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It’s officially summer in Cartagena, but a stroll along the coast reveals something’s not quite right. Beaches that should be buzzing with life still feel half-asleep, and the absence of bustling beach bars is hard to ignore. Where are the chiringuitos? With July around the corner, many remain unopened, leaving locals frustrated and visitors confused. But after weeks of mounting tension, there might finally be a flicker of hope.

 

The Cartagena City Council has reopened the tender process for six beach bars that have been stuck in limbo due to technical hiccups or previous bids falling through. These include the coveted lots on the beaches of San Ginés, El Portús, Punta Brava, Los Alemanes, and both Levante and Poniente in Islas Menores.

 

Each licence comes with a bidding fee of just under €4,750 and will run through the 2025 season (if it ever gets going), with the option to renew for up to three more years.

 

The issue, however, goes deeper than a few beach bars waiting on paperwork.

 

This summer, 33 lots were put up for tender across the municipality, but many have yet to materialise on the sand. The reason is a tangle of regulations from the Coastal Authority that many would-be beach bar managers have struggled to navigate.

 

Meanwhile, millions of euros have recently been invested by the City Council to spruce up Cartagena’s beaches. Blue Flags have been hoisted. Floating pontoons are ready. Facilities for people with disabilities have been improved and 70% of the beach furniture has been refreshed.

 

And yet, the one thing many feel defines the summer spirit – an ice-cold drink by the sea under the shade of a chiringuito – is still conspicuously missing.

 

Manuel Torres, spokesperson for the Socialist Party in Cartagena, believes it’s time to stop pointing fingers and start planning. He’s proposing a municipal Coastal Development Plan, a clear and technical document that spells out exactly how and where beach bars can operate, what services they can provide and what conditions must be met to ensure the environment is protected.

 

“The problem is that we’ve lost five years,” Torres states in the motion he plans to present at the next plenary session. “Five summers, and their respective winters of uncertainty, without a clear roadmap.”

 

Unfortunately, Mr Torres’s plan won’t fix this summer, but it could change the future. By offering legal clarity, avoiding overlapping jurisdictions and finally giving business owners a framework they can rely on, the proposal could put an end to the annual beach bar limbo that has now become all too familiar.

 

But for chiringuito owners who have already invested, who’ve hired staff, ordered supplies and are still waiting to unlock their shutters, time is running out.

 

“It’s not just about business. There are families waiting for this,” says one frustrated business owner from the Mazarrón area, who prefers to stay anonymous “so as not to add fuel to the fire”.

 

Whether this latest tender is the beginning of a turnaround or just another chapter in the ongoing saga remains to be seen. The motion will be debated at the next City Council meeting.

 

Until then, the shutters remain firmly shut on most of Cartagena’s beach bars.

 

 

Image: Ayuntamiento de Cartagena