La Manga is a narrow strip of land that is approximately 22km long and a few hundred meters wide. The word La Manga means arm in Spanish and this is like a headland that goes out into the Mediterranean and forms the Mar Menor lagoon inside. It is an average of 7 meters deep on the inside, which means that the water temperature permits bathing all year round. The water also has a high salt and iodine content and is known for its healthy effects. On both sides of La Manga there are nice long sandy beaches. The southern part belongs to the municipality of Cartagena and the northern part to the municipality of San Javier.

 

La Manga is located in the Murcia region and the coastal strip stretches from Cabo de Palos in the south to the San Pedro del Pinatar Natural Park in the north. During the winter months, there are approx. 10,000 inhabitants here but during the summer months the number of inhabitants can increase to 200,000. The area has an average temperature of 18 degrees and more than 300 hours of sunshine per year.

 

Beaches

La Manga has approximately 44 km of beach - 22 on the inside which is good when it's windy and 22 km. on the outside which is then the “real Mediterranean. They are long beaches where it is only crowded in certain places - you can always be a little more private out here. There are also playgrounds, bars and restaurants. It is not possible to enter the strip of land from the north. It is prevented by a large area of subsidence just south of San Pedro del Pinatar. So if you are going to take the car, you can count on approx. 50 minute journey from Sam Javier, down past Cabo de Palos and up along the strip of land. During holiday periods, there is a lot of traffic and lots of people crossing the road with swimming mattresses and other accessories.

 

Bicycle excursion

A nice excursion that you can do in high season is to take the boat with bicycles from Santiago de la Ribera. It takes approx. 20 minutes out to Puerto Deportiva Tomás Maestre. Drinks are served on the boat and then it takes about 10-15 minutes to reach good beaches on both sides.

Check if the boat runs here: www.marmenorferry.com

 

Text & image: Måns Löfgren, SkyBlueMedia