Cartagena beaches: Playa de Puerto Bello in La Manga del Mar Menor

A sandy Mar Menor beach at the southern end of La Manga

The Playa Puerto Bello offers 500 metres of sandy beach on the external area of the Puerto Bello marina at kilometre 1.5 of La Manga del Mar Menor.

The southern end of the harbour is one of the few remaining undeveloped areas of this part of La Manga, and cars can be parked on the dunes, but at the northern end, where the port facilities are located, development is spectacular. The view across the harbour is almost the archetypal one of La Manga: sailing boats and other leisure craft on the calm blue water of the Mar Menor, with high-rise apartments as a backdrop.

Occupation during the summer months is high as a result of this.

The Mar Menor covers a surface area of nearly 170 square kilometres, with 70 kilometres of internal coastline and is Europe's largest saltwater lake. It is separated from the Mediterranean by a 22km long strip of land, La Manga del Mar Menor, which is connected to the Mediterranean via several channels, feeding it with natural saltwater.

It has shallow fringes, which slope gently, and is only 7 metres deep in the centre, so the water temperature is warmer than that of the Mediterranean, particularly around the edges where it is possible to wade out 50 metres from the shore and still only be waist deep.

Murcia is the warmest mainland region in Spain, and has an average temperature of 18 degrees, which makes it perfect for year-round watersports activity and bathers can enjoy the waters of the Mar Menor for most of the year. The water in the Mar Menor is not tidal and has no currents or waves, so is perfect for family bathing.

There is often 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 divide between the two is brutal; straight across the middle of "the strip" as it is often called by foreign holidaymakers, the top part belonging to San Javier and the bottom 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 within the Cartagena municipality and is on the Mar Menor side of "the strip".

The beach itself offers limited services, although restaurants and shops are close at hand and plentiful, particularly at the northern end. Sun loungers and parasols are available for hire during the summer, and children’s play facilities are also installed.

Drinking water, bins, toilets and wooden walkways on the beach are also provided.

Safety precautions for bathers

When using Mar Menor beaches, it´s advisable to observe the following safety precautions when bathing:

- most of the Mar Menor beaches have very gently sloping shelves, meaning that bathers can walk a  considerable distance from the shore and still only be waist high in the water. These shore fringes are also very warm, heating up more than the deeper waters, or the Mediterranean coastline, particularly during the hot summer months.

- many beaches are also protected by netting to exclude jellyfish. This creates safe bathing areas for families but also leads to a situation which can be life threatening, as the safety of the beaches results in many elderly bathers bathing alone.This in itself is not life threatening, but every year there are unnecessary deaths when bathers suffer a heart attack, stroke, faint or have a dizzy spell of some sort whilst bathing alone, slipping into the water without anybody else being aware that this has happened.

The transition from hot beach to cold water can shock the body, causing dizziness or fainting, so it is advisable to splash the body with water to cool down before wading out into the Mar Menor or Mediterranean.

Even though there are lifeguards, accidents happen and every year there are unnecessary fatalities, the simple rule being if you have a medical condition, are taking medication, or are of advanced age, don´t bathe alone, no matter how shallow and calm the water is.

And for all ages, a red flag means do not bathe, particularly on the Mediterranean beaches.

Click for more information about Cartagena beaches.

Click for more information about La Manga del Mar Menor.

Click for more information about the municipality of Cartagena.