Things to do in Motril
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Motril
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best balance: warm sea by late June, everything open, local rather than holiday crowds.
Peak: best swimming and the patronal fiestas, busiest weeks and highest prices.
Mild winter walking and skiing nearby, but some beach businesses close or cut hours.
What's on
- Semana Santa de Motril Holy Week, March or April
Declared of National Tourist Interest, with processions every day from Palm Sunday.
- Cruces de Mayo early May
Flower decked crosses in squares and patios, with bars and music around them.
- Noche de San Juan 23 June
Bonfires, barbecues and the midnight swim on Poniente and Playa Granada beaches.
- Virgen del Carmen 16 July
The fishermen's patron is carried by sea among the fleet in the port and Varadero quarter.
- Fiestas Patronales de la Virgen de la Cabeza mid-August, around 15 August
Motril's main fair for its patron: fairground, concerts and processions.
Best things to do in Motril
Memorial Rey Balduino / Villa Astrida
The Belgian king and queen's modest summer house, where the guided tour tells their story from inside the household.
Ron Montero
Motril's working rum bodega since 1963, with timed tours in English and a tasting of the aged range.
Museo Preindustrial de la Caña de Azúcar
Excavated early sugar works with full scale mill reconstructions that explain why Motril exists.
Charca de Suárez
Protected wetland of lagoons and hides with rare birds, but restricted hours and a gate that closes on time.
Playa Granada
Motril's best beach: a long serviced sweep by the golf course with Sierra Nevada views and the coast's best sunsets.
Playa de Poniente
The town beach, with chiringuitos, seafood restaurants and the evening promenade below Motril itself.
Santuario de Nuestra Señora de la Cabeza
Hilltop sanctuary over a Nasrid castle site, with the town's classic views and a botanical park at its foot.
Iglesia Mayor de la Encarnación
Gothic Mudejar parish church begun in 1502 on the mosque site, anchoring a compact old town walk.
Where to stay in Motril
Playa Granada
beach-first stays, golfers, families with a car
Best beach and the golf course, in a quiet low rise quarter a short drive from town.
Playa de Poniente
beach access with town food, shorter stays
The town's own seafront, dense with chiringuitos and seafood restaurants.
Town Centre
tapas culture, festivals, car-free and winter stays
Market, churches and tapas bars on the doorstep, beaches a short bus ride away.
West Hills towards Salobrena
couples and special occasions
One mansion hotel in botanical gardens, five minutes from everything and walkable to nothing.
Think twice about
- Port-industrial fringe east of Playa de Poniente
Truck and port noise, almost no evening life or eating within a walk. Visit for the boats and the fish auction, do not sleep there.
- N-340 greenhouse belt towards Torrenueva, Carchuna and Calahonda
Roadside rooms among the greenhouses leave you stranded between settlements at night without a car.
- Playa Granada without a car in winter
Beautiful and quiet, but every bar and restaurant in town is a taxi ride away in the low season.
Best restaurants in Motril
Espacio IME
Motril's most ambitious kitchen, a small creative Mediterranean dining room for the special occasion night.
Restaurante Museo del Azúcar
Dinner inside the old sugar factory's machinery halls; the setting is the draw, service can wobble on event nights.
La Ballena Azul
Family run beach restaurant serving the port's fish with minimal interference; the town's top seafood lunch.
Zarcillo Restaurante
Smart product led Spanish dining room in the centre, the locals' choice for a proper dinner in town.
La Espichá
Headline town centre seafood house for rice dishes and the day's fish, with lighter gluten free options.
Sunahra Beach Club
Designed beach club for the long lunch that becomes sunset drinks; avoid the August peak hour crush.
El Conjuro Restaurante
Generous, honest Mediterranean cooking in the fishing village of Calahonda, worth the short drive east.
Restaurante de Boca en Boca
Serious Mediterranean kitchen on the Pelailo strip, a strong booking when the better known neighbours are full.
Outdoor things to do in Motril
Los Moriscos Club de Golf
Flat, walkable 18 hole links style golf between the beach and the Sierra Nevada, suited to mixed ability groups.
Castillo de Salobreña
Nasrid castle above a white old town ten minutes west, bought for the panorama and the tapas bars below.
Alhambra
The Alhambra and Albaicin are a day trip from Motril, but Nasrid Palaces tickets must be booked weeks ahead.
Kayak Marengo La Herradura
Guided kayak and snorkel trips into the Cerro Gordo cliffs, caves and marine reserve from La Herradura bay.
Open Water La Herradura
PADI five star centre running guided dives, try dives and courses on the Granada coast's best dive sites.
Playa de la Rijana
Small pebble cove with exceptionally clear water for snorkelling; arrive early for the small car park.
Pampaneira
First of the Poqueira gorge white villages, with Bubion and Capileira above it, under an hour from the beach.
Sierra Nevada Ski Resort
Skiing in winter and high mountain walking in summer, about ninety minutes from Motril's beach.
Best hotels in Motril
Hotel Impressive Playa Granada Golf
Motril's full beachfront resort by the golf course, sold on golf and stay packages for a self contained week.
Apartamentos Albatros
Sensible self catering apartments a short walk from beach and golf, popular with longer stays and golf groups.
Elba Motril Beach & Business Hotel
Dependable chain four star near Poniente beach, the safe first stay choice in Motril.
Hotel Estrella del Mar
Smaller family run hotel restaurant directly on Playa de Poniente, traditional rather than designed.
Camping Playa de Poniente
Beach campsite behind Poniente with pitches and a pool, the cheapest legitimate sleep by the sea in Motril.
Casa del Azúcar
Characterful small hotel in a converted sugar era building in town; charming, with some worn edges reported.
Hostal La Campana
Classic central hostal of thirty plus years with 24 hour reception and parking, simple and excellent value.
Hostal Tropical
The centre's other long standing budget hostal, same simple clean formula at a fraction of beach hotel prices.
Is Motril expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €55 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €110 a person |
| Splurge | €230 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Los Moriscos Club de Golf: a few days ahead
- Alhambra: weeks ahead
- Kayak Marengo La Herradura: a few days ahead
- Open Water La Herradura: a few days ahead
- Sierra Nevada Ski Resort: a few days ahead
- Espacio IME: a few days ahead
- Restaurante Museo del Azúcar: a few days ahead
- La Ballena Azul: a few days ahead
- Alhambra Nasrid Palaces tickets sell out weeks ahead in season.
- Charca de Suarez hours are restricted and the gate closes on time. Check before you go.
- Ron Montero tours run at set times by language. Plan around the English slot.
Is Motril safe?
- Keep valuables out of sight in beach car park cars, especially at La Rijana.
- The sea shelves steeply at several beaches and jellyfish appear at the eastern coves. Emergency number 112.
Motril travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Judging Motril from the cruise port's industrial surroundings.
- Expecting golden sand: beaches are dark sand or shingle, so bring beach shoes.
- The illegal left turn into La Rijana's car park, which reviewers report is fined.
Getting around Motril: public transport and more
- ALSA buses link Motril with Salobrena and Granada. Town and beaches are separate: budget a ten minute drive or taxi between them.
- A car makes La Rijana, the Alpujarras, La Herradura and the Sierra Nevada easy day trips.
Who Motril suits
| Solo travellers | OK |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Motril your trip
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