Playa de la Victoria and Playa de la Cortadura, Cadiz: Costa de la Luz beach guide
A long and lovely beach conveniently located all along the coast of the new part of Cadiz city
The beaches of La Victoria and Cortadura are technically two separate beaches with a small wall jutting out in the middle, but to all intents and purposes they are one long, unbroken stretch of sand located in Cadiz, Spain. These beaches run all along one side of the new part of the city of Cadiz, meaning it is a modern area with lots of convenient facilities.
Playa de la Victoria and Playa de la Cortadura beaches faces onto the open waters where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean, so the waves are sometimes quite big and the water choppy and chilly. When you go in the sea at the Playa Victoria and Cortadura it gets deep very quickly, so it is not the best beach for swimming and bathing with children.
That doesn’t stop many people from swimming there, of course, and it is also a popular place to do kitesurfing, surf foiling, windsurfing, surfing and sailing.
Between them, these two beaches consists of a stretch of sand around 7 kilometres long, going from the Playa de Santa María del Mar in the north down to Playa de Torregorda. You can walk all the way along this long series of beaches as they take you away from the city and down almost to Camposoto.
Up near the Cadiz city side of the beach and running parallel to it, there is a very long paseo marítimo seafront promenade that is dotted with beautiful palm trees, providing a lovely, long and scenic walk if you have a free afternoon.
Parking is tight right next to the prom as it’s a busy urban centre, but public transport links are good, with several train, tram and bus stops within walking distance.
Just a few short metres from the beach, there are lots of bars, restaurants and shops, and every few hundred metres there is a chiringuito, a beach bar located right on the sand.
There are lots of hotels and tourist rental apartments nearby, so there are plenty of places to stay.
In the tourist high season in summertime, there are lifeguards on duty on the beach during the day. There are also itinerant salespeople who walk up and down the beach all day selling cold drinks, snacks and souvenirs.
The Playa Victoria and Playa Cortadura beaches are popular among Spaniards – especially gaditanos from the province of Cadiz – but in general people from all over Spain like to come here for their holidays. This means it can sometimes draw large crowds of both Spanish and international tourists, but the beach is so long you shouldn’t have a problem finding somewhere to stay.
Along the shore where the water meets the sand there is occasionally quite a lot of seaweed, which may put some people off going in the water.
Every 200 metres or so there are wooden walkways which lead you down from the prom, over the hot part of the sand, down closer to the water. These are lengthened in summer so you can walk almost to the high-tide mark.
There are also toilets, showers and footwashing stations which are available to use in summer.
Dogs are not allowed on the beach. It is generally kept very clean.
How to get to the Playa Victoria and Cortadura
By car
It is located parallel to the Avenida Cayetano del Toro, which runs the length of Cadiz new town, from the historical city in the north down to the confluence of the CA-36 New Bridge road and the CA-33 old road at the south end.
By train
The stops Segunda Aguada, Estadio and Cortadura on the Cádiz Cercanías train and Trambahía tram lines are all just a 5- or 10-minute walk from the beach.
By bus
Buses number 1 and 7 both pass close to the Playa Victoria and Playa Cortadura.
By plane
The closest Spanish airport to Cadiz is Jerez de la Frontera airport, which has a direct connection via Cercanías train, although there are only about four trains per day going in each direction that go all the way to the airport, which is at the end of the line.
Other tourists who choose to visit the province of Cadiz often fly to Seville airport as it is larger and has more connections, and is only about an hour away from Cadiz by train or car.
For British tourists, flying to Gibraltar airport from the UK is also a popular option when visiting Cadiz as there are lots of flight connections and it is also only about an hour away.
Image 1: Turismo Cádiz
Image 2: Junta de Andalucía
See more beaches in the province of Cádiz:
