Spain Tourism Guide - Spain Best Beaches

Barceloneta Barcelona Beaches & Valencia Best Beaches Spain

Barcelona's best beaches sit on the Barceloneta stretch of waterfront. Once the old fishing quarter, Barceloneta has been considerably redeveloped in recent times offer a selection of pretty beaches and best Barcelona seafront seafood restaurants, the most scenic of which sit adjacent to the Catalunya Museum on Palau de Mar. These have delightful terraces with views onto the Paseo and out onto the marina.

Barcelona beaches include first Platja Sant Sebastia which moves into Platja de Sant Miquel and Platja Barceloneta. Urban beaches don't get much better than Barcelona's beach choice. Lazy beach cafes are dotted along the beaches, alongside striking public art and a wide Paseo where cycling, roller skating and skateboarding are all popular. Perfect for families, Barcelona can offer both city break and beach holiday all in one! In all Barcelona's Barceloneta beaches cover around 4 km and they're particularly crowded in peak season, popular with locals and visitors alike.

Hot on Barcelona's best beach tail is Valencia to the south. Valencia's crowning glory are its superb beaches, most of which are blue flag and easily accessible from the centre via Valencia Metro. Valencia offers 28.km of beaches in all, well services with facilities and adjacent cycle path. A Paseo Maritim runs along main central beaches Arenas and Malvarrossa. Valencia's marina harbour area has also seen some sprucing up recent after playing host to the America Cup in 2007 (see weblink right for details). Nearest Metro Stations are Las Arenas/Line 4 and Eugenia Vines/Line 4.

Costa del Sol Best Beaches & Costa Almeria Best Beaches Spain

The six main beaches in Torremolinos include the busy central beach Bajondillo, and Carihuela pushing west towards Benalmadena and Playamar pushing east towards Malaga. Torremolinos is blessed with the widest and one of the longest stretches of beach area on the Med, with a grey beige sand soft on the feet. La Carihuela to the west borders Torremolinos old town, and is renowned for its choice of excellent seafood restaurants. Both Playa Mar and Bajondillo central Torremolinos town beaches are the main tourist hubs. Heaving in peak season (quieter in May and October), these two Torremolinos beaches offer a host of watersports including pedalos with slides! Beach bars line Bajondillo and Playamar beaches particularly, with more restaurants, Torremolinos beach hotels and holiday shops off the paseo maritimo.

Main Estepona beach La Rada is long (nearly 3km) and wide and with Blue Flag status. Note the interesting feature showers on the beach! Estepona's stunning promenade lines La Rada, with beach bars dotted along and shady spots under attractive canopies. Like the beach, the paseo is wide and accessible, popular with walkers, cyclists and roller skaters. On the eastern Costa del Sol coast, Nerja's beaches are a big attraction, with a different flavour to those west of Malaga. Main beach Playa de Burriana is to the east flanked by the Parador. Sunbeds and parasols are available and parking is adjacent. It's a short walk from the car park to this long beach bay just below the Capistrano area. Restaurants, bars, cafes and shops are all adjacent, plus scuba diving is popular from here with daytrips along the rocky coast. When the winds up this beach get as heavy swell. Immediately to the east of Balcon de Europa is popular Calahonda beach, a sublime small cove beach with a mix of rock, pebbles and sand. It's a steep walk down to Calahonda beach which has a bar restaurant open in summer and ample sunbeds/parasol hire.

Puerto Banus' beaches (Marbella beaches) are excellent, with golden sands except Rio Verde beach which has black sand. Main beach Puerto Banus beach nearest the marina has an adjacent pretty promenade, ample watersports facilities, sunbed hire, beach bars and a choice of restaurants.

The Cabo de Gata nature reserve sits just east of Almeria on the promontory. This area was declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1997 so development is restricted. Here mixes the spectacular mountains of the Sierra de Cabo de Gata and the stunning coastline. Popular with birdwatchers, walkers, those looking for untouched hidden beaches, spectacular cliffs and reefs all combined with low rainfall head here to Cabo de Gata. Two stunning fishing villages within the Cabo de Gata area are San Miguel and Las Salinas.

Costa de la Luz Best Andalucia Beaches Spain

The Costa de la Luz coast is a wild extravaganza of best Andalucian beaches. Starting at the top end near Ayamonte and the Portuguese border, you've 7km of fine white sands around Isla Canela and Punta del Moral. Plenty of watersports and golf around this area too. Moving down towards La Antilla is another long beach stretching for 22km with little inland town Lepe. Golf courses, watersports and more are all in abundance around the beaches of Antilla.

Pushing further south towards Cadiz the beach area of Mazagon offers 10km of golden sands. This Costa de la Luz beach area is popular with campers and a little more remote. Move further south and you arrive at Matalascanas which is the largest resort area on the Huelva stretch of the Costa de la Luz.

Just to the north of Cadiz the stunning beach bay including El Puerto de Santa Maria is particularly busy in the summer season. Visitors pour in for the sublime beaches here.

Pushing closer to Gibraltar, Tarifa is a tourist hub on the Costa de la Luz. A pilgrimage for windsurfing and kitesurfing fans, Tarifa gets the winds down here and offers some of Europe's best conditions for both kitesurfing and windsurfing. Tarifa's beaches are hard to beat, with clean white sands. Laid back and with a bohemian edge, Tarifa offers a host of attractions from its pretty old town, spectacular 10km beach - Playa de los Lances and numerous kitesurfing and windsurfing schools and hire venues.

Best Beaches Costa Dorada Spain, Best Beaches Costa Azahar, Sitges Costa del Garraf Beaches

Salou excels as a Costa Dorada budget family holiday base in more ways than one. Great quality family beaches with nice calm waters and fine sand - great for sandcastles! Holiday attractions Salou is certainly not short of, from a selection of great beaches, 8 in all with fine golden sands, offering a choice of watersports, several holiday districts, a long paseo maritim lined with bars and restaurants. Great for budget family beach holidays, Salou is popular with the British. Cambrils' 9km stretch of beach breaks down into 8 separate beaches, all with blue flag status. Perfect for families, waters are calm and Cambrils main beach L'Ardiaca is flat with easy access off the promenade.

South of Cambrils on the Costa Dorada, the sublime beach area of L'Hospitalet De L'Infant is a hotspot for naturist beaches Spain. Hospitalet is perfect for relaxing beach all inclusive resort holidays on the quiet side, with local naturist beach areas available. On the Costa Dorada East pushing towards Barcelona around El Vendrell, both Coma Ruga and Calafell have great beaches, a warm Mediterranean climate, an impressive cultural programme and some fine restaurants.

The Costa Del Azahar stretch of coast from Vinaros in the north down to Chilches and Almenara sits within the Valencia region and offers a selection of stunning blue flag beaches. The area includes resort hotspots such as Peniscola, Alcossebre and stunning Benicassim - all of which have a choice of best beaches.

Sitges' pretty beaches consist of 17 in all of which 11 beaches are urban and near the town centre. Main Sitges urban beaches are separated by breakwaters and each have their own name. Ribera beach and beach sections nearest the Sant Bartomeu church are the most popular and crowded.

Best Beaches Costa Brava Spain

Lloret de Mar's attractions are numerous including two main superb blue flag beaches (Fenals & Lloret Playa are the main two, but Lloret has around 7km of coastline with a mix of 5 beaches some of which are small character rocky coves), a variety of beach watersports available.

Playa de Aro, with superb long sandy beach Platja Aro, is the Costa Brava's second largest resort to Lloret de Mar. Superb Costa Brava beach family holidays are on the menu here at Playa de Aro.

L'Estartit further north offers great beach space and is a centre for Costa Brava diving. Estartit's beach is also a big pull, long and sandy and popular with visitors seeking an all inclusive beach holiday package with a diving edge!

The 4km of coastline at Blanes breaks up into two main beaches - endless Platja S'Abanell, the Costa Brava's longest beach incidentally and Platja de Blanes stretching between Sa Palomera and Blanes Marina. Other beaches Punta de Santa Ann and Sant Francesc are pretty cove beaches. Main Blanes beach S'Abanell is wide as well as long and runs adjacent to the Blanes' hotel rich area of S'Abanell. Calella, south of Blanes, is a good beach holiday choice for families, especially if you're looking for a close beach base to Barcelona. Calella's three main beaches - Platja Gran, Garbi Beach and Les Roques beach are wide and long.

Best Beaches Benidorm Javea Costa Blanca Spain & La Manga Best Beaches

The best of the Med's family beaches are here at Benidorm - blue flags all the way and a host of watersports, parasols, pedalos and cafes, restaurants and bars lining Benidorm's fine paseo maritimo. Benidorm Poniente is a hub for family beach resort holidays, whilst Benidorm Levante is the busiest lively stretch of Benidorm's blue flag beaches, offering a choice of watersports.

Javea (Valencian Xabia) is an interesting mix of culture, history, best family Costa Blanca beach resort and prime walking base. As a tourist resort it retains a low key family oriented stylish feel, with pretty promenade and glorious sandy beach bay. Javea is one of the prettiest family holiday bases on the the Costas. Blue flag beaches all the way here, with the fine sands and shallow waters of main beach El Arenal especially making it a superb Costa Blanca family holiday base.

Denia beaches stretch for 20km and offer a mix of endless sands with some rocky cove interruptions. The Les Marines area to the north is mostly endless sandy beach and these beach areas are all award winning and Blue Flag all the way. To the south the sandy beaches of Les Rotes pushes into rocky coves. Windsurfing, kitesurfing, beach volleyball, mini football and scuba diving opportunities are all popular on Denia's beaches. Gandia further north has over 20km of stunning clean golden sandy beach area, with adjacent promenade with plenty of restaurants.

Calpe's two pretty beaches stretch either side of this resort's iconic rock. Calpe is renowned for its quality beaches, ideal for low key family resort holidays. Not forgetting the Costa Blanca's capital Alicante, a superb blend of beach holiday resort and cultural pursuits. Postiguet beach, with blue flag status, is nearest to Alicante centre just to the east of the marina leisure area and port. Fine white sands are on the menu here. Best known of Alicante's beaches is stunning blue flag San Juan beach to the north around the Cabo de las Huertas headland. San Juan stretches for 3km from El Campello to Cabo de las Huertas. One of the best beaches on the Costa Blanca, San Juan has fine almost white golden sands in a semi-urban location. The Murcia Region's coastal playground, crammed with superb blue flag beaches, luxury golf and more, is the La Manga area.