La Duquesa Beach lives alongside its marina, and that defines everything about it: berths, yachts, terraces with a British and Irish clientele, and a sheltered beach where the sea almost never turns rough. It’s the liveliest spot after dark anywhere in the municipality of Manilva.
Getting there
From the A-7, junction 146, following signs for Puerto de la Duquesa. There’s free parking around the marina and paid parking inside it. On foot from Sabinillas it’s about twenty minutes along the promenade.
Facilities
- ✓ Lifeguard during the bathing season
- ✓ Beach bars and marina restaurants
- ✓ Showers and public toilets
- ✓ Sunbed and parasol hire
- ✓ Free and paid parking
- ✓ Marina: boat hire, sailing school, fishing trips
- ✓ Adapted access
The marina
Puerto Deportivo de la Duquesa has close to 300 berths and is the sailing base for the western end of the province. Boat trips, dolphin-watching excursions towards the Strait, jet ski hire and sailing lessons all leave from here. It’s also the best place in the area for dinner looking out to sea.
What the beach is like
Around 800 metres of dark sand, partly protected by the harbour wall, which means calm water for most of the year. Gradual entry and good upkeep. It’s a comfortable beach for families and one of the best options in the west when an easterly has made the sea choppy at Estepona or Marbella.
History on the sand
Beside the beach stands the Castillo de la Duquesa, an 18th-century fortification built to watch the coast, and next to it a Roman site with the remains of a fish-salting works and baths. Both are open to visitors.
