Towns of South-East Spain - Costa Calida

Mar Menor

Mar Menor (Little Sea) is a unique area on the east coast of Spain just north of Cartegena in Costa Calida. A saltwater lake joins the Mediterranean shore to create this lake with an area of 170 sq.km Europe’s largest salt water lake.

The area was occupied in prehistoric times but most remains found date from the Roman and Arabic periods. The Romans developed a valuable salt industry here and called it Belich, a port of refuge. The local economy is now much more dependent on tourism and its reputation for being an extremely therapeutic and healthy place to be. Fishing was once key to the economy and there are still several fishing villages along the coast around the Mar Menor – San Pedro is one such town and Cabo de Palos with its big lighthouse is another.

Los Alcazares on the Mar Menor is an absolute haven of good restaurants and bars so well worth a visit.

30º in August is not uncommon here with the average annual temperature around 17ºC and the summer average closer to 25ºC. Winters are mild, seldom falling below 10ºC and rarely raining. An ideal climate for the many water sports that are enjoyed here throughout the year.

The famous La Manga club can be found south of the Mar Menor with its fabulous Hyatt hotel and golf complex. A great place to go if you want to spot celebrities

We’re not sure why but the Mar Menor always seems to have a lot of market days:

• Monday there’s a great market in San Pedro
• Tuesday there are 3 going on in La Union, Les Belones and Los Alcazares
• Wednesday it's market day in Santiago de la Ribera
• Thursday in San Javier
• Saturday in Los Narejos and Sunday Cabo de Palos

Most of the properties on the La Manga strip are apartment blocks and favoured by the Spanish tourist market but there is a wide choice of property types and new developments all along the coast of the Mar Menor

View properties in Mar Menor