Fornells

About this spot

The Bay of Fornells is a 3 km long, narrow inlet cut into Menorca's rugged north coast, with the village of Fornells at its mouth and the bay narrowing inland to shallow, calm water around Ses Salines. Headlands and surrounding hills shelter the inner bay almost completely, so even when the Tramontana is hammering the open Menorcan coast at 30 knots — the same northerly that defines this island's weather — the bay stays remarkably flat with clean wind running down its axis. This combination of strong, reliable wind and flat water is why Fornells has been the international windsurfing schools' winter and shoulder-season base for decades; the Wind Fornells and Surf & Sail concessions on the bay's western shore are institutions. For eFoils, the practical launch is the wide sandy beach south of the village (Platja de Ses Salines), where the water is shallow, the bottom is sand-and-seagrass, and there's space away from the windsurf school traffic lanes. The narrow channel near the village mouth has commercial fishing boats and the pilot launches for the lobster fleet — avoid it. Heading north toward the bay mouth puts you in significantly more exposed water with swell and tide running through the entrance — intermediate-plus territory. The bay is a designated marine reserve in parts; respect the seagrass meadows (do not anchor or drag). Best months: May–October for warm water; April and November for emptiest conditions and strongest Tramontana sessions. July–August has the lightest winds of the year and the most boat traffic. The north coast outside the bay is advanced-only and rarely makes sense over the protected interior.