A sheltered bay with a wild coast outside it
Fornells sits on a long inlet that behaves like a lake, which is exactly why the sailing businesses cluster there: two of them share the same Paseo Marítimo address, and the village is the gateway to the northern marine reserve. The bay is calm enough for a first sail; the coast beyond it is not, and that contrast is the whole appeal.
Once you clear the mouth you are on the north coast proper — red and black rock, sand that runs from copper to grey, and coves reachable by very little else. Menorca has been a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 1993, and the water these boats cross is the northern marine reserve.
The trip, and what decides it
The standard half day is about 3.5 hours under sail, covering anything between Cala Pregonda and Cala Mongofre depending on the wind, with sunset departures running roughly 19:00 to 21:15 in season. Note the phrasing that every honest boat here uses: the route is a wind decision. The Tramuntana is the island’s operating constraint, and skippers adapt routes daily to wind and sea rather than committing to a cove in advance.
Boats from this base stay small. The small-group catamaran caps its trips at 10 guests, which is why it can work the tighter reserve anchorages — you are not queueing for the ladder.
What it costs, honestly
Shared north-coast catamaran trips sit around €45 to €65 per person for the half day, with a full-day sailing trip at about €115 per person. Taken privately, the same boats are quoted from about €570 for a half day and about €1,100 for a full day, with another private catamaran listed from about €660. Children are priced by age band rather than free — one north-coast catamaran runs a child rate for under-12s.
Season, and booking
Peak is May to October, with the true high band from late June to early September and cheaper shoulder weeks either side. Early and late season on this coast are lovely and less reliable in the same breath — you get emptier water and a higher chance of the wind rewriting the plan.
Cancellation terms are set per boat and differ a lot: the Fornells small-group catamaran cancels free up to 48 hours ahead and not after, while other island boats run sliding scales that begin a month out and refund the deposit in full when weather is the cause.
Who runs it
The boats and the skippers belong to licensed local businesses. We take your dates, find what is genuinely free, confirm the detail directly and stay your contact. Charter registration is verified with each business directly, because Balearic operators do not publish registry numbers on their websites the way some other markets do. Life-jacket sizing is not published by anyone here, so children’s buoyancy aids are confirmed boat by boat rather than assumed.
More of the island on the Menorca overview, the shared version of this trip on the north-coast boat tour, and the road in on the airport transfer to Fornells. Request availability with your dates and how many are sailing.