Crystal clear waters in Nerja |
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Blue Flag Beaches on the Costa del Sol 2014-2021
Find below a list of the beaches of Costa del Sol (west to east) that have been awarded a Blue Flag for the summer season (mid June to mid September) in each of the last few years. Read about the Blue Flag system.
As the Blue flag awards have grown over the years the requirments have also grown. Each town hall submits an application in the autumn of the previous year and commits to not just clean bathing water but showers, life-guards, signage and environmental awareness programmes. It has become necessary for town halls to carefully select the potential Blue Flag beaches for the necessary infrastructure investment in preparation for the Blue Flag application. The successful applications are listed below, unsucessful applications are not published. The quiet and perhaps perhaps isolated 'virgin' beaches enjoyed by many can not, by definition, be awarded a Blue flag.
In 2021 the Costa del Sol boasts a record 34 Blue Flag beaches. Malaga city had seven Blue flag beaches when it had not had any since 2015. Marbella has seven, more than recent years but less then the nine in 2014. Notable absences are Rincon de La Victoria and Estepona. Estpona was only awarded four in 2018 but only two in 2019 and 2020 not including the flagship La Rada. In 2020 it promply withdrew both awards, presumably unhappy with the award system and made no applications in 2021.
Destinations are listed along the coast from West to East.
| Destinations | Beaches | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manilva | El Castillo | Y | Y | N | N | N | N | N | N |
| Sabinillas | N | Y | N | Y | Y | N | N | N | |
| Casares | Playa Ancha | N | N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Estepona | Arroyo Vaquero | N | N | N | N | Y | Y | Y/N | N |
| El Cristo | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y/N | N | |
| La Rada | N | Y | N | Y | Y | N | N | N | |
| El Padrón | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | N | N | |
| El Saladillo | N | Y | Y | N | N | N | N | N | |
| Marbella | Guadalmina/San Pedro | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Puerto Banús (Nueva Andalucia) | Y | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | |
| Puerto Banús (Levante) | N | N | N | N | N | N | Y | ||
| Río Verde | Y | Y | N | N | N | N | N | N | |
| Casablanca | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |
| Faro | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |
| Venus | Y | N | N | N | N | N | N | Y | |
| Bajadilla | Y | N | N | N | N | N | N | inc | |
| El Cable | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | N | N | Y | |
| Pinillo | Y | Y | N | Y | N | N | N | N | |
| Adelfas - Alicate | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | Y | |
| Artola (Cabopino) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | N | N | |
| Mijas | Calahonda | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| El Bombo | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |
| La Cala | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |
| Fuengirola | Castillo | N | N | N | N | N | N | Y | Y |
| Fuengirola | N | N | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | |
| Los Boliches - Gaviotas | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |
| Carvajal | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |
| Benalmádena | Malapesquera - Santa Ana | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N |
| Torrebermeja - Santa Ana | N | N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | |
| Torrevigia | N | N | Y | N | N | N | N | N | |
| Fuente de la Salud | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |
| Torremolinos | Los Alamos | N | N | Y | N | N | N | N | Y |
| Malaga | Misericordia | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | Y |
| San Andres | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | Y | |
| La Malagueta | Y | Y | N | N | N | N | N | Y | |
| La Caleta | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | Y | |
| Pedregalejo | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | Y | |
| El Palo | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | Y | |
| El Dedo | Y | Y | N | N | N | N | N | ||
| Rincon de la Victoria | Cala del Moral | Y | Y | N | N | N | N | N | N |
| Río Seco | N | Y | N | N | N | N | N | N | |
| Torre del Benalgalbón | N | N | N | Y | N | N | N | N | |
| Vélez-Malaga | Benajarafe | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Torre del Mar | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |
| La Caleta Paso | N | N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | |
| Algarrobo | Algarrobo Costa | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y; | Y |
| Torrox | Ferrara | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | Y |
| El Morche | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | |
| Nerja | Torrecilla | N | N | Y | N | N | N | N | Y |
| Burriana | N | N | Y | N | N | N | N | Y | |
| Ardales | Playa Ardales | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | Y |