ROQUETAS DE MAR
Almeria
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What began as a humble fishing village has in recent decades expanded into a popular beach town with over 90,000 inhabitants. Roquetas de Mar is located just 20 minutes from Almeria city. Although you will have to pass through the ugly mass agriculture area known as the “sea of plastic” (which can actually be seen from space - see google maps), once you arrive in Roquetas you will find yourself in a different and thankfully, much prettier atmosphere. Besides having many sandy beaches to choose from, Roquetas de Mar has plenty of things to do, including a golf course, marinas, malls, night life, etc. And don’t forget to stroll along the seaside promenade and admire the lighthouse and Santa Ana castle.
Roquetas de Mar stretches along 15 km of coastline. Although most of its 9 sandy beaches are urban or semi-urban (with all services and amenities), there are also a couple of nice virgin beaches perfect for those looking for more solitude.
Apart from their beauty, the beaches of Roquetas are especially famous for the good quality of their waters and are proudly awarded the blue flag year after year.
Below you will find information about all the beaches in Roquetas, starting with the unspoiled Cerrillos beach in the Nature Reserve of Punta Entinas-Sabinar to the west and ending with the popular Aguadulce beach to the east.
The 2.6 km long Playa de Cerrillos is a virgin beach (no services/amenities) located within the Punta Entinas-Sabinar Nature Park.
This is probably Roquetas most isolated and less frequented beach. It’s a great option for those looking to enjoy nature and seclusion.
The beach is quite long and nudism is common in certain areas.
The area around the Cerrillos beach is also great for birdwatching, especially flamingos.
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Playa Serena is one of Roquetas most beautiful and popular beaches. As such, it can get very busy, especially in the summer months. On the other side, however, since it is located next to a large urban development, it is also one of the beaches with the most facilities and amenities.
This 1.8 km long sandy beach, is famous for having some of the best water quality in all of Spain.
The beach is flanked by a hexagon-tiled promenade lined with large palm trees. There is also a variety of beach bars and restaurants in the area.
At the western end of this beach starts the Punta Entinas-Sabinar Nature Reserve.
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This almost 2 km long sandy beach is commonly known as “la Urba”. Together with Serena beach, Playa Urbanizacion Roquetas de Mar is the most beloved and frequented beach in the area.
Because of the large amount of hotels and rental apartments in the surroundings, it can get very busy in the summer. But it is also one of the beaches with the most facilities & amenities, including a variety of bars, restaurants and night clubs.
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Playa de la Bajadilla is a 1.5 km long urban beach that starts in downtown Roquetas (west from the marina) and stretches all the way to the Zoraida Hotel. As such, it is quite a popular and busy beach.
This beautiful beach features fine golden sand and is lined by a lovely promenade, perfect for an evening stroll. However, the main highlight are the marvelous views of the lighthouse and the Santa Ana castle from the beach itself.
La Bajadilla beach has all amenities and facilities you might think of. It also features an area with easy access for people in wheelchair or with reduced mobility.
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Playa La Romanilla is another urban beach in the center of Roquetas, stretching 1.3 km east of the marina. Like the previous beaches, due to its central location it has all amenities and facilities.
The vast array of bars, restaurants and nightclubs in the surroundings only adds to the lively atmosphere of this bustling beach
VIEW MAPPlaya Las Salinas takes its name from the salt making facility called Salinas de San Rafael which previously found in the vicinity. Although it used to be an undeveloped virgin beach, that is not the case anymore due to the urban growth of Roquetas.
Today, this 1.3 km long beach is a great place for practicing a variety of water-sports. Apart from snorkeling and diving, it is also possible to rent paddle-boards, kayaks, etc.
Moreover, the Gran Plaza mall is next to Las Salinas beach.
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Playa de los Bajos is a 1.8km long sandy beach that is also known as “Playa de los Rompillos.”
Although it is considered a “semi urban” beach, it is a quiet beach mostly surrounded by nature, without any services or amenities. The “road” actually runs directly on the sand, parallel with the beach.
There are often strong winds in this area, making Playa de los Bajos perfect for practicing windsurf.
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Playa la Ventilla starts as an unspoiled beach at the Ventilla palm grove and ends as a “semi urban” beach next to a development in the outskirts of Aguadulce.
This 1.1km long beach is made up of a mixture of thick sand and small pebbles. Its tranquil shallow waters make it very easy to get in and out of. Playa la Ventilla is also a great beach for snorkeling and diving.
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Stretching almost 2 km in front of the town with the same name, Playa de Aguadulce is a beautiful golden sand urban beach. It is often considered one of the best beaches in Almeria.
Aguadulce is a small town with 16,500 inhabitants located just 10 km east of downtown Roquetas and belonging to the Roquetas municipality.
The Aguadulce beach is very popular and, as such, very frequented. It features all facilities and amenities one might need, including various chiringuitos and beach bars. It’s also surrounded by a promenade with bars, restaurants and nightclubs.
This family friendly beach is also a favorite of divers attracted to admire its Posidonia fields.
Playa de Aguadulce has made an effort to allow for easy access for those with reduced mobility and those in wheel chairs.
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The Santa Ana Castle originally began as a watchtower in the 16th century. It was built to protect the production and shipment of salt from the surrounding salt flats from the attacks of pirates and enemies. With time, due to its important strategic location, it developed into a castle.
In the 17th century the Castillo de Santa Ana was destroyed by several earthquakes and Ottoman attacks. Unfortunately, the economic downturn in Spain at that moment meant that there were no funds for its restoration.
Although the castle was finally rebuilt in the middle of the 18th century, it was again destroyed by an earthquake in 1804. Only one of the towers survived.
It wasn’t until the end of the 20th century (1997 - 2003) that the Santa Ana castle was rebuilt again.
Today it can be visited for free. It hosts art exhibits, conferences and summer concerts. However, the main highlight of the visit is getting to the top of one of the towers to enjoy the marvelous views of the Costa de Almeria.
If you are in Roquetas, you can’t miss a visit to the Castillo de Santa Ana.
The lighthouse of Roquetas is located next to the Santa Ana castle. Both monuments together make up the most picturesque and photographed corner of Roquetas de Mar.
The building was erected in 1863 and worked as a lighthouse until 1945. After that, it served as the house for the person in charge of the port.
When the new port buildings were finished and the tenant moved out, the Faro de Roquetas de Mar was handed to the government and renovated.
Since then, it houses temporary exhibitions: paintings, sculptures, photographs, etc.
The Fishing Port & Marina of Roquetas de Mar is located in downtown Roquetas, halfway between the village of Aguadulce and the popular Serena and Urbanizacion beaches.
The port of Roquetas is at the heart of the local fishing tradition, which has been of great importance to the town since its foundation. Still today, fishing is an essential economic activity on which many local families depend.
The port of Roquetas also has a marina with space for pleasure boats and a yacht club, the Real Club Naútico Roquetas de Mar.
There is a variety of bars and restaurants in the area, making it the perfect place to enjoy some of the freshest fish. Moreover, the Puerto de Roquetas de Mar is surrounded by two beautiful beaches: La Romanilla to the east and La Bajadilla to the west.
The tradition of the Roquetas Port contrasts with the modern facilities of the Aguadulce Marina. Among others, here you will find several marine shops, a diving club called Buceo Aguadulce and a yacht club.
This lively area is also home to several bars and restaurants.
As with the port of Roquetas, you don’t need to go far to get to the beach, since the Aguadulce beach is right next to the marina.
The Punta Entinas-Sabinar Nature Park is a 15km-long strip of protected coastline just outside of Roquetas de Mar. Made up of marshes and dunes, a visit to this unique nature preserve is one of the top things to do in Almeria.
Among the dunes you will discover both fresh and salt water lakes. Some of the latter are actually abandoned salt pans.
Even in the middle of summer, the beach along Punta Entinas-Sabinar is often deserted. Its isolation makes it an ideal spot for birdwatching. More than 150 bird species have been sighted here: waders, flamingos, the rare Audouin’s gull, etc.
Autumn is the best time to visit for birdwatching, since it’s when many migrating birds stop in the area.
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