Almeria's beaches in Spain's top 10 for Blue Flags

Beaches

The province has achieved this recognition for 38 of its coastal areas, which is three more than the previous year, placing it seventh in the country and second in Andalucía

Alicia Amate

Almería

Almeria province has a total of 38 'Blue Flag' beaches for the 2026-2027 season according to the association for environmental and consumer education (Adeac). ... This makes it the second province of Andalucía after Malaga, with the most distinguished beaches and the seventh in the whole of Spain.

According to Adeac a total of 677 blue flags will be flying from this summer until next summer on as many beaches belonging to 258 municipalities along the entire Spanish coast. In Andalucía 143 blue flags have been awarded, five more than in 2025, spread over 48 municipalities. Of these, eleven belong to Almería province.

From Adra to Pulpí, taking care of the beaches is a maxim intrinsically linked to the maintenance of services that ensure the preservation of the environment while guaranteeing the safety and comfort of beachgoers.

This work carried out by the administrations is awarded each year in the form of the 'Blue Flag', a distinction granted by Adeac to those beaches, marinas and tourist boats that comply with a series of requirements related to environmental education, water quality, safety and services.

In Almeria province blue flags have been awarded to beaches in Adra (Censo, El Carboncillo, San Nicolás and Sirena Loca), Almería city (El Toyo and San Miguel), Balanegra, Carboneras (El Ancón, Las Marinicas and Los Barquicos-Cocones), Cuevas del Almanzora (Playazo-Villaricos, Pozo del Esparto, Quitapellejos and Palomares), El Ejido (Balerma, Levante and Almerimar), Mojácar (El Cantal, El Descargador, Lance Nuevo, Marina de la Torre and Piedra Villazar), Níjar (Agua Amarga and San José), Pulpí (Calipso, Los Nardos, Mar Rabiosa and Mar Serena), Roquetas de Mar (Aguadulce, La Bajadilla, Las Salinas, Romanillas, Playa Serena and Roquetas) and Vera (El Playazo and Las Marinas-Bolaga).

Related story

• • What requirements must a beach meet to be awarded a Blue Flag in Spain?

  Alicia Amate

There are three more than last year as Playazo de Villaricos, in Cuevas del Almanzora; Piedra Villazar, in Mojácar; and Las Marinas-Bolaga, in Vera, regained the recognition. The marinas of San José, in Níjar, Roquetas de Mar and Adra have also been added to the list this year.

In the rest of Andalucía, after Malaga with 45 and Almeria with 38, is Cadiz, with 32, Granada with 14, Huelva with 12, and finally Cordoba and Jaen, with one each. The latter, despite being inland provinces, also have this recognition on inland beaches: La Breña, in Almodóvar del Río (Córdoba), and El Encinarejo, in Andújar (Jaén).

Nearly 800 in Spain

At national level, Spain has reaffirmed its world leadership in blue flags by reaching a total of 794 awards in 2026, which is 44 more than the previous year. This was announced this Tuesday 5 May by Adeac in a press conference reported by Europa Press. By region Valencia leads the ranking of beaches with 151 blue flags distributed in 48 municipalities, nine more than in 2025. It is followed by Andalucía, with 143 (+5); Galicia, with 118 (+10); and Catalonia, with 101.

Of the national total, 677 correspond to beaches, 111 to marinas and six to tourist boats, within the framework of a programme that has been running for 40 years and is already present in 51 countries and more than 5,000 locations. In addition, according to Adeac, Spain accounts for 15 per cent of the blue flags on beaches globally and has fourteen new beaches awarded for the first time.

As a historic milestone, Adeac highlighted that seven Spanish beaches and two marinas have maintained this recognition uninterruptedly since the programme began in 1987, an achievement that, according to the association, "only occurs in Spain".

After the top positions by regions, the Canary Islands (52 and +5), the Balearic Islands (33 and +1), Murcia (33 and +4), Asturias (16 and +2), Cantabria (11), Extremadura (8 and +1), the Basque Country (4), Melilla (3 and -1), Ceuta (2) and Madrid (one). In terms of marinas, Catalonia leads the ranking with 24 distinctions (+1), ahead of Andalucía (22 and +2), the Valencian Community (20 and +1), the Balearic Islands (14) and Galicia (11 and -1).