Playa Motril

About Playa Motril

Playa Motril, better known locally as Playa de Poniente, is the town beach of Motril on Granada's Costa Tropical, running west from the commercial and fishing port about 2 km from the town centre. At around 1.8 to 2.2 km long and well over 100 metres wide in places, it is one of the broadest beaches on this stretch of coast.

The shore is coarse sand mixed with gravel and stones, so water shoes help. Behind it runs a palm-lined promenade named after King Baudouin of Belgium, who spent long stays in Motril with Queen Fabiola, with apartment blocks, beach bars and restaurants along it.

Facilities are extensive: lifeguards in season, showers, toilets, accessible walkways and an amphibious chair, sunbed and umbrella hire, sports courts and a children's area. A large car park sits across the road but fills in peak season, and there are campsites close by. In summer the town council stages cultural events on the seafront.

June and September are the best months, warm enough to swim without the August crowds. The sea is usually calmest in the morning, with waves often building later in the day, so swim early and keep the afternoon for a long lunch at a chiringuito.

Playa Motril in pictures

What you’ll find

• Beach lifeguardSupervised swimmingFree
• Beach sunbedsSunbed hireRent
• Beach umbrellasUmbrella hireRent
• Pebble beachRest on beachFree
• Public showersWash bodyFree
• Public toiletsPersonal SanitattionFree
• Sandy beachRest on beachFree
• Sea shoreSnorkellingRentSwimmingFree

Nearby places to visit

The nearest golf course, Los Moriscos Club de Golf (2 km), is a flat seafront links that makes an easy morning round before the beach. Back in town, the Preindustrial Sugar Cane Museum (3 km) explains the crop that shaped Motril's economy for centuries. East of the port, Playa de Torrenueva Costa (4 km) is a busy family beach with its own promenade, and Playa de Carchuna (9 km) is a long Blue Flag stretch of coarse sand and gravel near the leaning Torre del Llano, an old watchtower. The coast road links them all within a few minutes' drive.