We sail from Puerto Marina, Benalmádena: ten minutes by car from Torremolinos, and La Carihuela one mile away by sea.
See boats at Puerto Marina9+
years sailing
6
boats at Puerto Marina
10 min
by car from Torremolinos
1
mile to La Carihuela
Torremolinos has no marina: the nearest one is Puerto Marina in Benalmádena, about ten minutes away by car or two stops on the local train. Six boats sail from there, with and without a licence, from €80 per hour and with insurance included. Open every day from 9:00 to 21:00.
Torremolinos harbour is a small fishing slipway down in La Carihuela, with no rental berths and no set-up for taking guests aboard. That's why anyone looking for a boat in Torremolinos ends up leaving from Benalmádena: four kilometres along the seafront, the same bay, the same water.
The good news is that here the word "near" doesn't need dressing up. It's a little over one nautical mile from the berth to La Carihuela beach, and about two to the Bajondillo. A two-hour booking is enough to run the whole Torremolinos seafront, drop anchor and swim — even in the slowest boat we have.
Our fleet is our own and it sits where we have bases: Puerto Marina (Benalmádena), Puerto de la Duquesa (Manilva) and Estepona Marina. There is nothing to offer in Torremolinos: its harbour serves the fishing fleet and small craft, with no rental berths, and we'd rather say so than sell you a departure from a place we're not in. What we do have is the biggest base on this coast, right next door. Ten minutes on the N-340, two stops on the train, or an hour's walk along the seafront if you fancy it — one of the few times "near" means what it looks like.
Four licence-free boats, the Rocinante for licence holders and the Tyrion catamaran with a skipper. All of them berthed ten minutes from Torremolinos.
In Spain you can operate boats up to 6 metres long with an engine of up to 15 HP without any nautical licence, in daylight and within 2 miles of the coast. At Puerto Marina there are four: the Octo 47 CC (4.7 m, 6 seats) and the Andrómeda (5.2 m, 6 seats), the easiest to handle if you've never been at a helm, and the Nova and Kronos (5.5 m, 8 seats) if you're a group. From €80 per hour or €150 for 2 hours, with insurance and safety equipment included, a €200-300 deposit and fuel paid separately based on what you use. We run you through the controls and the sailing area at the berth before you cast off.
The Rocinante carries a 115 HP Selva and seats 7. Being over 15 HP it requires a PER or equivalent — it's the power, not the length, that takes it out of the licence-free bracket — and we ask for it when you collect the boat. From €120 per hour with a €300 deposit, and it's the only boat in which reaching Málaga city or heading west towards Marbella on a short outing is realistic. If you'd rather not be at the helm, the Tyrion catamaran (7.87 m) always sails with a professional skipper, up to 10 people, from €330 for 2 hours and with fuel included: it's the one for celebrations, though its speed keeps it inside the bay.
These are the real distances from the berth, measured in a straight line by sea. A licence-free boat cruises at around 7 knots, and here the numbers work in your favour: the whole Torremolinos coastline fits inside a two-hour booking, with time left over to anchor.
It's the first thing you come to on leaving Puerto Marina, ten or fifteen minutes away even at half throttle. From the water you get the full row of beach restaurants along La Carihuela, the slipway and the old jábega fishing boats pulled up on the sand. Anchoring off the beach mid-morning and dropping in for a swim is what most people do on this run.
Round the point and the Bajondillo opens up, with the old town of Torremolinos perched on the cliff above it and the Pimentel tower — the 14th-century watchtower the town is named after — showing over the promenade. It's the view you can't get from land: the whole town stacked above the beach. From there it's Playamar and its line of tower blocks all the way to Los Álamos.
Past Playamar the coast opens into the beaches of Los Álamos and Guadalmar, with the airport right behind them and aircraft coming in low over the water. Málaga city is about 8 miles out, so it only pays off on the Rocinante or on a long booking: on a licence-free boat it would be over an hour each way.
What the stretch between Torremolinos and Benalmádena gives you, depending on how long you book.
The bay is regular bottlenose dolphin territory and running into them minutes after leaving is not unusual, especially first thing in the morning. No guarantees — they're wild animals — but the odds are good most of the year.
This coast faces south, so late in the day the sun drops into the sea to the west with the Mijas hills cut against it. Evening slots are the ones people book again, and you don't need to go far: it looks just as good from off La Carihuela.
Birthdays, hen and stag dos and get-togethers on the Tyrion catamaran: up to 10 people, professional skipper included and a sound system on board. You bring the food and drink, or we'll point you to where to order it at the marina.
The coves on this bay lie west of the marina, the opposite way from Torremolinos: Torrebermeja, Torremuelle and Carvajal, almost as far as Fuengirola. They're small, pebbly and awkward to reach on foot, so you anchor, jump in and midweek you'll have the place largely to yourself.
The next marina along, in Benalmádena, runs trips with everything arranged: a shared dolphin tour, a half-day family outing, a paddle-surf escape or a wakeboard session for the braver ones in the group.
If you're staying in Torremolinos, this is what you get for crossing over to Benalmádena.
Puerto Marina is our big base: four licence-free boats, the Rocinante for licence holders and the catamaran with a skipper. More options and more free slots than any small harbour nearby.
Insurance and safety equipment included in the price. Fuel is paid separately based on actual consumption, except on the skippered catamaran, which includes it. We tell you the deposit before you book, not when you turn up.
Parking at the marina itself and a Cercanías station two stops from Torremolinos. You can come without a car and skip hunting for a space in August, allowing for a short bus or taxi hop from the station.
We're at Puerto Marina Benalmádena, berths 685, 686 and 687. Here's the exact location and how to reach us from Torremolinos.
Solboat Alquiler de barcos Benalmádena
Calle la Fragata, Amarre 685, 686 y 687
29630 Benalmádena, Málaga
On the N-340 it's around ten minutes from central Torremolinos and slightly less from La Carihuela. Follow signs for Benalmádena Costa and then for Puerto Marina.
The C-1 local line (Málaga–Fuengirola) runs parallel to the coast: from Torremolinos it's two stops, about five minutes, to Benalmádena-Arroyo de la Miel, the closest station to the marina. Be aware that it sits in the centre of Arroyo de la Miel, roughly 2 km from the berth and uphill, so the last leg is about 10 minutes by taxi or bus, or a good half-hour on foot.
Puerto Marina has its own car park next to the berths and there is paid street parking along the promenade. In July and August it's worth arriving with time to spare: the marina is a restaurant hub too and it fills up.
What people looking for a boat from Torremolinos ask us.
Pick a boat, pick a date and we'll be waiting at berths 685, 686 and 687, ten minutes from Torremolinos.
See boats at Puerto Marina
