Cala Granadella (Cala de la Granadella) is a 160 m cove of gravel, boulders and pebbles at the southern end of Jávea (Xàbia). In summer the town council controls the road down: the car park in Carrer Pic Tort has 130 spaces, parking cost 9 € a day in summer 2026, and a barrier closes the access once the spaces are full. A tourist train runs from the La Guardia Park car park in July, August and early September.
Quick facts
- Names: Cala Granadella, Cala de la Granadella or Platja de la Granadella; the town is Jávea in Spanish and Xàbia in Valencian.
- Where: the southernmost part of Jávea, at the end of the Granadella road, which leaves the Cabo de la Nao road about 2 km before the cape.
- Beach: 160 m long; gravel, boulders and pebbles, not sand (Xàbia tourist office).
- Parking: 130 spaces in Carrer Pic Tort. In summer 2026 it cost 9 € per vehicle per day, 9:00–19:00, with no booking.
- Without a car: tourist train from La Guardia Park, 6 € return for adults and 4 € for under-12s; in 2026 it ran from 3 July to 13 September.
- Blue Flag: renewed for 2026 (Xàbia town council, May 2026).
- Bathing water: classed Excellent every season from 2020 to 2024 (European Environment Agency).
- Crowding: the tourist office rates occupancy as very high.
Map and exact location
On the map: the beach, 38.72957, 0.19670 · Cala de la Granadella, beach outline · Torre de la Granadella (Castell de la Granadella).
Access and parking
By car: follow the Cabo de la Nao road out of Jávea and turn onto the Carretera de la Granadella about 2 km before the cape; it ends at the cove (Xàbia tourist office). The last stretch, Avinguda del Tío Catalá, is closed to vehicles by a barrier; the exceptions are vehicles of people with reduced mobility, ambulances, authorised activity companies and the tourist train.
Summer regulation: the council runs a regulated access control until the car park is full, together with paid parking. The 130 spaces are in Carrer Pic Tort, there are two ticket machines, and you pay by cash or card at the machine or with the ElParking app. Spaces cannot be booked. When the car park is full the access is closed with barriers, and badly parked or unpaid vehicles can be fined and towed. Panels showing the free spaces in real time stand at the Consum roundabout and at the junction by the restaurant El Trovador, where the Granadella road leaves the La Guardia road (Xàbia town council, access to the coves).
What applied in summer 2026: the barrier control ran daily from 2 June to 13 September, and at weekends and on public holidays from 14 September to 12 October. Paid parking ran daily from 2 June to 6 September and on the following three September weekends, from 9:00 to 19:00, at 9 € per vehicle per day. Motorbikes and vehicles of people with reduced mobility did not pay, but had to use the area set aside for them (Xàbia tourist office, access to the coves 2026). The council sets the dates each year, so check that page before a summer visit.
Tourist train: it leaves from the car park at Urbanización La Guardia Park, Carrer de la Falzia 4. In 2026 it ran from 3 July to 13 September, and the council has announced 19 June to 12 September for 2027. A return ticket is 6 € for adults and 4 € for children under 12, large families, pensioners, people with reduced mobility and residents. Departure times are on the council’s access page (checked Sept 2026).
How full it gets: in July and August 2023 the council counted an average of 1,020 vehicles a day reaching the Granadella barrier. 404 got in, 616 were turned away because the car park was full, and 449 people a day walked down from the barrier (Xàbia town council, September 2023).
What to expect
A short beach shut in by cliffs and forested slopes. The shore is gravel, boulders and pebbles, and the regional tourist board lists coarse sand as well. The water is clear: the Xàbia tourist office calls the cove ideal for scuba diving, and the regional board recommends it for snorkelling too (Turisme Comunitat Valenciana).
On the water: canoeing and kayaking are popular here. Private users may use the boat ramp freely, but the council closes it from 1 March to 30 June because of protected wildlife, and companies need a municipal permit to run activities from it. The council also supervises boats and activity tours entering the cove.
The Castell de la Granadella walk: the path to the Castell starts at the cove car park. The Castell is a small fortification that the tourist office dates to the 18th century and says was held by three men with two bronze cannons (Xàbia tourist office, Castell de la Granadella); today it is a ruin. The path is the first part of the PR-CV 354, a waymarked circular route of 13.01 km with 451 m of ascent that takes about 4 h 45 min and is graded medium. After the Castell it follows the cliffs to the Mirador de Llevant, and from the Teuleria turn-off you can cut back to the cove in under 2 km (MACMA, PR-CV 354 Granadella).
The forest around it: La Granadella is a forest park of nearly 700 hectares (Xàbia tourist office, Parque forestal de la Granadella). A large fire swept through it in September 2016, and the Granadella Trail mountain race was not held for three years so that the hillsides could regenerate (Xàbia town council, January 2020).
Skip it if you want sand, space or an easy arrival in July or August. The beach is 160 m long, occupancy is rated very high, and in the 2023 count more cars were turned away at the barrier each day than were let in.
Practical details
- Services: the regional tourist board lists a restaurant, toilets, foot showers, walkways, parking and lifeguards.
- Toilets: in 2024 the council tendered public toilet and washbasin units for the cove, to be in place four months a year, from 15 June to 15 October (Xàbia town council, May 2024).
- Lifeguards: the council gives the lifeguard season on its beaches as June, July, August and September. We found no official 2026 timetable for the Granadella post, so none is given here.
- Sea state: the Red Cross publishes the flag flying on each guarded beach and the jellyfish risk (Cruz Roja, beach status), and the council runs a Telegram channel with the state of the beaches during the season (Xàbia town council, beaches).
- Water quality: the European Environment Agency classed the sampling point at Playa de la Granadella as Excellent in every season from 2020 to 2024. The regional government samples the bathing water weekly from the last week of June to the second week of September (Xàbia town council, bathing water quality).
- Blue Flag: Granadella renewed its Blue Flag in 2026 (Xàbia town council, May 2026).
Accessibility and safety
The cove sits in an area surrounded by forest, and the council has a self-protection plan for it, with evacuation protocols and safe meeting points; it installed fire hydrants here in 2022 and treats the limits on cars and parking as part of that safety work (Xàbia town council, May 2022). In a fire or other emergency, follow the instructions of the access staff, lifeguards and police. The neighbouring Cala de Ambolo is closed because of a serious risk of rockfalls and falls, so do not plan it as a fallback. Accessibility: vehicles of people with reduced mobility may drive the last stretch beyond the barrier, are exempt from the parking fee and must park in the area set aside for them; the tourist train has a reduced fare for people with reduced mobility. The shore is gravel and boulders, and we found no official information on an amphibious chair or assisted bathing at this cove; the tourist office publishes a list of accessible places and reserved parking (Xàbia accesible).
Best time to visit
For swimming with a lifeguard on duty, come between June and September. For an easier arrival, avoid July and August: the regional tourist board notes that cars are limited in those months, and those were the months of the 2023 count in which 616 cars a day were turned away. The tourist train runs only in high summer (3 July to 13 September in 2026), and the boat ramp is closed from 1 March to 30 June. Outside the regulated dates the council’s page lists no barrier control or parking fee, but it also lists no train.
Nearby alternatives
- Cap de la Nau (Cabo de la Nao), 2.9 km away: the lighthouse headland and viewpoint at the end of the same road.
- Cala del Moraig (El Poble Nou de Benitatxell), 3.4 km away: the next cove to the south-west, below the Benitatxell cliffs.
- Cap de Sant Antoni (Jávea), 8.2 km away: the cape and lighthouse on the north side of Jávea bay.
- Cova Tallada (Dénia), 10 km away: the sea cave walk on the far side of Cap de Sant Antoni.
- For where to stay and eat, see our Jávea (Xàbia) town guide and Moraira guide.
- Wecamp Jávea, about 6.4 km away: the nearest campsite you can book through Campcation (affiliate link).
Distances are in a straight line from the beach.
FAQ
How much is parking at Cala Granadella?
In summer 2026 it cost 9 € per vehicle per day, payable from 9:00 to 19:00 at the machines or with the ElParking app. There are 130 spaces in Carrer Pic Tort and they cannot be booked.
Can you get to Cala Granadella without a car?
In high summer, yes: a tourist train runs from the La Guardia Park car park, Carrer de la Falzia 4, for 6 € return (4 € for under-12s). In 2026 it ran from 3 July to 13 September.
Is Cala Granadella a sandy beach?
No. The Xàbia tourist office describes it as a cove of gravel, boulders and pebbles, 160 m long.
What happens when the Cala Granadella car park is full?
The council closes the access with barriers until spaces free up. Panels at the Consum roundabout and at the El Trovador junction show the free spaces in real time before you drive down.
Can you walk to the Castell de la Granadella from the beach?
Yes. The path starts at the cove car park and is the first part of the PR-CV 354, a 13.01 km circular route graded medium.
Sources and freshness
Checked 30 September 2026. Official: Xàbia town council on access to the coves (parking, barrier, tourist train, boat ramp, Ambolo), beaches, bathing water quality, the 2026 Blue Flags, the 2023 access count, public toilets, the beach surveillance contract, fire hydrants at the coves, the self-protection plan and the 2016 fire; Xàbia tourist office on Cala Granadella, access to the coves in 2026, the Castell de la Granadella, the forest park and accessibility; Turisme Comunitat Valenciana, Granadella Cove; Mancomunitat de la Marina Alta (MACMA), PR-CV 354; European Environment Agency, bathing water data (sampling point ES521M082919, seasons 2020–2024); Cruz Roja, beach status. Location: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Photos: Wikimedia Commons, licences as credited.
Nearby on the Costa Blanca
Javea Granadella on the map
Places worth knowing near Javea Granadella
This place is part of our Costa Blanca, Spain: towns, beaches and where to stay — see every town, beach and cove we have mapped on that coast.
How this page is maintained. CostaMap is written and maintained by an AI editorial system built by ebizapple. Facts are drawn from primary sources — town halls, museums, port and heritage authorities and the Spanish archaeological record — and where sources disagree, we say so rather than smooth it over. Photographs marked as ours are taken on location. This page was last reviewed on 30 September 2026. Opening hours, prices and transport change; check the official source before you travel.