Los Alcázares beaches: Playa Carrión

Playa Carrión is a high occupancy urban beach in Los Alcázares

The second most southerly of the beaches of Los Alcázares is Playa Carrión, an urban Q for Quality beach with fine soft sand and several access points.

The beach extends 600m from Calle José de Fontes to Calle Telégrafos, where the Los Alcázares monolith is located (erected to celebrate the independence of Los Alcázares from Torre Pacheco and San Javier in 1983). It averages 20 metres in width, with fine, soft, grey sand. The monolith also marks the original boundary of the municipality.

Playa Carrión has a high occupancy rate in summer due to the urban density of this part of Los Alcázares, but is largely empty for the rest of the year - many visitors still come to the Mar Menor only in summer, as has been the case since the area first became popular.

The mild year-round climate in this part of Spain, the shallow waters and the prevailing winds in the Mar Menor make the area a mecca for all types of water sports and activities. Separated from the Mediterranean by the 22-kilometre strip of La Manga, it is only 7 metres deep in the centre and the shallow fringes and lack of tide and waves make it safe for families with young children as well as attractive for novices in sports such as canoeing, sailing, windsurfing and kayaking.

Los Alcázares boasts 7km of continuous promenade behind the beach, with cycle racks provided for those wishing to leave the car at home and take advantage of the flat terrain. The promenade is very popular with those who walk, cycle or run its entire length every day.

Bars and restaurants are within easy walking distance and showers and toilets are close by. The access to the beach from the promenade is almost level with no ramps required. There is parking in the residential and urban streets behind the beach. 

Playa Carrión has been awarded a Q for Quality flag, attesting to the guaranteeing the quality of its facilities and services. During peak months the beach offers disabled parking, bicycle parking, toilets, beach bars, recycling containers, footbaths, amphibious bathing seats, bins, wooden walkways on the sand, promenade, first aid and rescue services, ramps and assisted bathing for those with disabilities. 

Safety precautions for Mar Menor beaches

Most of the Mar Menor beaches have very gently sloping shelves, meaning that bathers can walk a considerable distance from the shore and still only be waist high in the water. These shore fringes are also very warm, heating up more than the deeper water and the Mediterranean, particularly during the hot summer months.

Many beaches are also protected by netting to exclude jellyfish. This creates safe bathing areas for families but there is also a danger as the calm water means that many elderly bathers bathe alone. This in itself is not dangerous, but every year there are unnecessary fatalities when bathers suffer heart attacks, strokes, faints or dizzy spells, slipping into the water without anyone else being aware.

The transition from hot beach to cold water can shock the body, causing dizziness or fainting, so it is advisable to splash the body with water to cool down before wading out!