Selwo Marina
Selwo Marina sits beside Parque de la Paloma on the western edge of Benalmádena, a compact 1.67-hectare park organised into four distinct zones — Antillas, Las Hondonada, Amazonia, and Isla de Hielo. Each area has its own logic: tropical birds and reptiles in one corner, penguins in another, sea lions in a third.
Since September 2025, the bottlenose dolphins that were long central to the park have been removed, and the dolphin shows no longer run. What remains is a quieter, more varied collection — worth knowing before you plan your visit.
💛 What travellers fall for
Regulars tend to linger longest in Amazonia, where caimans and lizards occupy a dim, humid interior that offers real relief on a hot afternoon. The penguin enclosure at Isla de Hielo draws a crowd at feeding time. Come mid-week if you can — weekends fill up with school groups.
The story behind Selwo Marina
Selwo Marina opened in 2001 under the ownership of Parques Reunidos, the Spanish leisure group. From the outset it centred on cetacean shows — bottlenose dolphins performed in a large pool in the Antillas zone — alongside sea lions and a growing collection of birds, reptiles, and penguins.
The park holds permanent membership in the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria. In September 2025, all dolphins were removed from the facility, marking a significant shift in what the park offers. The sea lion pools and the remaining animal zones continue to operate.
Good to know
Take the RENFE train to Benalmádena-Arroyo de la Miel, then walk roughly 15 minutes, or catch bus L2 direct to Selwo Marina. Open daily 10:00–19:00; hours shift by season. Children under 3 or under 100 cm enter free. Budget two to three hours.
Spring and autumn are the most comfortable seasons — temperatures between 19°C and 26°C, with manageable crowds. Summer afternoons push into the high 20s and low 30s; the shaded indoor Amazonia zone helps. Winter visits are mild, around 16–17°C, though some seasonal programming may be reduced.
Where is Selwo Marina?
More tickets & tours for Selwo Marina
Book directly at the provider
What travellers say about Selwo Marina
It was a nice little marina zoo. It was lovely seeing the birds and some of the seals. I felt one or 2 of the enclosures may have been a bit small for some of the animals.
There is an amazing playground inside. I mostly liked the Pinguins. The shows are at fixed hours and I recommend checking that in advance. We saw the parrot show and it was amazing. The child was fascinated. There are also family photos taken by a professional photographer by the entry.
This place was nice, i recommend buying tickets in advance if you wanna encounter the penguins or else it will be fully booked. We stayed here for two hours, never getting bored with all the activities, the bird show was really cool and the guy who explained about each animal at different times said really interesting stuff. Coming here was worth it!
Quite small but a lot of talks and mini shows that make up for it. Kids really enjoyed it. They should stop advertising dolphins as none there.
Very small beautiful zoo, I thought we would be there for an hour at most and ended up spending maybe three to four hours there. There were amazing animals in beautiful pavilions. The animals look very happy, the zoo environment was very clean and friendly. Toilets available, ice cream points and also a lots of snacks. We saw dolphins feding and training, ti was amazing and there is also an amazing penguin pavilion. You can go throught the open enclosures very often a see animals from 50cm, great! Parking is close to zoo with enough capacity. Close to the zoo i park Paloma - absolutely recommended for short walk and see the small cactus zone which is inckluded inside the park.
More of Benalmádena
Discover where to stay, what to do and the best deals for your trip.
Explore Benalmádena →More attractions in Benalmádena
All of Benalmádena →
Background adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA) · map data © OpenStreetMap contributors · ratings & place photos via Google · other photos with per-image credit. Ticket links may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.