Live forecast for Cala Macarella (Ciudadela (Menorca), Balearic Islands). Water temperature, wave height, wind, beach index 1-10 and best time to swim. Coordinates 39.9360, 3.9270.
Cala Macarella is the most photographed postcard of Menorca. A small unspoilt cove with white sand and turquoise water, surrounded by pines. Part of the Biosphere Reserve, it is only reachable on foot via the Cami de Cavalls.
Orientation: south, approximate length 100 m, sand type: fine white sand. No current Blue Flag award. Services: a seasonal beach bar, toilets, no parasols for hire and no permanent lifeguard cover. Access: cars are restricted in summer; a shuttle bus runs from Ciutadella. Cami de Cavalls trail from Cala Galdana (30 min).
The WhatAWeather beach index combines six meteorological variables into a 0-10 score: air temperature (best above 22 °C), sea surface temperature from the Open-Meteo Marine model (best above 20 °C), wind speed (best below 20 km/h), significant wave height (best below 0.8 m), cloud cover (best below 30 %) and accumulated rainfall (best below 0.5 mm). A value of 8-10 means perfect, 6-7 good, 4-5 acceptable and below 4 we advise against swimming.
For the official microbiological status of Spanish bathing waters consult the NAYADE system run by the Spanish Ministry of Health. WhatAWeather displays an informational jellyfish warning when sea temperature exceeds 23 °C and the wind blows from the east (levante), a situation statistically correlated with sightings in the Mediterranean and the Strait of Gibraltar. This is an orientation indicator and does not replace official Red Cross or city council bulletins.
The sea is at its warmest in August, averaging 27.8 °C, and at its coldest in February, at 14.7 °C. On land the month with the highest daily maxima is July, which averages 29.2 °C.
The sea stays above 22 °C for 5 months of the year (June, July, August, September and October). The gap between air and sea temperature is the figure that misleads most: in July the air reaches 29.2 °C against 26.7 °C in the water. Being a small and much-visited cove, the car park fills early in summer and vehicle access is restricted in high season.
In July and August the mean wave height is around 0.5 m, a sea that is usually flat, fine for swimming out, for beach tennis or for paddleboarding. In winter the mean climbs to 1.1 m, with the annual peak in November at 1.4 m. The prevailing summer wind comes from the east, and the windiest month is January, when daily maximum gusts average 30 km/h.
July averages 13.8 hours of effective sunshine a day and 0.9 rain days across the month. July is also the driest month of the year, against November, the wettest, with 10.5 rain days; over the year as a whole it rains on about 73 days.
| Month | Max. air | Min. air | Sea | Wave | Max. gust | Rain days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 14.0 | 10.1 | 15.9 | 1.20 | 30 | 8.2 |
| February | 14.4 | 9.9 | 14.7 | 1.10 | 28 | 5.8 |
| March | 15.9 | 11.2 | 15.1 | 1.30 | 28 | 6.7 |
| April | 17.7 | 12.8 | 16.5 | 1.00 | 25 | 6.9 |
| May | 21.2 | 15.9 | 19.3 | 0.70 | 24 | 6.4 |
| June | 26.0 | 20.1 | 23.1 | 0.70 | 20 | 3.1 |
| July | 29.2 | 23.2 | 26.7 | 0.50 | 20 | 0.9 |
| August | 29.2 | 23.6 | 27.8 | 0.50 | 21 | 2.7 |
| September | 26.1 | 21.2 | 26.0 | 0.80 | 22 | 7.7 |
| October | 22.7 | 18.2 | 23.8 | 0.90 | 24 | 8.1 |
| November | 18.3 | 14.4 | 20.0 | 1.40 | 28 | 10.5 |
| December | 15.8 | 11.8 | 17.8 | 1.10 | 25 | 6.1 |
These are climatological means, not a forecast: they describe what has happened on average over the past decade, and any single day can depart a long way from them. The sea column holds the mean of the daily maximum sea-surface temperature, and the wave column the mean of the day's highest significant wave height. The beach index above, by contrast, is computed from today's forecast, combining air and sea temperature, waves, wind, cloud and rain — which is why it can contradict the table on any given day.
