Cala Tirant

The colour of the water does the work here: bands of green and blue over pale sand, shifting as the bottom drops away. It is shallow and comes in without waves, so children can be let loose in it. Low vegetation runs down to the back of the sand, and behind that sits a lagoon fed by a small stream, with aquatic turtles living in it. From the sand the view runs across the bay to the beaches on the Fornells side. Cala Tirant does not rank among Menorca's celebrated beaches, and opinion on it divides.

• No facilities — no toilets, no drinking water and no information point at the beach or anywhere nearby.
• Shallow, still water — it comes in without waves, which is what makes the bay work for children.
• Behind the sand — a lagoon and a small stream draining the wetland to the south, with aquatic turtles in it.
• Nothing here in the rain — sand, water and a wooden path, with no shelter and nothing indoors.

Cars get to the bay itself. From Es Mercadal the drive runs out on the Me-15 towards Fornells or on the Cf-3 towards Cap de Cavalleria, and the turn-offs down to the beach are signposted. Two car parks lie about 600 m away in a straight line, so the last stretch is on foot, and a wooden path takes you the final part of the way onto the sand. There are stops at Carrer de S'Alcor, about 560 m out, and Carrer de Dalt, about 780 m. Fill a bottle before you set off — there is no drinking water here, and no toilets either.

Best: early in the morning or from late afternoon on, and outside the peak of the season.

Avoid: the middle of an August day, and a wet one in any month.

The island is at its fullest in August and the sand has no shade to retreat into when the sun is overhead; in rain there is nothing to do at a bay like this one.