The New York Times has listed the island as one of the top places to visit in 2010, and comment:

While the beat of disco pounds in Ibiza and Majorca, their quiet sister Minorca offers a tranquil contrast to the glitz next door. The entire island is a Unesco Biosphere Reserve, so the Spanish megahotel development frenzy of the last decade has largely skipped over this patch of the Mediterranean. That means miles of beaches —some 120 of them, in fact, like the northern sweep of crystal-clear swimming waters in the coves called Cala d’Algaiarens, with fine sand and rolling dunes. And Minorca’s eco-diversity extends well beyond the coasts: forests, deep gorges, wetlands, salt marshes and hillsides covered in lush greenery that sometimes look more New England than Mediterranean. Even the island’s sun-bleached towns — Mahón and Ciutadella, each combining elements of their British colonial heritage, Moorish roots and modern Spanish identity — are more peaceful than their Majorcan equivalents.

The ideal visit to Minorca celebrates islanders’ emphasis on agritourism — sleeping in rural establishments like Ca Na Xini (www.canaxini.com), a dairy farm that offers an eight-room temple to modernism inside the shell of a century-old manor home. It’s like spring break for eco-conscious adults. — Sarah Wildman

For more information about Minorca including the latest weather visit http://www.yourmenorca.net/weather

In 2009 when Menorca and other holiday destinations need good news to remind tourists why they should visit, three hotels have helped with some good publicity.

Menorca is well known in Europe as an ideal island for villa holidays - of the three Balearic Islands it’s quieter than both Majorca and Ibiza, and is popular with families looking to spend quality time together, and part of Menorca’s appeal are the family friendly restaurants and beaches.

So the fact that Menorca has been recognised for her hotels as well as traditional villa holidays is welcome at a time when the holidays market is battling the recession to keep the tourists flying in for a week or two’s Menorca holidays.

The Hotel Apartments Princesa Playa in Cala en Bosc is named as one of the world’s best family hotels - reinforcing the Menorca holidays image as one of being family friendly.

The other two Menorca hotels that get a mention in the European best hotels category are the Blanc Palace in Sa Caleta and the Royal Son Bou in Son Bou - both previously not particularly well known of all the hotels in Menorca.

Son Bou where the Royal is located is home to the largest and, for many visitors, best beach on Menorca, accessible via a tunnel down the road from Alaior. This resort has two hotels at the eastern end. With just shy of two kilometers of beach bars, there is no shortage of opportunity for fun. For the more modest holidaymaker, note that the farther west you go on this beach, the more scantily dressed the beach-goers are. It is perhaps not a good choice for a family holiday, but an ideal spot for couples or a group of friends.

But while Son Bou is a popular area, for small island Menorca has a surprisingly diverse range of villages to suit different holidaymakers depending uponwhat they are looking for.

Not far from Son Bou is Santa Tomas for example. The beach area in Santo Thomas offers popular busier stretches and quaint hideaways. At a couple of miles long, it’s never overcrowded and offers protection with its surrounding sand dunes. The beach, patrolled for safety, is long and narrow. It offers an excellent swimming habitat, fine sand and warm surf. Scenic countryside and woods provide a backdrop to the sand and the Mediterranean.

S’Algar is a small resort located on the southeast coast of Menorca, a short distance from the capital of Menorca Mahon and Sant Lluis. This is a ‘purpose-built’ holidays resort, and it is very well cared for and offers a good selection of accommodation, which includes two large hotels, several apartment complexes and some privately owned villas. You’ll also find a fair number of bars and restaurants along with a variety of shops. If you want to be active during your Menorcan resort holiday and not just lounge around, S’Algar has a host of sports facilities for you to enjoy. There is no beach here, however. You’ll have to travel to Cala Alcaufar, about a 15 minute walk.

Punta Prima is another popular Menorca village and has several hostels, hotels, apartments and villas to rent and a good selection of bars and restaurants for the convenience of its visitors. Unlike some of the other resorts in Menorca, Punta Prima also has two supermarkets and car rental facilities. If you are looking for a beach, you’ll find a beautiful one at Punta Prima, but be wary of the currents - they can be very strong at times. Take note of the warning flags that will alert you to the safety conditions of the water.

Binibeca Village is a beautiful, quiet resort consisting of Cala Torret in the east and Binebeca Vell to the west. This resort consists of all low rise apartments and villas and offers no high rise accommodation. The area around Binibeca has a variety of high quality bars, restaurants and stores.

But wherever you choose to spend Menorca holidays these days it appears that the hotels are giving the villas a run for their money at last!

Having a holiday with a baby is no longer as hard as it used to be as many travel companies have better trained staff than they used to, but it helps to be prepared.

Many holiday destinations across the globe now offer baby friendly vacations. When taking a holiday with a baby, the most important part of choosing the right accommodation is finding something that meets your standards.

Babies may not care where they stay, but you need to ensure that their environment is smoke free and sanitary. There are some things that must be considered before making a destination choice however.

Some of the most important ones are: * Ascertaining health requirements for travel with a child, such as making sure your child is properly immunised. Once the decision is made to travel with a baby, check with the child’s pediatrician to find out what vaccinations are needed if you’re going outside of Europe or the US, Australia and Canada.

Some countries require that young children have particular types of vaccines before leaving. Do this early so that you can get it out of the way and move on to planning your trip. And if you’re going somewhere that a baby - and you - require injections to ensure your health, who is this holiday for? Are you putting your own needs before your baby’s? Can’t that exotic holiday wait a few years and be a lower priority than your children for a while?

* Make sure that you have a medical kit handy when travelling with babies and children. This is especially important if the baby has a special medical condition like asthma. Since you may need a special permit to travel with some types of medications, plan ahead. Call your travel agency or check with your tour operator such as Thomas Cook or ask your child’s doctor for information.

* Pack light for your baby. There is no need to take every piece of toy or clothing. In fact you may find that buying a few things when you arrive may be easier. * Determine early on whether you will take the baby as a “lap passenger” or get an extra seat. Most children under three can sit in a parent’s lap on an airplane. Call the airlines or check with companies like expedia and make inquiries regarding different airlines policy on carrying children on flights. * When vacationing with a baby, don’t try to do everything that is on the list of “must see” and “must do.” Take time to enjoy without making yourself or your baby overly tired.

If you live in the U.S. there are many vacation spots in the U.S. that offer baby friendly vacation options. Two that come immediately to mind are Florida and Hawaii. With their tropical climate, great beaches and numerous natural attractions, these locations have something for everyone. With themes parks like Disney World and Sea World, Orlando, Florida is a hit with children and the adults travelling with them. Many of the hotels are now marketed as family friendly resorts. They have nannies and babysitting facilities to take the little ones off your hands while you enjoy the nightlife or just take some time for yourselves.

Europe also has a number of locations where babies and children are welcome. One popular spot is Menorca, the second largest of the Balearic Islands. This Mediterranean isle caters to the entire family and actually markets its tourism product as such.

 Menorca holidays are great as it’s a quiet peaceful island, but still has a full range of holiday amenities, and a lot of the Menorca hotels are designed with children in mind.

Quite a few Menorca beaches are ones that gently slope into the Mediterranean, great for paddling with the little ones! And if you live in the UK flights to Menorca are only a couple of hours - a good choice for a first family holiday perhaps.

Finally, there are companies that can help make traveing with children easier. These companies specialise in shipping whatever you need for babies and children to you at your holiday location. They ship to almost any country in the world. This minimises the amount of things you need to pack and take with you. This service is especially helpful if you are holidaying with more than one child far from home.

One such company is Babies Travel Lite. They send food, clothing and just about anything else you will need for your child. While this may seem an expensive option, in some instances the convenience is worth the price to help make your first family holiday one to remember. Babies Travel Lite appear to serve the North American tourist more than European ones, but they can be visited at Babies Travel Lite

Summer holidays in Menorca are enchanting for the whole family, and with Europe in recession the island will be hoping that previous visitors will remember just how good a summer Menorca holiday can be.

Not as many people will be taking a holiday in 2009 than last year, and the Menorca holidays industry is keeping its fingers crossed that their main British market won’t be holding back on visiting the holiday island this summer.

Along with Germany, the UK provides most visitors to Menorca, and there are good reasons why both the British and Germans could be choosing Menorca if they do decide to take a holiday abroad.

Most visitors arrive either at Mahon Airport or in Mahon itself via a cruise ship. Mahon is the capital of Menorca. Its deep sea green and blue water harbour contrast delightfully with its white sand beaches, making Mahon both picturesque and perfect for leisure and recreation on the beach.

Mahon is rife with splendid hotels and fine restaurants, clubs and bars.  However, tourists who want to experience more of Menorca often spend time at Son Bou or Cala en Porter for their holidays in Menorca

These two resort developments are on the island’s central southern coast. It is about a 30 minute drive from the airport in Mahon. 

Only a short distance away from these is the resort of Santo Tomas in the district of Migjorn Gran which is also well worth a visit for holidayymakers.

The beach area in Santo Thomas offers popular busier stretches and quaint hideaways. At two miles long, it’s rarely crowded and offers protection with its surrounding sand dunes. The beach, patrolled for safety, is long and narrow. It offers an excellent swimming habitat, fine sand and warm surf. Scenic countryside and woods provide a backdrop to the sand and the Mediterranean waters.

All three of these resorts feature gorgeous beaches - in fact, Son Bou boasts the longest beach on the island, with an astounding two miles of white sand for visitors to enjoy.

Although the scenery and terrain may be enough in itself to keep holidaymakers busy during their holidays in Menorca - Menorca is also rich in culture and history.

This is visible in its renowned collection of ancient stone monoliths which bear tales of prehistoric times.  Although Menorca has been a territory of Spain for over 200 years, there is still much evidence of its British roots - some English style architectural influences are still apparent even after the passage of centuries.

Menorca will be hoping that British tourists who have been to the island before remember just how good it is, and decide to take a holiday in Menorca whatever the economic forecast is for the summer.