Leave Puerto Marina and follow the coast at your own pace. From two hours to a full day.
See boats at Puerto Marina6
boats at Puerto Marina
4
licence-free
2-8 h
per trip
9+
years sailing this coast
Trips leave from Puerto Marina in Benalmádena (berths 685, 686 and 687), with six boats: four licence-free from €80 per hour, the Rocinante for PER holders and the skippered Tyrion catamaran from €330 for 2 hours.
Puerto Marina is not an ordinary harbour: its white buildings, built out over the water, are among the most recognisable in the Mediterranean, and they're the first thing that drops astern as you clear the entrance. Just behind them on the hillside you'll pick out Colomares castle and the Benalmádena stupa, both far easier to identify from the sea than from the road.
West of the marina the coast runs down past Torremuelle and Carvajal, with 16th- and 17th-century watchtowers still standing on the cliffs, and ends at Sohail castle in Fuengirola. East of it lies the long beach of La Carihuela, with Mount Calamorro above. Two hours takes you round the bay with time to anchor; four gets you to Fuengirola and back at sunset.
Duration matters more than the boat. These are the three formats booked most often from Puerto Marina, what you see on each and who they suit.
The short trip, and the one booked most. You clear the entrance, run along Santa Ana beach and anchor in the small coves under the Torremuelle cliffs, which are all but unreachable on foot. Real swimming time, rather than spending the whole slot under way.
West past Carvajal and Torreblanca to the mouth of the Fuengirola river, with Sohail castle looking down on the beach from its hill. Enough to anchor, eat on board, swim and head home with the sun dropping ahead of you. The full outing if you have half a day.
A whole day lets you push on towards Mijas and La Cala, change anchorage a couple of times and come back at dusk. It makes sense on the skippered catamaran, or on the Rocinante if you hold a PER: eight hours of sun on the deck of a small open boat is a long time.
These are the departures you can book right now from Puerto Marina: shared ones, if you are happy to sail alongside other people, and private ones, if you want the boat to yourself. Each listing shows the price, the number of places and the days available.
Four licence-free boats, the Rocinante for PER holders and the skippered Tyrion catamaran. All on the same pontoon.
Every trip is different, because you set the route and the pace.
Seeing this coastline from the water changes the scale of it completely: the Torremuelle cliffs, the old watchtowers, the Benalmádena skyline with Calamorro behind. The westward run is the more rewarding one, because the coast grows steadily less built-up as you go.
Between Benalmádena and Fuengirola there are inlets under the cliffs with no path down. You anchor close in, cut the engine and the place is essentially yours, especially midweek or outside July and August.
The Alborán Sea holds a resident bottlenose dolphin population and this bay is on their regular route. No guarantees, but sightings are frequent, and nearly always early in the morning when the water is flat and there's little traffic.
This coast faces southwest, so late in the day the sun drops straight ahead of you. Afternoon slots are the ones people come back for: you anchor, cut the engine and watch the light go across the water with the sierra cut out behind.
A private boat and a route of your own, not a group excursion on a fixed timetable.
Puerto Marina is our big base: four licence-free boats, the Rocinante for PER holders and the skippered catamaran. More options and more free slots than at a small harbour.
If you want to drive, we brief you at the berth and you head out on your own within the 2-mile limit. If you'd rather switch off, the Tyrion catamaran always comes with a professional skipper and fuel included.
Parking inside the marina right by the berths and straight aboard from the pontoon. No transfers and no boarding queues in high season.
Berths 685, 686 and 687. Here's the exact location and how to get here.
Solboat Alquiler de barcos Benalmádena
Calle la Fragata, Amarre 685, 686 y 687
29630 Benalmádena, Málaga
Take the Benalmádena Costa exit from the A-7 or the AP-7, then follow the signs for Puerto Marina. It's about 20 minutes from central Málaga and around 40 from Marbella on the AP-7. By train, the C-1 commuter line (Málaga–Fuengirola) stops at Arroyo de la Miel, about 10 minutes by taxi or bus from the marina.
There is parking inside the marina next to the berths, plus paid street parking along the seafront. In July and August allow an extra twenty minutes: Puerto Marina is a restaurant hub too, and it fills up from midday.
What people ask before booking a trip.
Two hours around the bay or a full day down to Mijas. We'll be at berths 685, 686 and 687, Puerto Marina.
See boats at Puerto Marina
