HOME > MURCIA MAR MENOR & CARTAGENA > PORTMÁN
Portmán is within the municipality of La Unión
Portmán lies within the municipality of La Unión and is located 7km to the south-east of La Unión and around 50 km 
from the capital city of Murcia. It’s around a half an hour journey to the regional airport of San Javier and is part of the area known as the Comarca del Mar Menor.
The village has a steady population of Spanish and foreign nationals, and has good basic facilities in the form of medical and community centre, and an active social calendar including Fiestas in honour of patron saint Santiago Apostól on 25th July, the Virgen del Carmen on the 16th July, carnival, Semana Santa ( Easter) and Christmas festivities.
Located in a spectacular south-facing bay, this small town (population approximately 1,000) is only a couple of kilometres from the vast La Manga Club to the east, one of Spain’s foremost residential tourism complexes, and 
behind it lies the Sierra Minera, which has brought wealth to Cartagena and La Unión at various points during the last two thousand years or so due to the mineral deposits being mined. This was especially the case during the Roman occupation and the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Mining has long been the principal activity in Portmán, although fishing has also sustained the local population during periods of mining inactivity.
Despite the advantages of its beautiful location and long history, though, the town has failed to capitalize on the growth of residential and beach tourism which has affected almost the whole of the rest of the Costa Cálida over the last forty years.
The reason for this lies almost entirely in the over-ambition of the miners in the second half of the twentieth century, 
when open-cast pyrite mining and the dumping of sterile substances all but destroyed the bay. What used to be a natural harbour which gave the town its name (from the Latin “portus magnus”, or large port) is now almost completely filled in with by-products of the mining, and despite concerted attempts on the part of the Town Hall in La Unión for regeneration to begin, all plans have so far been scuppered by lack of funds or other obstacles.
Nonetheless, the dark sandy beach which has been created next to a small marina and fishing port is a very attractive one, and the surrounding countryside, which includes part of the regional park of Calblanque, Monte de las Cenizas y Peña de las Águilas, is spectacular, the walk up to the former gun emplacements of Monte Cenizas, La Chapa and Negrete nearby well worth undertaking. Portmán is completely enclosed by mountains, the Monte de las Cenizas, Peña del Águila, Sancti Spiritu, Cabezo de las Lajas, Cabezo del Pino and Monte Galera surrounding the 
urban structure.
Visitors choosing a coastal route between La Unión and Atamaría at the southern end of the La Manga Club resort will be treated to a drive through the impressive and unforgiving landscape of the Sierra Minera before descending into the town, which although it includes townhouses and apartments like any other is still dominated by the remnants of its mining past. Abandoned installations like the Lavadero Roberto dwarf the housing, and although some attractive small chalets have been built it seems that residential tourists are intimidated both by the notoriety of the bay’s past and the possibility of major earthworks taking place if the regeneration scheme eventually becomes a reality.
After spending time exploring the beach and the town, those continuing eastwards along the RM-314 then climb over the mountains before emerging into a completely different world, namely the lush greenery of the Atamaría golf 
course on the La Manga Club complex.
Should regeneration of the bay go ahead as hoped for by residents, this then opens the door for the bay to be developed further for residential tourism, meaning the ambience of a sleepy coastal community will be replaced by an altogether more commercial atmosphere if the planned thousands of rental apartments, golf course and marina are constructed.
For now, however, Portmán remains a hidden enclave close to all major facilities while the battle to regenerate the bay continues.
Where is Portmán?
Click for map, Portmán La Unión
Mar Menor and Portmán Bay once again given Black Flags for environmental harmEcologistas en Acción has highlighted pollution, mismanagement and encroachment along Spain’s coastline in its 2025 Black Flags report The environmental organisation Ecologistas en Acción has once again raised the alarm..
Up-and-coming pop star Ana Ruiz tells why 'the next Shakira' is all her own womanExciting new talent Ana Ruiz speaks exclusively to Murcia Today about her new album and the inspiration behind it Ana Ruiz by Victor del Pozo Once in a while, a vibrant new pop musician bursts onto the scene with a distinctive style and.. 11/06/2025
Follow the light: a tour of the lighthouses of the Costa Cálida!A seafront tour with a difference sheds light on the history of the coastline of Murcia The Faro del Estacio in La Manga del Mar Menor For millennia lighthouses have stood as guardians of the coastline in civilizations all over the world, shepherding..
Weekly street market in La Unión Tuesday is market day in the Calle Mayor in La Unión For many expats and visitors, one of the great joys of shopping in Spain is the opportunity to buy fresh products and bargain clothes in the weekly local markets, which are awash with colour..
Weekly markets in the municipality of Cartagena Year-round and summer-only street markets in Cartagena Not all weekly markets are set in stone, and if they coincide with public holidays they may be cancelled or postponed. In addition, days can change, so if you're not sure a call to the relevant..
Introduction to the beaches of La UniónThe municipality of La Unión has two beaches, Playa Lastre and Playa de Portmán, both of which are on the Mediterranean coast and both in the urban area of Portmán. Although both are attractive in their own right and are very popular..
La Unión beaches: Playa LastreA charming wild beach with popular bar and small port The La Unión municipality has two beaches, Playa Lastre and Playa de Portmán, both of which are on the Mediterranean coast and both in the urban area of Portmán. Although both are..
La Unión beaches: Playa de PortmánA wide curving bay popular with fishermen The municipality of La Unión has two beaches, Playa Lastre and Playa de Portmán, both of which are on the Mediterranean coast and both in the urban area of Portmán. Although both are..
Introduction to Portmán Portmán is a pedanía of the La Unión municipality Portmán is without any doubt one of the most surprising places in the Region of Murcia and the Costa Cálida and lies within the municipality of La Unión...
The history of Portmán Portmán was a natural harbour at the service of the mining industry which eventually ruined it What is now the village of Portmán in the administrative district of La Unión lies in a natural sheltered harbor at the foot of one of the..
Hospital de la Caridad archaeological museum in Portmán Museo Arqueológico de Portmán A former mining hospital is now home to the archaeological discoveries made in Portmán The building in which the archaeological museum of Portmán is now housed was founded as a hospital in..
Consultorio Portmán, Portmán surgery The larger health centre is in La Unión Portmán is a pedanía of La Unión and is serviced by a larger health centre in La Unión itself, which offers longer consultancy hours than this smaller satellite centre. Residents..
La casa del Tío Lobo in Portmán Designed by Victor Beltrí for Miguel Zapata Sáez By far the most imposing and historic residential building in Portmán is known as the “Casa Zapata” or “Casa del Tío Lobo”, a palatial Modernist residence.. 31/12/2014
The ecological disaster of Portmán bayMillions of tons of mining waste were dumped in the bay by Peñarroya Although there were undoubtedly prehistoric inhabitants of this area of Murcia, the real history of Portmán dates back 2,000 years to the Roman occupation. Thousands..
Lavadero Roberto in Portmán A brooding monument to the industrial greed which destroyed the bay of Portmán The Lavadero Roberto in the town of Portmán, on the coast of the municipality of La Unión, was a mineral extraction and washing facility which in its day..
PR-MU 88 Route 33 a 7km walk between La Unión and PortmánA seven-kilometre walk through the mountains and history of Portmán and La Unión The Carretera del 33 is a seven-kilometre walk through the mountains of the Sierra Minera between La Unión and the coastal town of Portmán, taking..
