Binimel-La

Put a mask on and the reason to swim here is obvious: rock formations lie under the surface a little way out, and the water over them is clear enough to read them from above. Behind the beach there is a pool of turtles and crabs, and the turtles come to the edge to look over whoever is standing there.

Sea grass washes up along the waterline, and there is still plenty of dry sand to sit on. Few people stop at Binimel-La for the whole day — most walk on from here to Pregonda Beach, and the beach works as much as a starting point as a destination.

• The walk in. Both car parks sit a few hundred metres back from the water, and the nearer of them is for customers only. Come early.
• Sea grass on the sand. Drifts of it lie along the waterline; there is still plenty of dry sand to sit on.
• Flooding. Heavy rain floods the beach completely.
• Nothing to drink. No water point and no information point within 800 m — bring what you need. Toilets are about 190 m away.
• Food. A seafood restaurant backs the beach.

Arrival is by road and the last part is on foot. Two gravel car parks lie within roughly 500 m: the nearer one, about 320 m away, is restricted to customers, and the other, about 486 m away, is open to anyone. From either, the rest of the way is walked, and that stretch is the part worth planning for — come early.

No bus comes here. The nearest stops, Carrer de Dalt and Carrer de S’Alcor, sit close to 5 km away in a straight line, so a car or a bike is the way in. From the beach itself, the coast walk carries on to Pregonda Beach.

Best: early in the day.

Avoid: the day of heavy rain and just after.

Coming early gets the walk in from the car park done before anything else, and the nearer of the two car parks is the one you want. Heavy rain floods the beach completely, and there is nothing else to do here in the wet.