# Málaga - El Palo — Málaga, Spain

El Dedo beach (also called Chanquete) is a dark sandy area about 550 m long and 20 m wide in the El Palo neighbourhood, east of the coves with breakwaters and a short walk from El Candado marina. It has toilets and showers, parasol and sunbed hire, and chiringuitos on the promenade that hire out SUP boards; Hidropedales Camero, on this beach, has been hiring out kayaks and paddle surf boards for over 30 years.

It is the straight section without breakwaters on the east coast: easy to enter and exit the water, with the beach in front and El Candado to the east as a reference. The water is open, with some chop when it's windy.

Hazards and rules: the mouth and breakwater of the marina are to the east, with boats entering and leaving; with Terral the wind blows you away from the shore. In the buoyed swimming area, you cannot navigate with a board: use the marked channels. Forecasts are checked with ARPEGE, ECMWF and ICON.

Photos: "El Palo Beach" by Daniel Capilla (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons; "Playa de El Palo, Málaga" by Tyk (CC BY-SA 3.0), via Wikimedia Commons.

- **Sports:** SUP
- **Difficulty:** Beginner
- **Location:** Málaga, Spain (36.71681, -4.34939)
- **Favourable wind directions (where the wind blows from):** ENE (60°), SSW (200°)
- **Wind range (knots):** 0–12
- **Best months:** May, June, July, August, September, October

## Wind by month (% of days per strength)

| Month | <7 kn | 7–13 kn | 13–20 kn | 20–35 kn | >35 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43 | 48 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| February | 40 | 46 | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| March | 31 | 62 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| April | 24 | 70 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| May | 11 | 89 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| June | 17 | 83 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| July | 20 | 79 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| August | 19 | 81 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| September | 23 | 76 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| October | 27 | 69 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| November | 45 | 49 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| December | 48 | 41 | 11 | 0 | 0 |

## Local winds

- **Terral** — NNW (340°), 8–35 kn. Offshore wind from the north-northwest, dry and gusty, coming down through the Málaga mountains. With Terral the water near the shore is flat, but the wind pushes boards towards the open sea.. Do not go out with Terral: returning against the wind is very difficult and the coast recedes quickly even if the water looks flat. Check the forecast and flags before entering, do not paddle alone and always use a leash and vest.

## Zones

- **Launch** — Launch zone
- **El Palo - El Dedo** — Navigation zone
- **El Candado marina (breakwater and mouth)** — Restricted zone

## Points of interest

- **Board hire (chiringuitos and Hidropedales Camero)**: SUP board and kayak hire on El Dedo beach, according to Hidropedales Camero and the promenade chiringuitos. Approximate position.
- **Water entry**: Sand at El Dedo beach, in front of the chiringuitos.
- **El Candado marina**: Mouth and rock breakwater of the marina, about 300 m east of the paddling area: do not approach the entrance.
- **El Palo coves to the west**: To the west, the coves with breakwaters of El Palo and Pedregalejo.

## Hazards

- Mouth and breakwater of El Candado marina, to the east
- Leisure and rental boat traffic in summer
- Terral: offshore wind that blows you away from the shore
- Buoyed swimming area in summer: use the channels

## Obstacles

- El Candado marina to the east of the beach

## Facilities

- Showers
- Restaurant
- Toilets

## Restrictions

- En temporada de baño la franja junto a la orilla está balizada y no se puede navegar con tabla dentro de ella: se entra y se sale por los canales señalizados. Sin balizas, la zona de baño es una franja de 200 m desde la orilla en las playas (Reglamento General de Costas, art. 73). La Capitanía Marítima de Málaga publica sus normas cada año.

[See it on Ventus Surf (3D map, zones and live forecast)](https://ventus.surf/spots/malaga-el-palo-Pq9hoOxdcOICNDff4qZQ?lang=en)