Can’t wait for that 2021 holiday? With 2020 being such a tough year and so many of us not enjoying a holiday in 2020 the 2021 holiday has to be extra special. With that in mind we’ve put together a list of the very best Spanish beaches for 2021.

These beaches all have one thing in common, they’re all great for the whole family, offer a long stretch of beach, are all in or close to well-known resorts with accessible flights and a good range of hotels and are all close to facilities like restaurants, bars and shops.

The list features beaches on mainland Spain, the Balearic and Canary Islands and is in no particular order – all these beaches would provide a super focal point for any 2021 holiday for families or couples.

Playa de Las Canteras in Gran Canaria

Here we have the perfect combination of closeness to all the facilities of the city (Las Palmas), the capital of Gran Canaria just steps away with the relaxation and soul filling warmth of a beautiful beach. Stretching an impressive 3km and in the centre of Las Palmas, this well located beach is a rarity; a beautiful city beach.

The beach is perfect for families, with a sports area, playground and cafés strewn along its length where you can eat a meal, enjoy an ice-cream and sit in the shade in the middle of the day. 

Sitges Beach in Catalonia

The weekend playground of the Barcelona elite and the pride of Catalonia, Sitges’ beach is one of the longest, widest and shallowest (you can paddle out for what seems like miles) in the Costa Dorada. Actually split into two beaches, the northern beach is quieter than the main city beach but both are equally appealing. Both beaches are perfect for very young and primary school age children, the clear waters are calm and shallow and the seafront itself has plenty of ice-cream stalls and shops to buy floatation devices and buckets and spades. 

The area is super chill and the gay capital of Spain with tons of mixed bars and restaurants up and down the seafront. With a lively town in the centre at night and a thriving gay scene, Sitges is the perfect choice for gay travellers too. The town has a vibrant arts scene, benefits from a quaint whitewashed town centre and a RENFE train link to Barcelona that takes just 30 minutes making a quick day trip to the Catalan capital possible too.

Playa de Muro in Majorca

It wasn’t easy to pick just one beach in Majorca with several in contention including Port de Soller, S’Arenel and Palma’s beaches but we felt that Playa de Muro just took gold.

Beautifully lined with pine trees, artisan cafés and delicious award-winning restaurants, Playa de Muro is the most perfect beach in Majorca. Offering crystal clear waters and a long, white sandy beach, there’s something almost Caribbean about this stretch of Majorcan coastline. Six kilometres long, it’s the longest beach in the Balearic islands and positioned ideally for the resort town of Alcudia with its beautiful town centre and top waterparks, this is our top choice for beach loving families heading to the Balearic Islands in 2021.

Playa La Malagueta in Malaga

With so many amazing city beaches to choose from including the city beaches of Barcelona, Valencia and those of the Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol, we felt the best beach for a city/beach holiday on the mainland had to Playa La Malagueta.

With a kilometre of golden sand stretching along the shore of La Malagueta beach this playground is super for kids and convenient for those staying in Malaga city centre. Dotted with palm trees and sculptures and home to some of the best seafood restaurants on this stretch of coastline, La Malagueta is great for tapas and Chiringuitos.

There’s a cordoned off play area here and the sand and waters are great for little kids. If you’re thinking of coming to the Costa del Sol and wanted to enjoy the beaches as well as the culture and nightlife of the city then it is possible to stay directly in Malaga and have a beach holiday too if you base yourself around Playa la Malagueta.

These are our top four picks for beach holidays in Spain in 2021 that would suit couples or families. However, there are of course hundreds of other fabulous beaches in Spain from city beaches to isolated and deserted idyllic beaches to consider; it’s all a matter of personal taste but you won’t go wrong with any of the beaches in our list.