Gibraltar has six beaches and can generally be divided in Eastern and Western beaches. Those on the Eastern side are generally sandy and those on the Western side are typically rocky. These include Catalan Bay, Camp Bay, Little Bay, Eastern Beach, Western Beach and Sandy Bay.

Catalan Bay is located at the Eastern side of the Rock and used to be home to the Genoese fishermen. It is still home to its descendants with its pretty pastel painted rows of quaint houses. It is the second largest beach in Gibraltar. This is where you’ll find locals as well as tourists and this is also the site of the annual Boxing Day swim led by the manager of the Caleta Hotel which sits right on top of Catalan Bay. Excellent seafood restaurants can also be found here. You can see locals sailing by in their little blue & red boats, jet-skiing, para-sailing or speeding across in their speedboats.

Eastern Bay is the largest beach in Gibraltar, sandy and just a short walk from Catalan Bay. Western Beach can get quite crowded on sunny days and you can find locals jet-skiing and swimming.