Cartagena beaches: Playa Galúa, La Manga del Mar Menor

Over a kilometre of sandy Mediterranean beach in La Manga del Mar Menor

The Playa Galúa on the Mediterranean shore of La Manga del Mar Menor is one of the most characteristic of the beaches on which the fame of La Manga as a holiday resort is based, and where the construction fever in the area first took hold in the 1960s and 70s. 

There is sometimes confusion when talking about beaches on La Manga del Mar Menor, as there are both Mar Menor beaches and Mediterranean coastal beaches on this thin strip of land, one type of beach along each side, and to make matters worse, these are divided between two different local councils, those of San Javier and Cartagena. The dividing line runs straight across the middle of "the strip", as it is often called by foreign holidaymakers, the northern end belonging to San Javier and the southern part to Cartagena.

It is important when selecting a beach to understand that the Mar Menor beaches offer shallow and calm bathing conditions, whereas the Mediterranean beaches are wider, longer, windier, and are susceptible to wave conditions and currents.

The location of La Manga del Mar Menor beaches is generally defined by kilometre reference. Kilometre 0 is the tourist information point at Cabo de Palos and km 18 is the far end of La Manga by the Esculls de la Llana y Encañizadas, which is where dry land runs out! The remainder of "the strip" is marsh, and inaccessible, before it finally meets the salinas of the San Pedro del Pinatar municipality.

This beach is at km 2.5, so is close to the southern end of La Manga and near the “mainland”. It is also close to Plaza Bohemia, a shopping area and open space used for cultural activities.

Playa Galúa is 1200 metres long and 30 wide, a vast open beach with fine golden sand. During the summer it is classed as having high occupancy due to the sheer volume of urban construction behind it.

The beach extends along the eastern side of the La Manga strip from the Gola de Marchamalo in the south to the headland known as Punta de la Raja in the north.

It is an extremely well equipped stretch of sand, offering all kinds of facilities and services, which have warranted certification as a Q for Quality beach, a recognition of the quality of services and facilities.

Services include a lifeguard and first aid point which is manned in summer between 11am and 8pm. There are also foot showers, sunbeds, sunshades and loungers are available for hire between mid-June and mid-September, there is a sporting area, ramps and wooden walkways are available to assist those with limited mobility, there are footwashes and toilets, including adapted toilets for those with disabilities, waste bins, recycling collection points, and even a play area for children are available.

During the summer a beach bar opens, and other eating and drinking establishments can be found on the stretches of promenade which line the sand at some points along the length of the Galúa beach.

Access and parking spaces are provided for the disabled, and in the residential streets behind the beach there are also plenty of areas where parking spaces are not hard to find almost all year round: in summer, as is the case all along La Manga, this is not necessarily the case, and a little patience may be needed, especially at weekends!

A bus service runs right along Gran Vía throughout the day with stops alongside the beach..

Click for introduction to the Cartagena beaches.

Click for more information about the municipality of Cartagena.

For further local information click general information La Manga.