Benajarafe is one of those beaches people drive past a thousand times on the N-340 without stopping. A mistake: it runs to more than two and a half kilometres of sand with a laughably low density of bathers compared with Torre del Mar or Rincón, and it has some of the longest-established beach bars on the Málaga coast.
Getting there
Along the N-340 (Málaga – Torre del Mar), roughly between kilometres 265 and 268. Multiple access points and free dirt parking beside the road and along the seafront. Consortium intercity buses stop on the main road.
Facilities
- ✓ Lifeguard during the bathing season
- ✓ Several beach bars serving espeto
- ✓ Showers and toilets
- ✓ Sunbed hire
- ✓ Free parking
- ✓ Sports area and beach volleyball
- ✓ Adapted access points in the central section
Space, and plenty of it
Benajarafe’s great virtue is its ratio of sand to bathers. Even on 15 August you can put your parasol down with room around you if you walk two hundred metres from the main access. The seabed is dark sand and gravel, with a gradual entry and moderate waves.
The beach bars
This stretch holds several long-established beach bars that have spent decades serving customers who drive out from Málaga city specifically to eat here. Sardine skewers, Málaga salad, clams and soupy rice. Booking is advisable on summer weekends.
A practical note
Since it’s a long beach with scattered access points, choose carefully where you park: the facilities — showers, lifeguard, beach bars — are concentrated in the central section. If you want complete solitude, the far ends are nearly empty, but they’re also unsupervised.
