Playa de Sancti Petri

About Playa de Sancti Petri

Playa de Sancti Petri is the beach at the north-western end of Chiclana de la Frontera's coast, inside the Bahía de Cádiz Natural Park. About 1,200 metres long and 40 metres wide, with golden sand, it is separated from La Barrosa by a cliff, and has the old Sancti Petri settlement and marshes behind it. Offshore stands the Castillo de Sancti Petri on its islet, with Punta del Boquerón in San Fernando across the channel.

The islet once held the Phoenician temple of Melqart, known to the Romans as the temple of Hercules, which tradition links with Hannibal and Julius Caesar. A fortress was built there in the 16th century and enlarged against Anglo-Dutch and French attacks, taking its present form in the late 19th century. It can only be reached by sea, by ferry from the marinas of Chiclana and San Fernando or by kayak from this beach, and visits inside are guided.

The beach has lifeguards, toilets, showers, boat hire and a nautical club, and the Sancti Petri marina is beside it. A supervised car park with over 100 spaces operates in summer.

June and September avoid the peak-season traffic. Stay into the evening: sunsets over the castle are the islet's best-known sight.

Playa de Sancti Petri in pictures

What you’ll find

• Beach boatsBoat rentalRent
• Beach lifeguardSupervised swimmingFree
• Public showersWash bodyFree
• Public toiletsPersonal SanitattionFree
• Sandy beachRest on beachFree
• Sea shoreSnorkellingRentSwimmingFree

Nearby places to visit

To the south-east, past the cliff, the sand runs into Playa de la Barrosa (1 km), Chiclana's long main beach, and continues to Playa del Puerco (2 km), another of the beaches along the same shoreline. For golf, Sancti Petri Hills Golf (4 km) and Golf La Estancia (4 km) are both a short drive inland. Across the channel, Punta del Boquerón and Playa del Castillo (4 km) in San Fernando is a sandspit in the same natural park, facing the castle from the other side, and a kayak launch point for the islet. By road, though, it means a long detour round through San Fernando.