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We have lived here for 5 years ourselves. This guide comes from experience, and it is what we hand to our guests: the places, the tips, the festivals and the numbers you hopefully never need. Not a copy of a travel guide, but what we actually do.
From the beach around the corner to a day out in Cartagena, with how long it takes from our houses.
The local beach of Lo Pagán: fine sand, shallow water and a row of beach bars behind it. The Mar Menor is warmer and calmer than the open sea.
Go before ten in the morning, when the parasols are still free and the water is like a mirror.
Read all about Playa de VillananitosFamous natural mud pools at the edge of the salt lakes. Cover yourself, dry in the sun and rinse off in the Mar Menor.
Bring an old towel and a bottle of water for your face. The mud tightens as it dries.
Casa Flamingo ~5 min · Casa Feliz ~20 min on foot
Read all about Mud baths of Lo PagánPink salt lakes, wooden boardwalks and hundreds of flamingos. One of the finest walking areas on the Costa Cálida, free to enter.
In the last hour before sunset the water turns deep pink and the flamingos come closest to the path.
Read all about Salinas nature park and the flamingos
A long line of terraces along the water, from tapas bars to ice cream parlours. In the evening half of Lo Pagán strolls up and down.
Order a tapa with your drink. In many bars along the promenade something comes with it as standard.
Read all about Lo Pagán promenade
The white windmill of the salinas is the symbol of San Pedro del Pinatar, standing exactly where the salt lake meets the sea.
Walk on past the mill. That is where the quietest stretch of beach in the whole town begins.
Read all about The salt mill by the water
A large, colourful playground among the palm trees, with shaded benches and a terrace next door.
Perfect for late afternoon: children play, parents have a coffee, and the beach is right there afterwards.
Read all about Playground on the promenadeBeach bars right on the Mar Menor, with fresh fish, paella and the view included. Simple, Spanish and affordable.
Ask for the catch of the day instead of the menu. It is almost always the best thing they have.
Read all about Chiringuito with your feet in the sand
Vegetables, fruit, olives, herbs and clothing. Real Spanish markets where the neighbourhood does its shopping. San Pedro has one on Monday morning on Avenida El Pilar, Lo Pagán on Thursday morning on Avenida Salzillo.
Bring cash and go early. Towards the end the stalls start packing up.
Read all about The two weekly marketsIndoor shopping centre with a supermarket, fashion, cinema and restaurants. The answer to a hot afternoon or a rain shower.
The cinema regularly shows films in English. Useful to know if you travel with teenagers.
Read all about Dos Mares shopping centre
The largest open-air shopping centre in the region: over 150 shops, palm trees, terraces and La Zenia beach around the corner.
Combine it with an afternoon at Playa La Zenia. Shop until about two, then straight into the sea.
Read all about La Zenia Boulevard
Playa La Zenia, Cabo Roig and Punta Prima: wide sandy beaches on the open sea, with waves and diving spots.
Come here if you want waves. If you want warm, shallow water for small children, stay on the Mar Menor.
Port city with a Roman theatre, a picturesque marina and one of the finest shopping streets in southern Spain.
Park by the harbour and walk up to the Roman theatre. The route there is half the pleasure.
The regional capital, with a baroque cathedral, shaded squares and tapas bars where locals actually go.
Go on a Thursday evening. That is when the terraces by the cathedral are at their liveliest.
The salt lake of Torrevieja is bright pink from algae and salt. Alongside it a lively promenade and a large Saturday market.
Around midday the pink is at its most intense, especially with the sun full on the water.
Murcia Corvera is a ~35 to 40 minute drive, Alicante about an hour. Alicante has by far the most direct flights; the route network at Corvera is smaller and changes with the season.
Corvera is smaller and much quicker through customs. With children that can easily save an hour.
Read all about Murcia and Alicante airportsNothing within this travel time. Slide the handle to the right.
Our own addresses. Opening hours change with the season, so we deliberately leave them out: follow the link for what applies today.
Bakery
Fresh bread, savoury rolls and cake, around the corner from Casa Flamingo. This is the bakery you walk to in the morning and come back from with more than you intended.
💡 Our tip Go early for the fresh bread. And take something savoury to the beach once, that is what they do best.
Casa Flamingo ~3 min · Casa Feliz ~20 min on foot
Supermarket
The nearest supermarket from Casa Feliz, five minutes on foot. Enough for the daily shop, breakfast and a bottle of wine for the roof terrace.
💡 Our tip A big shop is cheaper at the supermarkets on the main road. This is the shop for what you need today.
Casa Flamingo ~15 min · Casa Feliz ~5 min on foot
Seaside restaurant
Restaurant on the water, on the same street as Two Brothers. One of those places you come to for the view and return to for the food.
💡 Our tip Combine it with the walk along the promenade: walk first, then sit down.
Casa Flamingo ~12 min · Casa Feliz ~10 min on foot
Opening hours change with the season. Check their own page before you go.
The fixed festivals of the year. The busiest weeks come with a warning: very little stays available in the wider area.
16 to 25 July, main day 16 July · Lo Pagán
The festival of the patron saint of fishermen, and the finest thing Lo Pagán has to offer. Decorated boats sail out onto the Mar Menor in procession, with music from the quay. Recognised since 1965 as a festival of regional tourist interest.
💡 Our tip Go to the harbour, not the beach. From the quay you see the boats leave and return, and that is the moment it is all about.
Busy, book early
the last two weeks of September · Cartagena
For nine days Cartagena turns into a Roman and Carthaginian army camp. Thousands of residents take part in costume, with battles, a gladiator school, parades and a huge encampment you can simply walk into and eat at. One of the largest historical festivals in Spain. In 2026: 18 to 27 September.
💡 Our tip The camp outside the centre is free and the most fun for children. Go there early in the evening, when the cooking starts and it is not yet crowded.
Busy, book early
December · San Pedro del Pinatar
Spain celebrates Christmas more quietly than northern Europe, but nearly every town builds a belén: a life-size nativity scene with dozens of figures. The one in San Pedro is worth seeing, and the promenade is covered in lights.
💡 Our tip Christmas Day is quiet here, New Year's Eve is not. At midnight everyone eats twelve grapes, one per chime. Buy them a day ahead, on 31 December they are sold out everywhere.
5 and 6 January · San Pedro del Pinatar
On 5 January the Cabalgata de Reyes moves through town: the three kings throw sweets into the crowd from decorated floats. The next morning Spanish children get their presents, not at Christmas.
💡 Our tip Get there early and bring a bag. Local children catch the sweets in upturned umbrellas.
February, varies by year · Cartagena en Águilas
Cartagena and above all Águilas hold one of the biggest carnivals in southern Spain, with costumed parades that run deep into the night.
💡 Our tip Águilas is worth the drive, but arrange the way back first. There is almost no night transport back towards the Mar Menor.
Our two houses sit in the middle of everything above. Book directly with the owner, no middleman.
Check availabilityDetails checked on 2026-07-26
