Marinas in Cartagena: Getting There, Harbour Info and Sailing Destinations

This page was translated automatically from German. View the original

Cartagena lies in the Region of Murcia in south-east Spain, in a deep natural bay sheltered from the open sea by hills and two moles. Yachts berth here in two marinas on the Paseo Alfonso XII, right in front of the old town: at the Real Club de Regatas de Cartagena and at Yacht Port Cartagena. Here you will find out how to get to Cartagena for the start of your sailing trip, where the two marinas are, where to park and shop, what to look out for with the weather, which sailing destinations lie along the coast and what skippers should know when entering harbour.

Which marinas are there in Cartagena?

In Cartagena, yachts berth in two places, both in the port of Cartagena on the Paseo Alfonso XII waterfront promenade: at the Real Club de Regatas de Cartagena in the western part, opposite the harbour entrance, and at Yacht Port Cartagena, around 500 metres further east in front of the El Batel congress centre. Between the two marinas it is just a few minutes' walk along the promenade, and the old town begins right behind it.

Map from OpenStreetMap. When the map is displayed, data is transmitted to the provider.

More Information

View Map Always Allow

The port of Cartagena also has a cruise terminal. Other marinas in the municipality of Cartagena lie outside the city, in Cabo de Palos and on the shore of the Mar Menor.

Feature	Real Club de Regatas de Cartagena	Yacht Port Cartagena
Location	Paseo Alfonso XII, western part of the promenade	Paseo Alfonso XII 24, opposite the El Batel congress centre
Operator	Real Club de Regatas de Cartagena (water sports club)	Yacht Port Cartagena
Berths	more than 400	around 300, special berths for yachts up to 140 m
Technology	fixed crane up to 15 t, own boatyard	Travel lift, boatyard
Fuel station	yes	yes, at the berth
Phone	+34 968 501 507	+34 968 121 213

Arriving in Cartagena for the start of your sailing trip

You can reach Cartagena via Región de Murcia and Alicante airports, by bus or by car. From the bus station you can walk to both marinas, but with luggage a taxi is more convenient.

From the airport to the marinas in Cartagena

The nearest airport is Región de Murcia International Airport near Corvera. A bus route runs from there directly to Cartagena bus station. A second route runs via La Manga, Cabo de Palos and Mar de Cristal to Cartagena.

There is also a bus from Alicante Airport to Cartagena via San Pedro del Pinatar, San Javier, Los Alcázares and Torre Pacheco. The journey takes around 90 minutes, and the stop is on the departures level. On request, Yacht Port Cartagena arranges taxis and airport transfers for its guests.

By car, train or bus

Cartagena is well connected to the Spanish road network by motorways. The bus station is on the Avenida Trovero Marín, around 700 metres from Yacht Port and around 1 kilometre from the Real Club de Regatas. Buses run from there to Murcia, Alicante, Madrid, Mazarrón, Águilas and the Mar Menor, among other places.

Cartagena railway station is on the Plaza de Méjico. As things stand (November 2026), the Murcia–Almería high-speed line is under construction, so trains from Madrid on the conventional line do not run all the way to Cartagena: between Archena, Murcia and Cartagena, buses take passengers the rest of the way. Regional trains still run between Murcia and Cartagena.

Two marinas on the Paseo Alfonso XII

Both marinas share the same street address, so give the taxi driver the name: "Real Club de Regatas" for the marina in the west, or "Yacht Port Cartagena, Paseo Alfonso XII 24" for the marina in front of the El Batel congress centre. If you get out at the wrong marina, it is about 500 metres on foot along the promenade.

Parking

Yacht Port Cartagena has a free car park for its guests right next to the berths. Public car parks nearby are at the Plaza de la Isla and on the Calle Adarve de Artillería, each about 350 metres away, and at the Plaza de las Tres Culturas, about 500 metres away.

From the Real Club de Regatas it is about 500 metres to the car park on the Plaza José García Cervantes and about 600 metres to the car park on the Plaza del CIM.

Showers and sanitary facilities

Both marinas have showers. The Real Club de Regatas also has a washing machine and tumble dryer, while Yacht Port Cartagena has a laundry service.

Shopping for the trip

From the Real Club de Regatas, the nearest supermarket is about 400 metres away, on the Calle del Cañón. A Dia is about 900 metres away, and a Mercadona about 1.1 kilometres.

From Yacht Port Cartagena you can reach a Lidl in about 900 metres, and a Mercadona and a Maxi Dia each in about 1.1 kilometres. For a big shop by car, a Carrefour is about 1.3 kilometres from Yacht Port and about 1.5 kilometres from the Real Club de Regatas. Yacht Port also has a small shop selling ice and detergent, and the marina accepts parcels for its guests.

Doctor, pharmacy and emergency services

The nearest pharmacies are about 550 metres from both marinas: from the Real Club de Regatas, the Gerardo Santos Oliva and Juan Bautista Sánchez pharmacies to the north in the town centre; from Yacht Port, the Covadonga Calero pharmacy. The Hospital General Universitario Santa María del Rosell is about 1.3 kilometres from Yacht Port and about 1.4 kilometres from the Real Club de Regatas. The Centro de Salud Cartagena Oeste health centre is about 1.5 kilometres from the Real Club de Regatas.

• 112: general emergency number, in Cartagena and throughout the Region of Murcia

Where is the Real Club de Regatas de Cartagena?

The Real Club de Regatas de Cartagena is on the western part of the Paseo Alfonso XII, right at the edge of the historic town centre. Its pontoons lie directly opposite the harbour entrance, sheltered by the hills around the bay.

The club is a private, non-profit watersports club with a long history: it was founded in 1905 and was originally based on the Alfonso XII quay. The current clubhouse next to the marina has stood since 2000. The club runs the leisure boat basin with its fuel station and boatyard in the port of Cartagena and organises regattas every year, including the Cartagena–Ibiza regatta. The club's restaurant, with views over the water, is open to the public and serves a set menu of the day from Monday to Friday.

Facilities at the Real Club de Regatas

The club has more than 400 berths for sailing boats and motor boats. There is also a restaurant and cafeteria, showers, a washing machine and tumble dryer, and a fuel station. At its own boatyard, a fixed crane lifts boats of up to 15 tonnes out of the water. The yard carries out work on hulls and GRP, painting, osmosis treatment, engines and on-board electrics. The marineros are on duty around the clock, every day of the year.

Where is Yacht Port Cartagena?

Yacht Port Cartagena is on the eastern part of the Paseo Alfonso XII, opposite the El Batel congress centre. The town hall, the Roman Theatre Museum and the National Museum of Underwater Archaeology ARQVA are only a few steps away.

The marina lies in the sheltered natural harbour behind the La Curra and Navidad breakwaters. The water is 8 to 12 metres deep. The marina accepts boats of any size, including superyachts of up to 140 metres, and offers day berths as well as berths for six months or longer.

Facilities at Yacht Port Cartagena

Around 300 berths are spread across concrete quays for large yachts and floating pontoons with finger pontoons for smaller boats. Berths have drinking water and electricity at 230 or 400 volts, and you can refuel right at your berth. Showers, a laundry service, free Wi-Fi, a lounge area, car hire and a concierge service are all included. For repairs there is a boatyard with a travel lift. Access is controlled and monitored by CCTV around the clock, and staff can be reached by telephone and VHF day and night.

What is the weather like for sailing in Cartagena?

In the port of Cartagena you are very well sheltered: the hills around the town and the La Curra and Navidad breakwaters keep the swell out of the basin.

For coastal waters, the Spanish weather service AEMET issues a yellow warning from wind force 7 or a sea state of 3 metres, an orange warning from force 8 or 4 metres, and a red warning from force 10 or 7 metres. For the Mar Menor, the weather service produces its own forecast, separate from that for the open coast off Cartagena.

Which destinations are near Cartagena for a sailing trip?

From Cartagena you can sail east around Cabo de Palos to the Mar Menor and on to the Costa Blanca, or west along the coast towards Mazarrón, Águilas and Andalusia. The nautical miles are rounded distances over water on the usual course; for precise planning, rely on the nautical chart.

Cabo de Palos and Mar Menor

At Cabo de Palos stands one of the two great lighthouses on the Murcia coast. Off the cape lies the Cabo de Palos–Islas Hormigas marine reserve, with Posidonia seagrass meadows and rocky seabeds covered in coral growth. A strictly protected core zone surrounds Isla Hormiga and several small islands and shoals. The small harbour of Cabo de Palos has five floating pontoons for leisure boats and lies about 10 nautical miles from Puerto Deportivo Tomás Maestre.

Tomás Maestre, in the north of La Manga, is the gateway to the Mar Menor: a navigable canal links the Mediterranean with the Mar Menor here. Further small marinas lie on the shore of the Mar Menor, including Los Nietos, Islas Menores, Mar de Cristal, Los Urrutias and Los Alcázares.

Mazarrón and Águilas

Heading west, you pass Cabo Tiñoso with its lighthouse. Beyond it lies the Cabo Tiñoso–La Azohía marine reserve, with steep cliffs and seagrass meadows in the bays. The Club de Regatas de Mazarrón lies about 16 nautical miles from the port of Cartagena, and Puerto Deportivo de Mazarrón is just 0.7 nautical miles from it. Further west, Puerto Deportivo Juan Montiel in Águilas has visitor berths for boats from 6 to 30 metres and a 30-tonne travel lift.

Torrevieja and Alicante

North of the Mar Menor lies Torrevieja, where the Real Club Náutico Torrevieja allocates berths online. Further north still is Alicante; we present its harbours in our profile of the Harbours in Alicante .

Almería and the Balearic Islands

To the southwest, already in Andalusia, lies Almería, a long leg along the coast. You can read more in our profile of the Harbours in Almería. Cartagena lies roughly halfway between Gibraltar and Mallorca. From here you reach the Balearic Islands on a long passage across open water.

What can you do on a day in port in Cartagena?

From both marinas you can walk to the old town, and the sights are close together.

• Roman Theatre Museum: The architect Rafael Moneo laid out the route through two buildings and under the street to the theatre. The theatre could hold 7,000 people and is among the largest in Roman Hispania.
• Castillo de la Concepción: From the castle on the hill of the same name you have the best view over the town and the natural harbour. A 45-metre-high panoramic lift on Calle Gisbert takes you up, and at its foot lies the museum in the air-raid shelters from the Spanish Civil War.
• Parque Arqueológico del Molinete: The hill holds remains from Punic, Roman, Byzantine and Arab times, as well as gardens and viewpoints. Admission is free.
• ARQVA: The National Museum of Underwater Archaeology is on Paseo Alfonso XII, just a few steps from the Yacht Port.
• Excursion boat and Fuerte de Navidad: The excursion boat travels at 2.5 knots through the harbour bay, past castles, coastal batteries and lighthouses, and docks at Fuerte de Navidad. It does not run from the beginning of January to the end of February.

For skippers: berthing and marine weather in Cartagena

You reach both marinas through the entrance of the port of Cartagena between the moles La Curra and Navidad. The Yacht Port can be reached around the clock on VHF channel 9.

Registration and Berthing

At Yacht Port Cartagena you reserve your berth in advance using the marina's form, or check in by phone on +34 968 121 213 or on VHF channel 9, both around the clock. Depending on the berth, you moor alongside, bow-to or stern-to, and the floating pontoons have finger pontoons.

At the Real Club de Regatas, reception is staffed daily from 8 am to 9 pm on +34 968 501 507. You can reach the marineros around the clock on +34 669 471 730.

Approach

Since 1893, the entrance to the port of Cartagena has been flanked by the Navidad and La Curra lighthouses. The two great lighthouses of the Murcia coast, Cabo Tiñoso to the west and Cabo de Palos to the east of Cartagena, serve as landmarks visible from afar. The Real Club de Regatas lies directly opposite the harbour entrance, with the Yacht Port further east along the same promenade. There is also a cruise terminal in the port, and the excursion boat crosses the bay regularly.

Which marine weather forecast applies off Cartagena?

For Cartagena, the coastal forecast from the Spanish weather service AEMET applies to the coastal waters of Murcia, and the Mar Menor has its own zone. The forecast extends up to 20 nautical miles off the coast, is issued twice daily at 12 noon and 8 pm Spanish time, and gives warnings, weather situation, wind, sea state and visibility. You can read the current forecast on the AEMET sea weather page.

While under way, the Salvamento Marítimo rescue centres broadcast the coastal forecast over VHF. Further out, the high-seas forecast applies, which you receive via NAVTEX: in English on 518 kHz, in Spanish on 490 kHz. The Cabo de la Nao station covers the Alborán, Palos and Balearic areas, and the Tarifa station covers the Alborán and Palos areas.

Sailing trips from Cartagena on Törnfinder

All current offers are in the trip overview. An overview of the whole country is given on the page Sailing in Spain; you will find trips in the wider sailing area under Sailing in the Mediterranean.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get from the airport to the marina in Cartagena?

Take the bus to Cartagena bus station, then walk or take a taxi to the marina. Buses run from Región de Murcia Airport and from Alicante Airport; from Alicante the journey takes about 90 minutes.

Where do I park at the start of my sailing trip in Cartagena?

At Yacht Port Cartagena, use the marina's free car park next to the berths. From the Real Club de Regatas it is about 500 metres to the public car park on Plaza José García Cervantes.

Are there showers in the Cartagena marinas?

Yes, both marinas have showers. The Real Club de Regatas also has a washing machine and tumble dryer, and the Yacht Port has a laundry.

Is there a supermarket near the marinas?

Yes, there is a supermarket about 400 metres from the Real Club de Regatas. From the Yacht Port, you can reach a Lidl about 900 metres away.

Are Real Club de Regatas and Yacht Port Cartagena the same harbour?

No, they are two marinas with different operators in the same harbour of Cartagena. They are about 500 metres apart on the Paseo Alfonso XII.

Which VHF channel does Yacht Port Cartagena use?

Channel 9. The marina staff can be reached around the clock on this channel and by telephone.