{"id":5281,"date":"2023-03-13T15:48:22","date_gmt":"2023-03-13T13:48:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/laisladetabarca.com\/las-playas-de-tabarca\/"},"modified":"2026-11-05T09:59:57","modified_gmt":"2026-11-05T07:59:57","slug":"tabarca-beaches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/laisladetabarca.com\/en\/tabarca-beaches\/","title":{"rendered":"Tabarca beaches: what the main beach and the coves are like"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Updated November 2026.<\/em> Don\u2019t expect a long stretch of fine sand: Tabarca\u2019s beaches are small, but they are surrounded by Spain\u2019s first marine reserve, with some of the clearest water on the Alicante coast.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_86 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Tabla de contenidos<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #a01a5a;color:#a01a5a\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #a01a5a;color:#a01a5a\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ez-toc-columns-2 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/laisladetabarca.com\/en\/tabarca-beaches\/#the-main-beach\" >The main beach<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/laisladetabarca.com\/en\/tabarca-beaches\/#the-rocky-coves\" >The rocky coves<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/laisladetabarca.com\/en\/tabarca-beaches\/#what-to-do-in-the-water\" >What to do in the water<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/laisladetabarca.com\/en\/tabarca-beaches\/#services\" >Services<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/laisladetabarca.com\/en\/tabarca-beaches\/#getting-there-and-when-to-go\" >Getting there and when to go<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/laisladetabarca.com\/en\/tabarca-beaches\/#rules-for-a-responsible-visit\" >Rules for a responsible visit<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"the-main-beach\"><\/span>The main beach<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The main beach (Playa Central or Playa Grande) is next to the harbour, opposite the museum. It is only about 200 metres long and is made of coarse sand mixed with gravel and countless small white shells. It is calm and shallow, so it suits families, but it fills up quickly in July and August when the morning boats arrive.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"the-rocky-coves\"><\/span>The rocky coves<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The rest of the coastline is rocky, with small coves and platforms where you can get into the water. They are the best places for snorkelling, but you need water shoes and should be careful on the rocks. Never step on or anchor over the Posidonia meadows.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"what-to-do-in-the-water\"><\/span>What to do in the water<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Snorkelling:<\/strong> no permit needed, just get in from the shore. Mornings are best. See our <a href=\"https:\/\/laisladetabarca.com\/en\/activities-on-tabarca-island\/snorkelling-in-tabarca\/\">snorkelling guide<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Scuba diving:<\/strong> requires prior authorisation and is usually done with an authorised dive centre.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Kayak and paddle surf:<\/strong> available from operators in Santa Pola and on the island in season.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"services\"><\/span>Services<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Restaurants and beach bars are concentrated around the harbour and the main beach. Facilities such as showers, toilets and sunbed rental are limited and seasonal: bring water, sun protection and shade.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"getting-there-and-when-to-go\"><\/span>Getting there and when to go<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Boats leave from Santa Pola fishing port (Tabarkeras \/ Viajes Isla Tabarca and Transtabarca, 15\u201325 minutes, \u20ac9\u201315 return). Details in our <a href=\"https:\/\/laisladetabarca.com\/en\/how-to-get-to-tabarca-from\/from-santa-pola\/\">Santa Pola boat guide<\/a>. June and September are ideal: warm water and fewer people than in August.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"rules-for-a-responsible-visit\"><\/span>Rules for a responsible visit<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Spearfishing is banned throughout the reserve.<\/li>\n<li>Do not touch or take living things (sea urchins, starfish, fan mussels, shells with animals inside).<\/li>\n<li>Take your rubbish and cigarette ends back with you.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Updated November 2026. Don\u2019t expect a long stretch of fine sand: Tabarca\u2019s beaches are small, but they are surrounded by Spain\u2019s first marine reserve, with some of the clearest water on the Alicante coast. The main beach The main beach (Playa Central or Playa Grande) is next to the harbour, opposite the museum. It is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_joinchat":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sin-categorizar"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/laisladetabarca.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/laisladetabarca.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/laisladetabarca.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laisladetabarca.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laisladetabarca.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5281"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/laisladetabarca.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5281\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5292,"href":"https:\/\/laisladetabarca.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5281\/revisions\/5292"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laisladetabarca.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/laisladetabarca.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laisladetabarca.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laisladetabarca.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}