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Category

Beaches

21 articles

Walking Pedregalejo to El Palo, Málaga's Eastern SeafrontBeaches

Walking 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.

9min readRead →
Málaga Beach Sunbeds, Why the Price Changes by BeachBeaches

Málaga 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.

10min readRead →
El Dedo Beach in Málaga, Also Signposted El ChanqueteBeaches

El 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.

8min readRead →
El Palo Beach in Málaga, and the Width That Does Not Add UpBeaches

El 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.

8min readRead →
Kayak and Paddleboarding in Málaga, Where You Can GoBeaches

Kayak 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.

8min readRead →
Open-water swimming lanes in Malaga, 2 of 600 metresBeaches

Open-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.

7min readRead →
Guadalmar Beach Málaga, the closest sand to the airportBeaches

Guadalmar 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.

8min readRead →
La Caleta Beach, 25 Minutes on Foot from Málaga Old TownBeaches

La 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.

8min readRead →
San Andrés Beach Málaga, Wide, Short and BusyBeaches

San 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.

8min readRead →
Campo de Golf-San Julián, Malaga's Largest BeachBeaches

Campo 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.

8min readRead →
La Misericordia Beach, the long one west of MalagaBeaches

La 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.

8min readRead →
Sacaba Beach, the Widest Sand in MalagaBeaches

Sacaba 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.

8min readRead →
La Malagueta Beach, 45 Metres Wide and What Is Behind ItBeaches

La 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.

6min readRead →
Blue Flags in Malaga, 45 beaches and 2 municipalities with noneBeaches

Blue 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.

9min readRead →
Who runs Málaga's beaches, and who raises the flagBeaches

Who 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.

12min readRead →
Dog Friendly Beaches in Málaga, the Fine and the DriveBeaches

Dog 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.

9min readRead →
Málaga Beach Season and the Eight Staffed BeachesBeaches

Málaga 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.

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Málaga Accessible Beaches, and the Booking You Must MakeBeaches

Málaga 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.

10min readRead →
Peñón del Cuervo, Where Málaga Allows Beach BarbecuesBeaches

Peñón 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.

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Málaga beaches, why the sand is grey and where to swimBeaches

Málaga 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.

12min readRead →
Naturist beaches in Málaga, and how to not get it wrongBeaches

Naturist 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.

11min readRead →