Where is Seville and does Seville have a beach?

The city of Seville is located inland in the province of Seville in the southern autonomous region of Andalucia in southern Spain (just three hours by train from the epic Spanish capital, Madrid). Both the city and the province are landlocked. Seville itself has no coastline and no beaches.

But never fear, this doesn’t mean that it’s hard to get to the beach from the city of Seville. It just means you wind up in another province. Handily, all the provinces of Andalucía are utterly gorgeous.

✈️ The Seville airport is an easy 10km from the city – and there is a helpful bus that goes right from the airport into town.

This article is split into 4 sections for beaches in 🏝 Huelva Province | 🏝 Cádiz Province | 🏝 Malaga Province | 🏝 Portugal (Algarve) |

How to get to the beach from Seville

Should you take a day trip or stay at the beach?

Actually, both are possible since Sevilla is so nicely located so close to so many truly incredible beaches. The closest beach is just 90 minutes or so away from the city. 

⛺️ If you’re going to stay over at the beach, please remember that wild camping is not legal in Spain so don’t just show up and expect to pitch a tent. There are plenty of official campsites along the southern Spanish coast within easy reach of Seville. There are also hotels, apartments and even glamping sites available.

🏨 The summer months mean high season so everyone in Seville is looking to get to the beach. Don’t show up and expect to find accommodation: pre-booking is imperative. (And on the flip side, when I tried to book a winter time hotel in a beach area recently I realised the hotel is closed Nov – March!)

→ Where I think there’s a great hotel near a beach, I have shared a link to it below.

➡️ If you’re in Seville with kids then a day at the beach will be an extremely welcome break for them.

Beach times?

⏰ My preference is to alway go early to the beach. I like to leave home early and get home late. However, the Spanish, if they’re day-tripping, often prefer to go after lunch and enjoy the early evening on the beach, have supper in a chiringuito or one of the many beach bars and only then head home to Seville.

⏰ When in Andalucía we can’t forget about the all important siesta. In many places, especially small towns, life stops between 2 – 6 as everyone goes home to eat lunch and rest. Some restaurants at the beach will stay open all day but others will close at 4 pm and not open again until 8.30 pm or so.

Chiringuito – beachside shack/cafe/restaurant – in reality it is any beachside spot selling food. I’ve been to some that really are little more than beach shacks and I’ve been to others that serve incredible cuisine. They all sell great seafood and beer, that’s all we need! 

How to get to the beach from Seville by province

OK so you’ve figured out your transport preferences and you know you can stay at the beach until late so let’s look now at beach options and how to help you escape the summer heat of Seville. 

Realistically, if you’re going to the beach from Seville you’re going to the beach in Huelva, Cádiz or maybe Malaga. If you feel like crossing the border, honestly there are breathtaking beaches to visit in Portugal that are easily accessible too.

In this article we’re going to focus on Huelva and Cádiz since these provinces offer the closest beaches for anyone in Seville.

Beaches in Huelva Province

The Huelva Province coast stretches from the Portuguese border all the way to Playa Matalascañas. The whole of this coastline is part of the Costa de la Luz (Coast of Light). Many of the beaches in Huelva make me weep at their beauty and much of the Huelva coast is located within the gorgeous Doñana National park.

🏖 Matalascañas

The easiest and nearest beach to reach from Seville, this gorgeous beach is very popular. If you have your own transport it’s easy to drive in either direction from the resort area and find nigh on deserted stretches of beach.

Matalascañas is famous for its weird upside down Torre la Higuera.

⭐️ Because we have a car we prefer to be west of this beach area between Playa Matalascañas and Playa del Parador de Mazagon – around El Arenosillo and Playa Rompeculos (yeah, ass-breaker beach). It’s possible to park and then carry everything down to the beach. Note that parking isn’t super close but the walk on raised wooden paths through or alongside the forest is, for me, part of the joy of visiting beaches in this area.

🏖 Punta Umbría

This is one of the most popular beaches areas in the region. People rave about the magical sunsets here but sadly, I haven’t had the chance to stay late here yet so I’ve never seen sunset from Punta Umbria. While the town of Punta Umbría and the beaches closest to town have something of a party reputation, the beaches away from town are as wild, free and breathtaking as you might hope to find anywhere.

⭐️ This was the first beach I visited after moving to Seville. We drove to Playa de Enebrales just outside of Punta Umbria. Here you walk through a pine forest until you reach the wild and empty beach. The are small sand dunes to enjoy here too. Expect no services if you’re outside of the town.

🏖️ Playa de San Miguel / Playa del Portil

This is a delightfully calm and peaceful beach that’s a great option for anyone with small kids and/or a paddle board. I took a day trip from Sevilla to go paddle boarding here recently with friends and we had an absolutely delightful day out. The water is calm, the sand is soft and importantly, there’s decent parking not too far away. There are showers on the beach but I didn’t see any toilets.

🍦 We stopped in Punta Umbria on the way home for ice creams in Lidl, which added time to our return journey but was definitely worth it!

Beaches in the Province of Cadiz 

If you have ever wondered where locals choose to go to the beach (by locals, I mean people in western Andalucía particularly), they choose the beaches of Cádiz. The Cádiz coastline is absolutely beautiful but it’s rarely entirely unspoiled. The Cádiz coast is part of the Costa de la Luz and the beaches are still Atlantic Ocean beaches. In the summer the water might be warm enough to enjoy but never in winter.

If you have a car, then all of the gorgeous Cádiz coast is easily reached. If not, many of the Cádiz beaches are easier to reach from Jerez de la Frontera than from Seville.

Let’s take a look now at some of Cádiz’s best beaches.

🏖 Playa la Caleta, Cádiz

This small beach is located in the Old Town of Cádiz. It’s a gorgeous horseshoe shape beach that locals love to frequent. Flanked by Castillo de Santa Catalina and Castillo de San Sebastian, the atmosphere on this small town beach is utterly wonderful. Be sure to also head into the old city of Cádiz for lunch and to visit a museum or two and the Camera Obsura.

🏖 Chipiona

Chipiona is the first town in Cádiz after you leave Huelva province via the coast. It has a number of city beaches that are well serviced by chiringuitos and lifeguards.

🏖 Playa de Composoto

This is one of the most remote beaches of Cádiz and unsurprisingly, if you’re car-less you will struggle to get here. Perfect for people who have a car and want to enjoy the Bahía de Cadiz Natural Park (the visitors’ centre is just by the beach too). Next on my personal list of beaches to visit.

🚗 135 km 1hr30

🏖 Sancti Petri

This beach is popular because there is a small island with a castle just off shore. It’s possible to kayak yourself out to the island and, I believe, even walk when tide is low.

🏖 Cala de Pato: in the buff

Finally a nudist beach!

This cove is protected on three sides and has delightful rocky outcrops so you can find the privacy you desire (or don’t) for your naked sunbathing. Can be busy in summer.

🏖 El Palmar

El Palmar is a super popular beach for everyone. With its wide sandy beach, perfect waves for learner surfers (not in winter, winter is for the professionals), restaurants incredible sunsets and more, for many this is the best beach to visit from Seville.

🏖 Playa del Faro de Trafalgar: for the history buffs (not the botty-buffs)

This beach is in the Cape of Trafalgar of Battle of Trafalgar fame. In 1805 the British fleet fought a combined French and Spanish fleet during the Napoleonic Wars. The beach is not generally too busy and it is possible to see across to Africa on a clear day. The photo (above) was taken from next to the Faro de Trafalgar (Trafalgar Lighthouse), which you can walk around but not climb.

🏖 Los Caños de Meca / Playa el Pirata

These adjoining and truly lovely beaches can get crowded and noisy in the summer but don’t let that bother you because they’re truly beautiful, my family absolutely loves this beach and you’ll regularly find us hanging out here. You’ll see people kitesurfing and windsurfing when the wind is right.

These beaches are perfect for people who enjoy chiringuitos, sipping a mojito on the beach and being able to stroll into town for a meal. Do try Restaurante el Pirata, up on the cliff (accessible from the beach for great food and magnificent views over the water.

🏖 Zahara de los Atunes

This small coastal town has long sandy beaches with incredible sunsets.

🏖 Playa de Bolonia

In my opinion, this is pretty much a perfect beach. It’s certainly one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever seen because of its incredible and enormous dune at one end. The other end is famous for natural rock pools. The beach is 4km long and 700 m wide. The sand dune is actually a protected natural monument but you can climb it and enjoy sliding down on your bottom.

⭐️ This is one of the best places in Andalucia to visit with kids ⭐️

Speaking of bottoms, around the sand dune area it is considered to be a nudist area. Another huge highlight of this beach is the unparalleled Roman ruin of Baelo Claudia, which sits along side the beach and is free to enter via the visitor’s centre

People come to this beach for its natural beauty, for the ruins, the dune and the fabulous chiringuitos.

🏖 Tarifa

Tarifa is one of my favourite coastal cities. It has two beaches: Playa Chica (above) on the Mediterranean Sea and the other on the Atlantic Ocean for Tarifa is where the two bodies of water meet – isn’t that cool? The smaller, Med beach is popular with people who want to swim (many like to swim up to the island) while the Atlantic beach is popular with kite surfers. There are great beach bars, restaurants and more.

Beaches in the Province of Malaga – The Costa del Sol 

The Costa del Sol has been a famous and popular beach destination for tourists for many years and with good reason. The Malaga coastline offers twinkling blue Mediterranean waters, chiringuitos, activities and more. Don’t expect the wild, empty beaches of Huelva here.

Let’s take a quick look at a few of Malaga’s best beaches but given that we’re talking about the best beaches to visit from Seville, I’m only going to name a few really special ones near each of the main beach towns for this section as it’s really a bit far for a day trip even for someone as gung-ho as me.

⭐️ Many people coming to Andalucía will be asking the question, which is better, Malaga or Seville? Of course, the answer depends on what you’re hoping for from your vacation.

🏖 Malaga

Malaga is obviously the capital of Malaga Province and there is never a shortage of cultural or outdoor activity to be found here. In Malaga city, La Malagueta is a popular blue flag beach with an inflatable water park in the summer months, plenty of beach bars and even excellent museums just minutes away. There are lifeguards along the beaches in Malaga.

🏖 Marbella

With the Sierra Blanca mountains framing views from the coast, there is no doubt that fancy Marbella’s beaches are some of the best in Malaga Province. There are 23 beaches in the 25 km of Marbella’s coast line.

🏖 Torremolinos

A popular beach resort town, the beaches of Torremolinos offer exactly what you’d expect – the sand is soft, the water is warm and not too wild and there are plenty of excellent chiringuitos and bars along the busy beaches. Good queer scene here.

🏖 Nerja

Playa de Burriana is, according to people who know, the most beautiful beach on all of the Costa del Sol.

Beaches to visit in Portugal

I’m not nuts, I promise. From Seville it’s just as easy to cross into Portugal for some beach fun as it is head to Malaga. We regularly go to the Algarve for the day or a quick weekend trip. It’s so easy to do.

🏖 Vila Nova de Cacela

Just over the border into Portugal and practically the first beach you come across is one of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. The only thing when visiting Vila Nova de Cacela is to be super aware of the tide as it changes fast and when it comes in the beach is swallowed by the sea and there is no way back to land.

The white sand and turquoise water here will stop you in your tracks, I’m not kidding.

🏖 Tavira

The gorgeous town of Tavira is just two hours from Seville and although the beach is then accessed by boat from Tavira, this is a great option if you fancy seeing something of Portugal. Tavira is not your typical Algarve resort town, it’s a quaint old town with narrow, winding roads, incredible restaurants and, of course, a huge and gorgeous beach just a short boat ride away. On the beach there are beach bars and restaurants.

🏖 Faro

Although further away it is still not impossible to visit Faro from Seville. We tend to go for a night or two if we fancy a trip to this beautiful Portuguese town and its stunning beaches.

A final word on how to get to the beach from Seville

I hope this article and its list of incredible beaches in the region has helped you figure out how to get to the beach from Seville as well as decide where to go and which beach is right for you. I included the three Portuguese beach options, by the way as I find that people don’t always realise how easy it is to get to Portugal from Seville and it’s something we really love to do.

Whichever beach you pick: Enjoy, and don’t forget the sun cream!