Playa de La Carihuela
Stretching nearly two kilometres along Torremolinos' western flank, La Carihuela is the beach that locals actually use — wide, clean, and backed by a promenade lined with old-school chiringuitos rather than tourist traps. The water is calm, the sunsets face almost due west, and the smell of grilling sardines drifts across the sand from mid-morning onward.
The Beach Itself
La Carihuela sits in the neighbourhood of the same name, a former fishing village that Torremolinos absorbed without fully digesting — you can still see the original whitewashed cottages tucked behind the seafront. The sand is fine and golden, the slope into the sea is gentle, and Blue Flag status means the water quality is consistently excellent.
Arrive before 10 am in July and August to claim a spot without paying for a sun-lounger. The central stretch near Calle del Bajondillo is the liveliest; walk south toward Benalmádena for quieter, less crowded patches of shore.
Eating and Drinking on the Sand
The chiringuito El Roqueo, right on the promenade, has been grilling espetos de sardinas — sardines skewered on bamboo canes and cooked over an open wood fire — for decades. Order a half-dozen with a glass of cold Manzanilla and you have the definitive Costa del Sol lunch for under €10.
After sunset the same strip transforms into a relaxed paseo scene: families, couples, and elderly men playing dominoes at pavement cafés. It is unhurried in a way that the main Bajondillo beach rarely is.
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