Mazarrón beaches: Playa del Puerto

A very popular 500-metre-long urban beach with fine sand and full facilities

Playa del Puerto is an urban Mediterranean beach, in the centre of Puerto de Mazarrón and is among the most popular of the 33 Mediterranean beaches which stretch for 35 kilometres along the Mazarrón coastline between the boundaries with Cartagena to the east and Lorca to the west.

It is a 500-metre-long sandy beach with an average width of 14 metres and joins with Playa Rihuete, sweeping around in a long curve until the cliffs enclose it and it meets the fishing port and sporting marina which occupy the end of the bay.

This is a high density urban beach during the summer months and a glorious empty expanse of soft sand during the winter, a wonderful place for locals to enjoy the many bars and restaurants along the paseo and marina, followed by a stroll along the beach afterwards.

Its popularity is due a number of factors:

- It is wide and sandy with full facilities

- The palm-tree lined Paseo Marítimo runs behind the beach, packed with restaurants and shops

- Behind the paseo are many holiday apartments, all within easy walking distance of the beach

- The beach has easy access, and has full services

- It is next to the sporting port and marina, with underground car parking

The Playa del Puerto is a Blue Flag beach, which indicates that it has been recognised by an international body set up to encourage environmentally friendly beaches, the FEE, the flag indicating that the beach provides quality of the services as well as attesting to the cleanliness and quality of the water.

Services:

During peak summer months there are lifeguards and medical personnel, activities for those with disabilities including assisted bathing by Red Cross volunteers, drinking water, sailing boat and aquatic sporting equipment hire, sporting schools, sunbed and sunshade hire, parking for bicycles, footwashes, bins, recycling containers, wooden walkways onto the beach and right down to the shoreline, tourist information point, bathing seats, children’s play zone, protected bathing area and plenty of restaurants.

During the summer this is a busy, humming area, with lots of night-time activities and entertainments. There are usually boat trips along the coast on offer, and yacht charter, and there are also diving schools in the marina, offering beginner and refresher courses, as well as trips for more experienced divers.

A number of sporting and leisure items can be hired, including water padeloes.

There are ramps down onto the beach and wooden slatted walkways onto the sand and access is easy with ramps and steps down from the paseo.

There are children's play facilities on the paseo running behind the beach itself and plenty of shaded seating beneath the palm trees, both in public areas and the many restaurants located along the paseo and in the streets behind the beach.

The Paseo is a shaded palm tree walk which runs right along the seafront of the Puerto de Mazarrón from Playa Rihuete to the fishing port, with plenty of shops, bars and restaurants, all within easy walking distance of the apartments crowding this stretch of urban beaches.

Parking and access

Parking is always a problem for users of these high density urban beaches during the peak summer, months when the population of the municipality increases from 30,000 to 150,000 for two months of the year.

Playa del Puerto beach is serviced by a car park at the El Alamillo end, near the Petanca Club, but during the summer this is inadequate as most of the spaces are taken by holidaymakers renting the apartments opposite the beach.

There is also an underground car park by the marina at the far end of the Playa del Puerto, (pay by the minute) and limited parking in the streets behind the paseo.

It is just a short walk from the centre of the Puerto de Mazarrón and the main shopping areas through to the paseo and the beach, so visitors tend to park wherever they can if driving down into the centre to use this beach.

However, there are plenty of other beaches within the municipality which have ample parking outside the town centre, so those who are driving often select other locations if they just want to stretch out and enjoy a swim and sunbathe.

At other times of year Playa del puerto is an excellent, empty urban beach, popular on soft autumn evenings, and with locals who enjoy a stroll along the sand from the marina area to the Rihuete curve where it hits the rocks (about 1 km), then wander back along the paseo and stop for a drink and tapas at the plentiful bars.

There are 2 parking bays reserved for disabled vehicles and parking for bicycles.

The beach is also serviced by the urban bus on the urban Mazarrón-Murcia route. For the latest timetable and further information about the Mazarrón municipality go to the dedicated Mazarrón municipality section.(see Tourist info for bus timetables)

Click for an overview of all 33 beaches in the municipality of Mazarrón, or for more information relating to Mazarrón.