Category
Beaches
27 articles
BeachesBenalmádena Beaches, Town Sand or Quiet Coves
Benalmádena's 9 kilometres of coast split in two. The eastern beaches have sand, a promenade, lifeguards and this year's three Blue Flags; the western ones are small pebble coves under cliffs, including Benalnatura, the naturist cove. No beach is less than 12 minutes' walk from a train station. Lifeguards cover a long season, from 15 May to 15 October.
BeachesEstepona beaches, no Blue Flags and how to choose anyway
Estepona has 17 beaches and not one holds a Blue Flag in 2026, which says more about paperwork than about the sea. La Rada is the long town beach with a promenade, El Cristo the sheltered cove for children, and Costa Natura the naturist one. The airport bus costs just 10.24 euros. From Malaga bus station it is 75 minutes and 11.25 euros.
BeachesFuengirola Beaches, Which One Is Closest to the Train
Fuengirola's seven kilometres of sand are four official beaches, all with a Blue Flag, with the C-1 train behind them. Land at Malaga airport, ride 34 minutes, get off at Los Boliches or Torreblanca del Sol and the sand is six minutes away. Only El Castillo and the dog beach sit far from a station. Assisted bathing runs on all four beaches, booked on 691 102 985.
BeachesMarbella beaches, which to pick and which have a Blue Flag
Marbella has eight Blue Flag beaches in 2026, from Guadalmina in San Pedro to Cabopino by the Artola dunes, and the famous one by Puerto Banús is not on the list. Straight from the airport, the bus costs 6.48 euros; dogs go to three beaches only, and assisted bathing needs a booking. From the Malaga city bus station, the cheapest fare is 7.81 euros.
BeachesNerja beaches, which one to pick and how to reach Maro
Burriana for a lazy day, La Torrecilla for a walk from the old town, El Playazo for space, or a shingle cove under the Maro cliffs with nothing on the sand? Distances, flags, sunbeds and toilets for eleven beaches, the 3-euro summer shuttle to Maro and why dogs stay home all year. Burriana has a 240-space council car park right behind the sand.
BeachesRincón de la Victoria beaches, the 29-minute bus from Málaga
Rincón de la Victoria is the easiest beach escape east of Málaga: three long dark-sand beaches, a bus every few minutes for 1.75 euros, and quality marks on all three. There is no Blue Flag, no dog area and no lifeguard outside summer, and La Cala del Moral mixes its sand with shingle. Drivers get free parking beside each beach, 1,200 spaces at the central one alone.
BeachesWalking Pedregalejo to El Palo, Málaga's Eastern Seafront
One promenade, no crossings and three beaches in a row: La Caleta at 1.000 metres, the coves of Pedregalejo behind their groynes, and the 1.200 metres of open sand at El Palo. The Jaboneros stream marks the border, and the 26-kilometre PR-A 119 from the city hall ends at the far end of it.
BeachesMálaga Beach Sunbeds, Why the Price Changes by Beach
A sunbed on a Malaga beach belongs to neither your hotel nor the council. It belongs to whoever won that patch of sand at auction, from 8,300 euros a year for 500 square metres, and no published rule says what they may charge you. There are 50 such patches across the 15 city beaches, open from 1 March to 31 October.
BeachesEl Dedo Beach in Málaga, Also Signposted El Chanquete
This beach carries two names and two widths. Official sources list it as El Chanquete or El Dedo, and while both agree on 550 metres of length, the city says 25 metres wide and spain.info says 20. It is one of only 3 beaches in Málaga with staffed assisted bathing, capped at 9 people a session.
BeachesEl Palo Beach in Málaga, and the Width That Does Not Add Up
Two official sources agree that El Palo runs 1,200 metres by 25, and the beach directories that fill the first page of results say 30. That five-metre gap is 6,000 square metres of sand. It holds a Blue Flag, its accessible bathing point is unstaffed, and buses 3 and 11 reach it.
BeachesKayak and Paddleboarding in Málaga, Where You Can Go
Leaving a board or a kayak on the sand outside the marked area is a serious offence in Málaga, fined at 300 to 3,000 euros. The 200 metres of water the beach byelaw reserves for swimmers, and the 50 metres along the rest of the coast, are closed to any floating craft whatever moves it, so you enter and leave through marked channels at 3 knots.
BeachesOpen-water swimming lanes in Malaga, 2 of 600 metres
The small orange buoys 100 metres out are not the edge of the bathing zone but a marked lane, with a compulsory direction to swim in. Each lane runs 600 metres at La Misericordia and La Malagueta, with 5 buoys of 60 centimetres every 150 metres, inside the 200-metre strip closed to boats.
BeachesGuadalmar Beach Málaga, the closest sand to the airport
One council page describes this beach twice and gives it a different size each time, 450 metres by 30 in the text and 2,250 by 50 in the table. The larger pair is identical to the figures published for the neighbouring Campo de Golf-San Julián, and city bus line 16 ends here, 9 kilometres out.
BeachesLa Caleta Beach, 25 Minutes on Foot from Málaga Old Town
Only two of the city’s 15 beaches are reachable on foot from the historic centre, and this is the narrower of the pair at 25 metres wide. It runs 1,000 metres long and takes roughly 25 minutes from the cathedral, its council file rates the crowding as high, and the sand is medium grain.
BeachesSan Andrés Beach Málaga, Wide, Short and Busy
The council file calls it very busy, which is unusual for the western stretch, and credits the wide promenade for it. It runs 650 metres by 50 wide, the second widest in the city after Sacaba, which reaches 60 metres, and sits 4 kilometres from the centre, with play areas on file.
BeachesCampo de Golf-San Julián, Malaga's Largest Beach
At 2,250 metres it is nearly double La Malagueta, and 50 metres wide at its widest point, yet the council record rates it low occupancy. It calls the beach semi-urban, notes the surrounding vegetation, ticks the nudist box and lists room for barbecues, 11 kilometres west of the centre.
BeachesLa Misericordia Beach, the long one west of Malaga
Two kilometres of sand, almost double La Malagueta, and 4 kilometres out from the old town, at 30 metres of average width. It is one of only three city beaches certified for universal accessibility, and it holds the largest assisted-bathing setup in the whole municipality, with 6 chairs.
BeachesSacaba Beach, the Widest Sand in Malaga
Sixty metres of average width, more than any other beach in the whole city, and 750 metres long between the Guadalhorce river mouth and La Misericordia. That neighbour runs 2,000 metres long but only 30 wide, and the council record calls Sacaba one of the quietest on the western side.
BeachesLa Malagueta Beach, 45 Metres Wide and What Is Behind It
One of only 2 city beaches that need no transport at all from the historic centre, at under 20 minutes on foot from the cathedral. The council logs it at roughly 1.2 kilometres long by 45 metres of average width, with medium-grain sand, calm water and a Blue Flag, and the hospital 2 km away.
BeachesBlue Flags in Malaga, 45 beaches and 2 municipalities with none
Estepona holds no Blue Flag beach at all while its own marina does, which is what happens when the award has to be applied for by the council. The province counts 45 flagged beaches across 12 municipalities, against 143 in 48 for Andalucía, and Rincón de la Victoria has none either.
BeachesWho runs Málaga's beaches, and who raises the flag
Three administrations share the same sand: the Spanish state owns it as public maritime domain, the Junta de Andalucía holds the health key and the Ayuntamiento de Málaga cleans it. The flags measure wave conditions, not water quality, and a fire lit directly on sand is a serious offence, 300 to 3,000 euros.
BeachesDog Friendly Beaches in Málaga, the Fine and the Drive
Minor infractions run from 75 to 500 euros under the municipal animal by-law, and article 13 attaches no season to the sentence, so January is exactly the same as August. The one legal strip runs roughly 600 metres beside the Totalán stream, at the eastern city limit, and there is no general right to a dog on public transport.
BeachesMálaga Beach Season and the Eight Staffed Beaches
Outside summer the lifeguard cover shrinks to weekends, to an 11am to 7pm shift and to 8 beaches out of 15, running from Easter until 15 June and returning for the second half of September. The council high season is 1 May to 30 September. The sand never closes; the service does.
BeachesMálaga Accessible Beaches, and the Booking You Must Make
Three beaches carry the service, La Misericordia with 16 places and La Malagueta and El Dedo with 9 each, and every one of them has transfer hoists, 2 child chairs and both electric and manual chairs. It costs nothing at all, and the appointment has to be made before you leave the hotel.
BeachesPeñón del Cuervo, Where Málaga Allows Beach Barbecues
Two beaches in the whole municipality will take a barbecue permit, and this is one of them, alongside Guadalmar beside the golf course. The sand runs 200 metres by 30, split into two sectors by the rock, and the authorisation number arrives by text message, after applying online.
BeachesMálaga beaches, why the sand is grey and where to swim
Málaga city runs fifteen urban beaches across 14 km of coastline, all dark-sanded and backed by a promenade, with seven carrying Blue Flag status and eight equipped with adapted bathing points. Dogs are allowed on one 600-metre strip, and fires on two beaches, with a permit first.
BeachesNaturist beaches in Málaga, and how to not get it wrong
Spain has no national law banning nudity on beaches, which is not the same as undressing anywhere, and the province holds seven naturist beaches. Five of them carry explicit backing from their town hall and two rest on custom alone, and only Guadalmar-San Julián sits inside the city.