Nerja travel guide [2025]
Nerja might just be the most perfect beach holiday town on the Costa del Sol. Here’s everything you need to know to plan a visit.
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The seafront promenade under the Balcon de Europa, Nerja
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Nerja: even if you’re not a beach person, you’ll find something to love about this town.
Located in the easternmost corner of Spain’s Costa del Sol, Nerja isn’t as built-up as the beach resorts in the west of the Costa, such as Torremolinos and Marbella.
It has some of the best views in Andalucia from the Balcon de Europa, crystalline turquoise waters, and - for the less beachy among us - a handful of delightful activities that don’t involve lying on a sunlounger.
I first visited Nerja during the pandemic years, and since moving to Málaga I’ve come back several times, sometimes for a weekend break and sometimes a day trip. This article distills my best tips for visiting this area based on my own experiences.
Natural beauty and a perfect climate
Playa Calahonda
One thing that Nerja does share with Marbella is a dramatic backdrop of mountains. The peaks of the Natural Park of the Sierras de Tejeda, Almijara and Alhama rise up close to the sea here, and you might see a dusting of snow on them as late as April.
Nerja is in the comarca (county) of the Axarquía, a generous slice of Málaga province that includes seaside towns, mountain villages where locals dry fat raisins in the sun, and a patchwork of farms and orchards. Avocados, mangoes and sugar cane are some of the key crops here, ingredients you’ll see reflected in restaurant menus.
Those high peaks provide something of a buffer for extreme weather, giving Nerja a microclimate with comfortable temperatures year-round. Add in the impressive 300+ days of sunshine per year, and it’s easy to see why the town has been a popular holiday destination for decades.
What to do in Nerja
Balcón de Europa
Nerja’s principal landmark is this observation deck that juts out over the sea at the end of a palm tree-lined promenade.
Built on a rocky outcrop between the beaches of El Salón and Calahonda, legend has it that the “Balcony of Europe” was given its name by King Alfonso XII when he toured the area in 1885. However, local records suggest the name predates this royal visit.
Along the left side of the promenade is a whitewashed colonnade of arches decorated with the typical Andalucían plant pots, a great spot to stroll with an ice-cream while taking in the views over the beach and mountains.
Nerja’s Balcón de Europa
Top tip: everyone flocks here at sunset, but the sun actually goes down behind the promontory to the right of the Balcón, making it slightly anticlimactic. It’s worth coming here to see the sun rise directly over the sea (with hardly anyone else around). One reason to visit over the quieter winter months when sunrise is at a far more civilised hour!
The figure leaning on the railing on the left is actually a statue of King Alfonso XII
Cueva de Nerja (Nerja Cave)
In January 1959, five local boys looking for bats in the area of Nerja known as Maro stumbled upon something extraordinary: a series of underground caverns stretching almost 5km long, containing vast cathedral-like spaces.
Along with spectacular rock formations, such as a 32m column formed by a stalactite and stalagmite merging, the cave contained evidence of human habitation dating back more than 30,000 years. The site opened to the public in the summer of 1960 and became an instant tourist sensation. It remains one of Nerja’s biggest attractions today.
The Nerja Cave
Getting to the Nerja Cave
As well as a must-see if you’re staying in the Nerja area, the cave makes a nice day trip from Málaga city, either by car or public transport. There’s a bus from Málaga’s bus station that will take you to the stop directly outside the cave complex (Fundación Cueva de Nerja), with a journey time of an hour and a half.
Top tip: Install the app of the bus operator ALSA onto your phone for ease of booking and to have timetable information to hand. If it’s not available in your region’s app store, the booking platform Omio.com is an excellent alternative. Both options will allow you to have mobile tickets saved to your phone.
If you’re coming from Nerja town centre, it’s a 10-minute car ride or a 50-minute walk (largely uphill). You can also take a local bus or a little tourist “train” that operates a hop-on, hop-off service between the town centre and the cave.
What to expect
There’s ample parking available onsite, a kids’ playground, a picnic area and some botanical gardens, plus a Virtual Reality room (I ran out of time to see this, so can’t vouch for what it’s like).
The playground at the Nerja Cave
The VR room and on-site cafe at the Nerja Cave
The cave itself is easy to explore thanks to a series of stone steps, walkways and viewing platforms. There’s a circular route that takes about 20-30 minutes to walk, a bit longer if you’re stopping to listen to the audio guide.
Top tip: Plan ahead and download the audio guide onto your phone before you visit. Don’t wait until you have started going down the steps to the cave, as there’s no connectivity. I particularly enjoyed the part of the guide that told the imagined life story of Pepita, a real person who lived here during the Epipaleolithic period (her skeleton was found in the cave and is on display at the Nerja Museum).
Is it worth visiting the Nerja Cave?
Absolutely. Photos and videos don’t do the experience justice - the spaces are truly vast and the rock formations spectacular. As an ‘80s kid, it reminded me of the film The Dark Crystal and I half-expected to see a Jim Henson character pop up from behind a rock!
For more visitor information, check out the official Nerja Cave website.
Beaches
Nerja’s beaches are certainly one of the town’s great draws, and they range from pretty sheltered coves to wide expanses of sand well-served by beach bars and shops.
The sand varies from golden to grey, one of the reasons that the hit 1980s Spanish TV series Verano Azul (Blue Summer) was filmed here - having less reflective sand made life easier for the camera crew.
How’s the water?
Nerja has had problems with wastewater runoff into the sea in the past, something that has often been debated on online travel forums. However, since the town’s sewage treatment plant started operating in 2020, the issue seems to have greatly improved. In 2025, four of Nerja’s beaches are flying the blue flag, an internationally recognised safety and quality certification: Burriana, La Torrecilla, Maro and El Playazo-Chucho.
Here are a few of my favourite Nerja beaches:
Playa de Burriana is the town’s largest and most popular beach, with rows of sunloungers available to hire, restaurants and cafes aplenty and a range of facilities for visitors with reduced mobility (the accessible tourism website TUR4all has a detailed guide).
Playa Calahonda can be reached by walking down a path to the left of the Balcón de Europa, through an archway known as the Boquete de Calahonda - one of Nerja’s most photogenic spots. The beach itself is small but has the picturesque addition of an old fisherman’s cave-house with a blue door.
Old fisherman’s cottage, Playa Calahonda
Playa el Salón is the small beach to the right of the Balcón, and it can also be reached by a winding path. The water tends to be a bit choppier than Playa Calahonda.
Playa Carabeíllo (also known as Carabeíllo Chico) is a sheltered cove that’s usually less busy than other Nerja beaches thanks to its more difficult access. Surrounded by high cliffs and lush vegetation, it’s a very pretty spot. If you don’t fancy going down to the beach, you can admire it from the viewpoint Mirador del Bendito.
Kayaking and paddle-boarding
The coastline here has a series of picturesque rocky cliffs and sea caves that are fun to explore via kayak or SUP (stand-up paddle board). You can rent these at Playa Burriana, with the option to go your own way or take a guided tour. The main operator is Educare Aventura.
One of the stand-out highlights is paddling underneath the Cascada Grande de Maro, a freshwater waterfall that plunges into the sea from 15m-high cliffs about 3km east of Playa Burriana. The waterfall is highly weather-dependent and virtually disappeared during the dry summers of 2021-23, but the unusually rainy spring of 2025 has left it looking healthy for the rest of the season - fingers crossed!
A return trip by kayak or paddle-board from Playa Burriana takes around two hours. It’s also possible to reach the waterfall by the shorter route of kayaking from the Playa de Maro.
Boat trips
If you’re staying closer to Málaga city, Educare Adventura also offers boat trips from the port of Vélez-Málaga to Maro, with kayaking or paddle-boarding at the waterfall included. I have done this trip and highly recommend it - the video below shows some highlights.
What’s particularly notable about the sea around Nerja - other than that beautiful turquoise colour - is how clear it is. This is thanks to the vast underwater meadows of posidonia, a type of seagrass that acts as a natural filter and is known as the “lungs of the Mediterranean”.
Nerja has the most posidonia meadows of the entire Costa del Sol, and you can spot them swaying in the current if you take a boat trip along the coast.
Visit neighbouring Frigiliana
This pretty pueblo blanco (white village) is located in the hills behind Nerja. It’s just a 15-minute drive away, making it an ideal excursion if you’re based in Nerja for a few days.
Frigiliana was part of the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada, the last dynasty of al-Andalus (Islamic Spain). Although its hilltop fortress was destroyed long ago, its steep streets and narrow, cobbled alleyways are a legacy of its original Andalusi layout, and the village has an annual Three Cultures Festival that celebrates its Muslim, Christian and Jewish past.
When I visited Frigiliana I was struck by the simple sensory pleasure of wandering through its little streets in the late afternoon sun, inhaling the scents of clean laundry, cooking, herbs and fresh mountain air.
If you’re staying for a meal, two restaurants with beautiful views from their terraces are La Tahona del Zacarin and Restaurante El Mirador-Frigiliana.
When to visit
Thanks to its pleasant climate, Nerja is a year-round destination.
It’s busiest from June to September when both domestic and international visitors (and many second-home-owners) flood into town, tripling or even quadrupling the population.
I recommend visiting during the quieter months from October up to the Easter holidays, at which point visitor numbers start to climb again. Although some restaurants and bars close over the winter months, many remain open. It’s often still warm enough to swim in the sea in October, and even November, as shown in the photo below.
One thing to take into account is that the kayak and paddle-board companies may close between mid-December and mid-March.
Playa Calahonda in November
Eating and drinking in Nerja
What to eat
As you’d expect, Nerja is a great place to enjoy fresh fish and seafood, and there are plenty of local dishes and ingredients from inland as well. Look out for the aforementioned avocados and mangoes, and fried aubergine drizzled with cane sugar molasses (often just referred to as miel - honey).
One delicious and refreshing dish you have to try during the summer months is ajoblanco, a chilled soup that’s older than gazpacho and made with ground almonds, garlic, olive oil and bread. It’s often topped with sweet white grapes grown in the Axarquía.
Where to eat
Here are two of my favourite restaurants in Nerja which I’ve found to be open during the low season as well as high summer.
In the old town, El Pulguilla is a popular restaurant with a bar at the front where they still bring you a free tapa with your drink. If you fancy a sit-down meal, head through to their large outdoor terrace where the service is bustling and efficient and the house specialty is platters of fried fish.
Alongside Playa Burriana, Ayo is a chiringuito (beach bar/restaurant) famous for its rice dishes, which are cooked in huge pans over open flames. Tucking into a dish of Ayo’s paella with your toes in the sand is a classic Nerja experience.
About the author
Hola! I’m Amy, a writer and videographer who has spent 5+ years living in Spain. As well as running the Senses of Spain website, I make videos on Instagram and TikTok and write a monthly-ish newsletter.
