Andalucía
Andalucía covers more coast, climate and character than anywhere else in Spain. In Almería, the Cabo de Gata-Níjar natural park is a volcanic near-desert where several of the finest coves are reached only on foot and where summer access is genuinely restricted — barriers, capped parking and shuttle buses rather than a car park. On the Atlantic side, the Costa de la Luz gives you enormous dune beaches, Roman ruins at the water’s edge and a steady swell that made El Palmar a surf destination. In between, a protected stretch of the Costa del Sol has stayed wild against the odds. These guides set out how to reach each one and when it is worth the trip.
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Cabo de Gata Beaches in Summer 2026: Roads, Shuttles and the 399-Car Barrier
The Cabo de Gata beaches west of San José are capped at 399 cars from 20 June to 27 September 2026, and the barrier closes on a clock as well as on capacity. The dates, the hours, the shuttle, and the published figure that explains why the gate opened half an hour longer this year.
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The 10 Best Beaches in Andalucía (2026 Ranking)
Our editorial ranking of the best beaches in Andalucía: volcanic coves inside Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park, a Roman-ruin dune beach in Tarifa, and a protected waterfall beach on the Costa del Sol.
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Cala de Roche, Conil de la Frontera: The Complete Guide to These Sheltered Coves
At Roche, what you find depends entirely on what time you turn up: the tide decides whether the coves are separate pockets of sand or one continuous beach. How the cliffs work, where to come down, and when to go.
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Cala de San Pedro, Níjar: The Complete Guide to Almería’s Hidden Community Cove
There is fresh water at Cala de San Pedro, in the driest corner of Europe — and that spring is why a community has lived in a cove with no road for decades. How to reach it, what to expect when you arrive, and how to behave once you are there.
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Playa de El Palmar, Vejer de la Frontera: The Complete Guide to Cádiz’s Surf Beach
Until the A-2233 was built, reaching El Palmar meant crossing a tidal inlet. That isolation is why Cádiz’s surf beach still looks the way it does. The swell, the seasons, the long straight sand, and what happens here in August.
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Cala de Enmedio, Níjar: Forty Minutes on Foot, and No Shade the Whole Way
A cove at the mouth of a dry riverbed, with no road to it and no shade on the walk in. Why the sand here has almost no stones in it, what the white rock at either end actually is, and how long the path from Agua Amarga really takes.