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Playa del Moncayo / Platja del Montcaio, Guardamar del Segura
A short walk through the dunes takes bathers to a beautiful rural beach in Guardamar
The Playa del Moncayo in Guardamar lies just outside the southern end of the town, between the Playa del Campo and the Playa de la Roqueta and next to the Campomar residential and hotel development.
Iberian remains have been discovered at the southern end of this stretch of beach, but far more visible is the hotel and housing, which begin at the N-332. Apart from numerous nicely designed properties the main feature is the enormous hotel: many of the guests staying here can be found on the beach during the day, and although others prefer to lounge by the pool this guarantees that there are a fair number of bathers on the sand and in the sea in the summer months.
Access to the beach, though, is not completely straightforward, although the efforts made to overcome the problem by the means of specially constructed wooden walkways have won the Playa del Moncayo a Blue Flag. Even from the hotel a 100-metre walk on a path through the dunes is necessary, and for those approaching from outside the hotel the approach from paid parking spaces is slightly further. This makes access to the central area of the 1.5 kilometre beach slightly difficult for those of limited mobility, and even the fully mobile would be well-advised to consider folding chairs with wheels as a convenient means of transporting paraphernalia down for a day on the sand.
The presence of the dunes and the Campomar urbanization makes this a semi-urban, semi-rural beach: neither one thing nor the other, with a little of both. There are no shops close by, and the only restaurant is in the hotel, so the existence of two beach bars in the summer is a necessary addition for many. Other facilities include two lifeguards’ points and two Red Cross stations, foot showers and sun loungers for hire, and toilets, but in general terms this has the feel of one of Guardamar’s less spoilt, wilder beaches.
In reality, the beaches of Guardamar del Segura are almost all just parts of one long strip of golden sand, but the area of Playa del Moncayo is a pleasant half-way point between the urban surroundings of Playa Centro and the wilder, less accessible characteristics of the Playa de las Ortigas.
Click for map, Playa del Moncayo / Platja del Montcaio, Guardamar del Segura
Click for further information about the other beaches in the Guardamar municipality
Further information about the municipality of Guardamar del Segura can be found in the dedicated Guardamar del Segura municipality section, accesed via the map box at the bottom of every page