Andalucía's safe and accessible beaches, open to everyone

Andalucía’s 800km coastline stretches from Almeria along the Mediterranean Sea to the Costa del Sol, and on to the Costa de la Luz. The Andalusian coast is famed for golden sands and turquoise waters, and it attracts waves of tourists from all over the world because it offers a succession of unspoilt beaches with sweeping ocean views, secluded coves and cliff formations, along with salt marshes overflowing with fauna and flora.

Its geographical location and its climate – with pleasant temperatures no matter what time of year one visits - make Andalucía the perfect place for those who enjoy the delights of the sea and the lively beach activity to the full.

Many of the beaches have been awarded the blue flag of excellence for their amenities, cleanliness, quality and preservation of the natural surroundings, an initiative awarded by the Association of Environmental and Consumer Education (ADEAC) and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

There are around 300 beaches in Andalucía, and one third of them flew the blue flag during the summer of 2023.

Another recognition that many beaches are now aiming towards, and which many, especially along the Costa del Sol, have received, is the ‘S’ for sustainability, which is given by The Institute of Spanish Tourism Quality (ICTE).

This relatively new seal of approval values the different aspects related to the fulfilment of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) proposed by the United Nations. This takes into account measures such as the correct maintenance and cleaning of the sand, the quality of the bathing water, the management and proper disposal of waste, and accessibility, among other issues.

The ICTE also awards the ‘Q for quality’ seal, which many of the beaches along the Andalusian coastline have achieved. This is a recognition given not only for the maintenance and quality of the waters and bathing areas, but as an emblem that values the quality of services of the private sectors operating on the beaches, such as the chiringuitos (beach bars) and restaurants, sunbeds and parasols and other facilities.

The landscape of the Costa de Almeria offers rocky cliffs, salt marshes, unspoilt beaches and dunes: a habitat of great importance for numerous migratory bird species.

It also boasts beautiful natural areas, like the Cabo de Gata-Nijar Nature Reserve, declared a Biosphere Reserve in 1997, making it the largest protected area on the Mediterranean coast.

The Costa Tropical, situated between the Almeria coast and the Costa del Sol, offers a sub-tropical microclimate, with 320 sunny days a year and an average temperature of around 20º C due to its proximity to northern Africa and the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Undoubtedly the most well-known coastline in Andalucía is the Costa del Sol, which extends along more than 150 kilometres of golden beaches in the province of Malaga. Fringed with beaches to suit all tastes, this beautiful coastline looks out across the Mediterranean Sea to Gibraltar and North Africa, offering panoramic views and outstanding sunsets. Famed for calm, warm and transparent waters, the scenery of the Costa del Sol is varied, seeing as many beaches are set between the mountains and the sea.

The term Costa del Sol was coined at the beginning of the 20th century by Rodolfo Lussnigg, and the name refers to the sunny climate present in the region most days of the year.

Formerly made up of a series of small fishing settlements, today, the “sun coast” is a world-renowned tourist destination that offers chiringuitos, bars and trendy beach clubs, and, along with family beaches with leisure areas dedicated to the younger generation, it also appeals to those with a passion for water sports.

The Costa de la Luz - Coast of Light - is a 200km section of the coast that is fringed by the Atlantic Ocean and extends from Tarifa in the south, along the coasts of the provinces of Cadiz and Huelva, to the mouth of the Guadiana River.

Aside from the beaches and the sunshine, this coastline offers an abundance of leisure activities, like jet skiing, kite surfing and boating, along with protected nature reserves and natural attractions. These include the Doñana National Park, a protected nature reserve where endangered species like the Spanish imperial eagle and Iberian lynx can occasionally be sighted; the salt marshes of Barbate and the cliffs at La Breña (both within the La Breña y Marismas del Barbate Natural Park); and the wetlands of the Tinto and Odiel rivers, where there is a profusion of migratory birds, including storks and flamingos.

Whether one is looking for a family-friendly beach, a high-adrenaline water-sports centre, a quiet naturist zone or beaches lined with chiringuitos offering mouth-watering fish and fresh seafood, Andalucía has them all.

The region’s Safe Beach Plan was launched in 2022 to help guarantee health and safety as the country emerged from the coronavirus crisis. The beach monitoring initiative employs an extra 3,000 members of staff during the summer season to monitor the beaches to ensure that safety precautions are respected. These staff work alongside the lifeguards and Local Police patrols provided by the town halls.

The plan also helped provide extra equipment, including vehicles, quad bikes, surveillance towers, boats, jet skis and rescue equipment, which was distributed among the 61 coastal municipalities.

Although the type and terrain of these beaches varies, one thing that most now have in common is the fact that individual authorities of coastal municipalities have also introduced a series of innovative measures to ensure the safety of bathers, and to also facilitate access to those with disabilities. During the high season, all beaches offer the security of lifeguards, and the civil protection services (trained in first aid such as CPR), while the police have adopted new measures to further ensure the safety of everyone.

Local Police officers now employ the use of drones to monitor some of the most popular beaches along the Andalusian coastline. As per protocol, the drone carries out a regular sweep of the area to spot anything unusual. From the beach, the pilot can observe every detail of the image that the drone transmits. If he spots anything unusual, he immediately alerts the lifeguard service.

Drones are also used to locate lost children, or senior citizens who may have become disorientated. They also play a key role in rescue operations, as some drones are equipped with a life jacket. However, they intervene mostly in preventive cases, such as alerting jet ski users when they are operating in prohibited areas or not following the speed limit, or alerting bathers when they have drifted away from safe-swimming areas.

Another area that most municipalities are striving to achieve is to make their beaches accessible to everyone. For those with reduced mobility, a day on the beach can be a daunting experience, so most coastal municipalities resolve the issue with specialised facilities. These specially adapted areas offer the equipment that people with reduced mobility need to enjoy a day on the beach. This includes special hoists to lift disabled people into the sea, amphibious chairs that allow users to move around on the sand and in the water with great ease, adapted showers and changing rooms, sun beds and easily accessible shaded areas.

These beaches also have parking areas reserved for holders of a Blue Badge, wheelchair access ramps, and adapted walkways, along with support staff to assist those in need.

Andalucía also offers some of the first audio beaches in Spain, a space where people with restricted vision can fully enjoy a day by the sea. The system uses several elements to help the blind and visually impaired navigate the beach and promenade.

This pioneering initiative uses a special system consisting of audio totems and sound beacons installed on the beach and in the sea, along with a lifeline to guide users to the shoreline.

The reception totem is located at the entrance to the beach and welcomes the user on arrival. It also activates a signal to the lifeguards to alert them that a user has accessed the area.

Bathers are supplied with a bracelet that allows them to activate the sound devices. The wrist device is equipped with a series of buttons that allow the user to activate information about the distance from the promenade to the sea, informative messages and warnings broadcast from the beacons, and a button to request assistance.

These specially adapted beach areas obviously allow access to registered guide dogs.

Another extremely useful precautionary initiative that has been introduced to further secure the health and safety of bathers is InfoMedusa, a mobile phone app for both iPhone and Android.

The increase in the possibility of jellyfish invasions in the waters off the shores of Andalucía, as in other parts of Spain, worried entrepreneurs in the tourism sector, so they decided to do something about the problem.

Infomedusa offers users up-to-date information about jellyfish on the coast. In addition to information on the presence of these invertebrates, it includes data on their quantity, variety and danger.

It also has a public chat in which users can collaborate in the collection of information by contributing the incidents they observe on the beach where they are.

The application also offers information on the availability of services, incidents on the beaches, information on health safety, and meteorological data, such as temperature, wind speed and direction, and sea conditions, among other things.

In order to protect bathers from the habits of other beach users, the Andalusian regional government introduced the ‘Smoke Free Beaches and Pools’ campaign shortly after the pandemic, and now there are more than 40 beaches committed to being smoke-free in the region.

The initiative was launched by the Andalusian Network of Health Services and Smoke-Free Spaces, which seeks to raise awareness about the negative consequences of smoking on the beaches and around municipal swimming pools. The project aims to promote healthy habits to improve health and quality of life, increase environmental quality, reduce pollution and improve the image of the beaches.

Any Andalusian town hall that wants to offer a smoke-free beach can request to join the scheme. Beaches involved in the project go through an evaluation and accreditation process with four levels: member, bronze, silver and gold.

The diverse Andalusian coast line offers some of the most beautiful, well-equipped, easily accessible and safe and clean beaches in Spain, if not, in Europe. When one takes into consideration the diversity of the locations and status of the beaches of Andalucía, the abundance of amenities and facilities they offer, not to mention the numerous initiatives employed to ensure the health and safety of bathers, it is no wonder why this stretch of coast is so appealing to the millions of tourists from all over the globe who flock to these shores every year.