooking is Mediterranean and seafood led, rice dishes and fish of the day and good local wine by the glass. We loved the paella dishes. It's expensive for what a village restaurant looks like from the outside, but you're paying partly for the position. And the tables are not equal; the ones near the water are a different experience from the ones tucked at the back, so book ahead and ask for the terrace rather than turning up at one and hoping. It's open through the day, roughly noon to late, which makes a long lunch that slides into the afternoon entirely possible.

For something looser, the Tamarindos beach bar at the entrance to the village is the better call. It's a separate, far more casual space shaded by actual tamarind trees, and it's built for a cold beer in a swimsuit, a sandwich, or a sunset drink with sand still on everyone. You can order food to take back onto the beach, which with kids is often the answer. We did both on the same day and would again: bar first, restaurant later.

The village has a couple of other options if both are full, including Bar Es Moll down by the pier, which is the local end of the spectrum and completely fine. Our full best restaurants in Menorca guide covers the island's stronger tables if you're building a whole trip's worth of dinners.

The Shopping

Nobody expects shopping in a village this small, and it's genuinely good. Sa Botigueta d'Es Grau is the one to find, a family-run little shop on the main lane selling linen and cotton pieces, dresses, sarongs and bags, with a small menswear edit too. The quality is well above beach shop standard and the prices are reasonable for what it is. There's also a small craft shop in the village selling local ceramics and jewelry, which is the better souvenir stop than anything you'll find in a resort town.

It takes fifteen minutes and it slots neatly into the walk back from the beach to the car. For the island's serious shopping, which is almost entirely in Mahón, our best shops in Menorca guide maps the full route.

es grau beach in menorca spain

Making It a Full Day

A day here should be simple. Arrive by nine thirty or ten and park before the lots fill. Beach and swimming for the first stretch, shallow end with little kids and the far side past the rocks for snorkeling. Kayak across to Illa d'en Colom late morning while the water is calm. Back for a drink at the beach bar, then lunch at Tamarindos on the terrace. Shops on the walk out, and if anyone still has energy, the marked trails through S'Albufera des Grau behind the beach are flat, easy and full of birdlife, with a visitor center on the road in from Mahón.

Pair it with Mahón and you have a strong two day plan for the east side of the island. Our Mahón guide covers the markets, the gin distillery and the Hauser & Wirth gallery on Illa del Rei, and the drive between the two is fifteen minutes. If you're travelling with children, our Menorca with kids guide has the wider island picture, from night markets to the watersports bay up at Fornells.

Where to Stay

There's essentially nothing to book in Es Grau itself beyond holiday rentals, which is a feature rather than a flaw. You base elsewhere and drive in.

We stayed at Torre Vella Fontenille near Alaior, about twenty-five minutes away and still our favorite place on the island, along with its sister property Santa Ponsa Fontenille on the same estate. If you'd rather be in town, Cristine Bedfor in Mahón puts you fifteen minutes out. The full ranked list, including Son Vell and Villa Le Blanc, is in our guide to the best hotels in Menorca. Expect the island's best properties to start in the mid hundreds per night in high season and climb sharply through July and August, and expect them to sell out by early spring.

Best Time to Visit and Book

Es Grau works from May through October, and June and September are the best of it. The water is warm, the kayak rentals are running, Tamarindos is open, and you can park without strategy. July and August are busy by Es Grau standards, which still means quiet by south coast standards, but the parking is the constraint and it binds by ten in the morning.

Mornings beat afternoons for the kayak, always. The bay is flattest early and the wind tends to build through the day, and this is a north-facing coast where the tramuntana decides things. Book Tamarindos ahead in peak weeks and ask for a water-side table when you do. The kayaks generally don't need booking, though a guided trip does.

Outside the summer season much of the village shuts, and the beach becomes a walk rather than a swim. That's a lovely thing in its own right if you're on the island in spring, and the park trails are at their best in April and May.

FAQ: Es Grau, Menorca

Is Es Grau worth visiting? Yes, and it's the best family beach day on the island. The bay is exceptionally shallow and sheltered, the village is a protected fishing settlement rather than a resort, and Illa d'en Colom gives you a proper adventure without leaving the bay.

Can you kayak to Illa d'en Colom from Es Grau? Yes. Kayaks rent on Es Grau beach and the paddle takes roughly twenty minutes each way in calm conditions. The island has two sandy beaches on its sheltered side, Arenal d'en Moro and Es Tamarells, and no facilities at all, so bring water and shade. Go in the morning and check the wind before you set out. A taxi boat runs from the pier if you'd rather not paddle.

Is Es Grau beach good for toddlers? It's the best on the island for them. The water stays ankle to knee deep for well over a hundred feet, the bay is protected by the offshore island so there's almost no swell, and the sand is soft. The far side of the rocky outcrop gets deeper for older swimmers and snorkelers.

Where should you eat in Es Grau? Tamarindos is the sit-down lunch or dinner, right on the water with a view across to Illa d'en Colom. Reserve and ask for a terrace table. Its beach bar at the village entrance is the casual version, good for a beer, a sandwich or a sunset drink, and it does takeaway you can eat on the sand.

How far is Es Grau from Mahón? About ten kilometers, so fifteen to twenty minutes by car. You need a car; bus service is limited. Park in the village lots and walk down to the beach, and come before ten in August or the lots will be full.

What is S'Albufera des Grau? The natural park behind the beach, a freshwater lagoon and wetland system that forms the core zone of Menorca's UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. It has flat marked walking trails and a visitor center, and it's why Es Grau was never built up.

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