Son Bou, Menorca.

Son Bou stretches for 2 kilometers along the south coast of Menorca, making it the island's longest beach and its most reliably surfable break. The sandy bottom produces A-frame peaks that break close to shore, throwing up fast, hollow shorebreak with a distinctly vertical takeoff. Waves in the 0.6 to 1.8 meter range are the sweet spot, where the beach shows its best shape before the shorebreak becomes too closeout heavy. East through southeast swells light up the full length of the beach with scattered peaks; the notes also confirm the spot responds to northeast and west windchop, though southwest groundswell is largely blocked by Mallorca lying across the horizon to the west on clear days. Northerly winds groom the faces and are the preferred direction. The break works across all tides, though conditions shift noticeably from one session to the next, which is part of what keeps it interesting for intermediates building their read of beach conditions. Access from the beachfront parking is straightforward, and the easy paddle-out means crowds build quickly whenever swell arrives. Summer brings a thick tourist presence and the water fills with swimmers and bodyboarders; winter empties the beach almost completely, leaving the peaks to the handful of local surfers willing to make the trip in colder conditions. Nearby Sant Tomas, 3.7 kilometers to the west, offers a smaller, more wind-sheltered alternative when Son Bou is blown out from the west.

Two kilometres of beach where the A-frames sit somewhere new every swell.