Calahonda Beach, Nerja
Calahonda Beach is located on the eastern side of the Balcon de Europa, down a cobbled path that has not changed much since Raquel Welch walked down it in 1967 in the film Fathom.
The beach is quite small but offers full facilities. There are showers and toilet facilities, and a lifeguard presence during the holiday season. Sunbeds can be hired here, and bar Papagayo overlooks the beach, offering drinks and food on their large terrace. Snorkelling around the rocks beneath the Balcon de Europa is a popular activity, and at the far end of the beach there are some hidden coves to explore.
Local fishermen still use the beach as the launching point for their traditional fishing boats. You can watch them land their catch, repair their nets and push their boat into the sea.
Bars, Restaurants & Shops
There is only one bar/restaurant on Calahonda beach and that is Papagayos, which has a large shady terrace overlooking the beach, more tables and a bar and pool table inside and a few more tables round the side of the building. 
In the summer months Papagayos has live music in the evenings – look out for the publicity posters at the top of the steps to find out what is on and when. For a bar right on the beach prices are very reasonable and the small menu has a variety of different items that should suit most tastes. You will need to get there early if you want to get a table, as it is a very popular place, with many regular customers as well as holidaymakers taking a break from their sunloungers to have lunch.
Papagayos is closed for a few months over winter. There are no other bars or shops on the beach, other than a kiosk that sells soft drink, sweets, ice creams and beer. Again, this is only open in the summer months. There are more shops around the Balcon de Europa above that sell beach items, clothes, snacks and drinks, most of which are open year round.
The Beach
The beach itself has soft sand in parts, and gravelly sand in the rest – a pair of crocs or beach shoes are recommended. There are a small number of loungers in the centre of the beach, which you can rent for the day, complete with straw sun umbrella. If you just want somewhere to lay your towel, there is plenty of free space on both sides and in front of the paid loungers, plus you can head around the rocks on the left of the beach and find a quieter spot further along. The sand is always being moved around by the action of the waves and some days you will find a wide sandy stretch of beach among the rocks and other days it will have gone. The cliffs on the right hand side of the beach offer shelter when the wind comes from the west – especially useful outside the summer months, when the beach can become a sun trap, with year round sunbathing possible as a result.
The old cliff path that connects Calahonda beach to Burriana beach starts amongst the rocks at the side of the beach – this has now been closed off due to dangerous rockfalls, but adventurous walkers can still take their lives in their hands to explore it, if they climb over the wall.
There are also toilets and a beach shower on Calahonda, but please note the toilets are only open when the beach loungers are open.
There are no pedaloes or other water based activities here, unless you count watching the local fishermen launch and recover their wooden fishing boats when the conditions are right.
Calahonda Accommodation
The nearest hotels to Calahonda beach are the Balcon de Europa hotel and the Hostal Marissal above on the Balcon de Europa itself. There are many more small hotels, hostals and private flats to rent in the town centre, all within a few minutes walk of Calahonda.
Parking And How To Get To The Beach
There is no parking at the beach, the nearest paid car park is the underground car park behind the tourist information office which you access from Calle la Cruz. The other alternative is the car park behind Call Carabeo, accessed from Calle Rodriguez Acosta. If you are coming on foot, walk down to the Balcon de Europa and you will see the access steps to the beach through the archway opposite the ice cream shop on the left of the Balcon. Please note there are quite a lot of steps down to the beach and there is no ramp access, making it unsuitable for people in wheelchairs or with walking difficulties. El Salon beach on the opposite side of the Balcon de Europa has ramp access, as do most of the other beaches in Nerja.
