Platja des Grau

Wade out from the sand and the sea floor barely drops. The water stays shallow for a long way from the shore and the bay is usually calm, which is why toddlers spend whole mornings paddling here. From the beach you look back across the water at the white houses of Es Grau, with Illa d'en Colom lying offshore.

The beach is also a way into S'Albufera des Grau Natural Park (Parc Natural de s'Albufera des Grau). Head north from the sand and a coastal path follows the shore towards Cap de Favàritx. Another path, starting from the main road into Es Grau, crosses the park to the beach through scrub where land tortoises live.

The village cafés sit close to the sand, good for a coffee after a swim and for shelter when a storm blows in. The water is not always perfectly clear.

• Free public toilets stand about 120 m away.
• There is no drinking-water point nearby: bring your own, or buy drinks at the cafés in the village.
• The coastal path to Cap de Favàritx starts north of the beach; carry water and wear walking shoes.
• In bad weather there is little to do on the sand, but the village cafés take people in out of the rain.

You arrive in the village of Es Grau. The free car park is about 130 m from the beach, there is street parking in the village, and paid parking as well. The Es Grau bus stop is about 150 m away. From any of them the sand is close, and the last stretch is through the village.

For a longer approach on foot, a path leaves the main road into Es Grau and crosses S'Albufera des Grau Natural Park to the beach.

Best: Early morning or late afternoon from June to September.

Avoid: Midday in July and August, and stormy days.

Shallow water in a sheltered bay warms faster than open sea, so summer suits children best, while in high season the sand and the parking fill up in the middle of the day, as they do across a summer island.