Photo: Gibmetal77 (CC BY-SA 3.0)
The beaches
Five beaches on a six-kilometre rock, all free, lifeguarded from late May to October. The east side gets the morning sun, the west the sunset.
Which beach
Pick by the sun, not the name.
Eastern Beach
Sun all day
Biggest, sandiest, a bar on the sand
Best for families, a full day
Catalan Bay
Sun till mid-afternoon
Village, restaurants, a church
Best for lunch on the sand
Sandy Bay
Calmest water
Groynes and a breakwater since 2014
Best for a quiet swim
Camp Bay & Little Bay
Sunset side
Rock, pools and a bar
Best for the evening
Western Beach
Nearest the border
Golden sand, the Rock behind
Best for two hours to spare
The beaches, one by one
Where each one is, what it is like, and three ways to get there.
Photo: Gibmetal77 (CC BY-SA 3.0)
01
Eastern Beach
The big one. Sun all day.
The largest beach on the Rock and the only one on the east side that keeps the sun all day, because the cliff behind it stands further back. A bar and restaurant on the sand, and the airport fence at the north end, so the approach lights are part of the view.
Where to eat
- UDAYA 4.6 / 5
- Restaurante Bella Vita 3.8 / 5
Bus
Route 8 from Reclamation Road, about ten minutes. £1.80.
On foot
25 minutes from Casemates along Devil's Tower Road.
Taxi
About £8 from town. Midtown car park is a short walk.
Photo: Olaf Tausch (CC BY 3.0)
02
Catalan Bay
A fishing village first, a beach second.
La Caleta's people descend from the Genoese fishermen who settled the east side in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and the village keeps its church, its painted houses and a row of restaurants on the sand. The Rock rises straight up behind it, so the sun goes early.
Where to eat
- Chinese Kitchen 3.0 / 5
The seafront restaurants in the village are the reason to eat here; most are not yet on the Index.
Bus
Route 8, about fifteen minutes from town. £1.80.
On foot
40 minutes from Casemates round the north end of the Rock by Devil's Tower Road and Catalan Bay Road. The Dudley Ward tunnel is for cars only.
Taxi
About £10 from town.
Photo: milosh9k (CC BY 3.0)
03
Sandy Bay
Rebuilt in 2014. The calmest water on the east side.
Fifty thousand tonnes of sand shipped from the Western Sahara and held in place by two curved groynes and a breakwater. The quietest of the five, below the Both Worlds terraces.
Where to eat
- Kokonut Bar 3.3 / 5
Bus
Route 8 or 4 to the Both Worlds turnaround, then steps down.
On foot
15 minutes from Catalan Bay along the coast road.
Taxi
About £10 from town.
Photo: John Cummings (CC BY-SA 3.0)
04
Camp Bay and Little Bay
The west side's answer, and the sunset.
Rock and concrete rather than sand, with swimming pools cut into the shore, a bar, and the sun going down over the bay. The pools open with the bathing season; on Easter weekend and the weekends before it the government opens the facilities early.
Where to eat
A bar by the pools in season. Not yet on the Index.
Bus· to verify
Route 4 or 9 to Rosia, then ten minutes down.
On foot
40 minutes from Casemates along Rosia Road.
Taxi
About £8 from town.
Photograph to come
05
Western Beach
The locals' beach, ten minutes from the frontier.
Golden sand on the bay side beside the airport, with the Rock filling the view behind. The beach for a day-tripper with a couple of hours left.
Where to eat
- La Playita 4.2 / 5
On foot
10 minutes from the frontier, 20 from Casemates.
Bus
Route 5 or 10 to the airport stop, then five minutes.
Taxi
About £6 from town.
The season
Lifeguards from 23 May to October.
The official bathing season opened on 23 May 2026 with lifeguards, beach attendants and accessibility services on every beach and pool, transitional cover until 13 June and full cover after that.
Outside the season the beaches are open and unguarded, and the water is warmer in October than in May. Government notice 354/2026 →
What we read
- Start of the official bathing summer season 2026, 354/2026 · HM Government of Gibraltar
- Sandy Bay: the 2014 restoration · Visit Gibraltar
- Catalan Bay: the village and its Genoese origins · Visit Gibraltar
- Bus routes and fares · Gibraltar Index, Getting around
Spotted an error? We check every fact we can and date what we check, but hours, prices and owners change. If something here is wrong, tell us and we will fix it.