Casares is famous for its white village clinging to the mountainside, one of the most photographed in Andalusia. What almost nobody realises is that the municipality also has a coastline: a stretch of about two kilometres known as Playa Ancha or Casares beach, between Estepona and Manilva.
Getting there
Along the N-340 between Estepona and Sabinillas, at Casares Costa. Free parking beside the access points. From Casares village it’s around 18 kilometres of mountain road: this is not a beach you walk down to.
Facilities
- ✓ Lifeguard during the bathing season
- ✓ Beach bars on the sand
- ✓ Showers
- ✓ Free parking
- ✓ Sunbed hire in the central section
- ✓ Adapted access in the developed section
What it’s like
As the name suggests, it’s a wide beach: dark, coarse sand, plenty of space and low-density development behind. Occupancy stays low even in summer because it falls outside the main tourist circuits. The water is clean and the entry gradual.
The village, up above
It’s worth driving up to Casares village after the beach: white houses stacked on a crag crowned by a Moorish castle, with views reaching the Strait and the African coast on clear days. It’s also the birthplace of Blas Infante, regarded as the father of Andalusian nationalism.
When to go
June to September for swimming. The area is particularly pleasant in September, when the water is still warm and visitor numbers drop close to zero.
