Torrox claims to have the best climate in Europe and puts it on the signs at the entrance to the town. True or not, you can feel it at Ferrara Beach: a kilometre and a half of dark sand below a long, flat promenade, with the Torrox lighthouse at one end and temperatures that rarely drop below 18°C in January. This is the main beach of Torrox Costa and the focus of almost all local life.
Getting there
Leave the A-7 at junction 285, Torrox Costa. There is free parking on the streets running parallel to the promenade and several dirt car parks by the lighthouse, though they fill by mid-morning in August. By public transport, the M-360 and M-362 buses run by the Málaga Metropolitan Transport Consortium connect Torrox Costa with Nerja, Torre del Mar and Málaga city; the stop is less than 200 metres from the sand.
Facilities
- ✓ Lifeguards during the bathing season
- ✓ Several beach bars on the sand
- ✓ Showers and public toilets
- ✓ Sunbed and parasol hire
- ✓ Free parking on the surrounding streets
- ✓ Adapted access for people with reduced mobility
- ✓ Blue Flag
Dark sand, warm water
Like most of the Axarquía, Ferrara has dark volcanic sand mixed with fine gravel. It heats up more in the sun than the pale sand further west — water shoes are worth having at midday in August — but it also means the shallows warm up faster. The entry into the water is gradual and even, which makes this a comfortable beach for families with small children.
What to see nearby
At the end of the promenade stands the Torrox lighthouse and, right beside it, one of the most interesting archaeological sites on the coast: the Roman villa of Torrox (Clavicum), with the remains of baths, a necropolis and a first-century fish-salting works. It is open to visitors, free, and literally next to the beach. Four kilometres inland lies Torrox village, a whitewashed maze of narrow streets where a free tapa still comes with your drink.
Best time to visit
Torrox Costa has a well-established German expatriate community, so the beach never empties completely: there are people walking and beach bars open in winter, which is not the case elsewhere in the Axarquía. For swimming, June to September. For walking and eating well without the crowds, any weekend from March to May or October to November.