Cala Santa Galdana, often called the 'Queen of the Playas', is the centrepiece of the last group of beaches on the south coast. It is a half-circle of white sands and crystal-clear emerald water, sheltered from the north by rugged cliffs clad in pine, and embraced by noble headlands. Until a few years ago it was a solitary place, but now has several large hotels and is crowded in summer. Some Minorcans are not too happy about what they have done, and think the 'Queen' should abrogate her title.
The largest permanent stream on the island enters the sea at Galdana, after traversing its greatest barranca - the Barranca of Algendar. The Moors knew and used the shelter of Santa Galdana, which they named Guad-al-Anna, this name being later corrupted in Christian times to its present one, although there is no saint of that name.
Galdana's attendant beaches are Cala Mitjana and Trebaluger, to the east, and Macarella and Macarelleta farther west. These can be reached on foot through the pinewoods which here reach to the edge of the cliffs. Trebaluger is the least accessible, and has a Robinson Crusoe quality, with a two-roomed cave beside its pink sands, and a brook of fresh water running past one's 'door'. The scene seems unchanged since antiquity.
Cala Mitjana, incredibly blue and scintillating, to which one clambers down through rocks and pine, is small and intimate. Beyond it lies a larger arm to which one can swim. The twin calas of Macarella and Macarelleta are so close that one can also swim from one to the other, or traverse the prehistoric rock steps in the intervening cliff. In medieval times these beaches were the favourite hide-outs of Barbary pirates raiding the island.

The western end
The western end of the island is less attractive than the south, and like the extreme east is rather flat and bare. Its main feature is the island's second town, Ciudadela, which is as strongly Spanish in architecture and character as Mahon is British. The one provides a pleasing contrast to the other.
Ciudadela has a modest harbour some 1,000m in length. There are several small beaches in the vicinity notably Santandria and Cala Blanca. Near the latter are the notable Caves of Parella, which have stalagmites and stalactites, and a small underground lake. The more distant beaches of Cala Turqueta, . Arenal de Son Saura and Cala Bosch lie to the south. 
Cala Turqueta is rated highly by many visitors, and still undeveloped.
 

THE CONTRASTING NORTH

In general the northern coastline is more indented and the cliff scenery more majestic and impressive than in the south. It receives the full blast of the tramontana, and in winter the spray can rise hundreds of feet in a white mist above distant headlands. 

The finest view in Minorca or of it is from the lighthouse a the tip of the long, finger-like promontory of Cap Cavalleria, looking south across the island. This is the island's most northerly point. In the immediate foreground is a little bay that is the forgotten Phoenician and Roman port of Sanitja, and beyond it an expanse of sea and cliff scenery on both sides, with a background of the whole of the island's hills, panoramic and breathtaking.

Fornells
With the exception of the fishing village of Fornells in the bay of the same name, the north coast, like the south, has no township though several urbanizations. Fornells has been a fixed centre of population for centuries on account of its port, which is almost as long as Port Mahon and wider. The Bay of Fornells (pronounced 'Forneys') is 5km long and 2km wide, but is shallower than Port Mahon, and difficult to navigate. The village is situated near its mouth on the west bank of the bay. Apart from a row of palm trees on the quay, it is reminiscent of Cornwall, with its fishing craft and lobster creels, and attracts. artists and lovers of boats.
On the headland beyond the village stood the ancient castle of Fornells, now in ruins. In 1741 it was a square fort with four bastions and curtain walls, large enough inside to have houses bordering on a square, to accommodate a small garrison with stores and ammunition. Fornells was a secondary invasion port in the first British expedition against Minorca in 1708.
In the bay is the Ille de Ses Sargantanes ('Lizard Island'), which like the isle of Aire in the south, has a subspecies of reptile peculiar to it.

Beaches and lakes
The north has several magnificent beaches, and many more tiny ones which have to be sought out. The major ones include Binimel-La, lying to the west of Fornells, and Arenal de Son Saura and Arenal d' en Castell to the east. All of these are backed by sand dunes. Cala Tirant and Binimel-La have small lagoons. They have all  been developed for tourists and are approached by good roads.