Caleta de Vélez has something no other beach in the Axarquía can offer: a working fishing port with a daily auction right next to the sand. That changes the atmosphere. People don’t just holiday here, they work: at five in the afternoon the boats come in, the catch is auctioned, and half an hour later it’s on the grill at the restaurants next door.
Getting there
From the A-7, junction 274, or along the N-340 from Torre del Mar (5 km). The port has a large free car park, with more spaces on the village streets. Consortium buses stop on the main road.
Facilities
- ✓ Lifeguard during the bathing season
- ✓ Beach bars and fish restaurants in the port
- ✓ Showers and public toilets
- ✓ Sunbed hire
- ✓ Large free car park
- ✓ Adapted access
- ✓ Marina with a sailing school and boat hire
The port: what makes it different
The Port of Caleta de Vélez combines a fishing fleet with a marina of nearly 300 berths. Boat trips, sport fishing outings and dolphin-watching excursions leave from here, and there are sailing and paddleboard schools operating year-round. It’s the best place in the Axarquía to do something on the water beyond simply swimming.
Eating here
The port’s restaurants work with fish from their own auction house: local anchovies, horse mackerel, forkbeard, swordfish depending on the season. It isn’t the cheapest option in the region, but it is the freshest. Local tip: ask what came in today rather than ordering from the menu.
What the beach is like
The harbour wall shelters the beach from the swell, so the water is usually very calm. Dark, coarse sand, a gradual entry and around 800 metres of length. It’s comfortable for families and one of the best options in the area when an easterly has churned up the sea at Torre del Mar or Torrox.