With its blue skies and balmy climate, Menorca is a hotspot all summer long. For a guaranteed scorcher of a holiday, though, the time to visit is during the midsummer festival of San Juan held from the 20th to the 24th of June this year, when the island is ablaze with bonfires and fireworks and every school kid is armed with a bagful of bangers!

Of course, the Spanish know how to throw a party. So it's fitting that this festival takes place on the summer solstice, the shortest night of the year in the northern hemisphere. Certainly, you'll be partying till the early hours in Ciutadella on the western edge of the island, where the legendary celebrations draw crowds of visitors and TV crews to the town each year.

For three or four days, locals take to the cobbled streets to eat, drink and make very, very merry with pomada, an explosive mix of Mahon gin and lemonade that can't fail to get you dancing. Unsurprisingly, the mood is raucous and high-spirited, and night after night you'll witness some weird and wonderful traditions, including the slapping of black horses and the enthusiastic hurling of hazelnuts as a bizarre gesture of love!

In fact, the festival of San Juan celebrates the triumph of light over dark and is bound up in folklore and pagan tradition. It's said that bonfires burning over these few days can cleanse the body and soul, have magical healing properties for the skin and can even bring good luck to anyone who jumps over them three times.

But a week in Ciutadella is surely enough to make anyone feel lucky. It's one of many pretty, whitewashed towns on this tranquil island and makes the perfect jumping-off point for local beach life. Flythomascook operates regular flights to Menorca from several airports in the UK, so book now in time for the madness of San Juan. After all, watching fireworks crackle over the rooftops of Ciutadella is sure to make your holiday go with a bang.