Mar Menor lagoon - Page 2

Yes there is a route along the sand to the marina but you need to do it at low tide. It’s about 7 or 8 miles from the start of the causeway back to the beginning. It’s my fa

Thank you for the heads up. We met a Swedish couple there in February who had been taking a dip worrying only about the temperature and we have seen people swimming when we visited in June. Im glad we have the pool at the apartment now and I'm really disappointed that I don't like the sound of doing any of the water sports which I was so looking forward to. 

How do they get away with this when the water sports centre have children's courses. The hospital should be inundated with problems. 

Thank you this is really helpful, Thelma

Thank you this is really helpful, Thelma

There seems to me to be some confusion in the responses to the original post.

As other replies have pointed out all the beaches that are on the Mar Menor have lost their blue flag status. This means all those from Lo Pagan down the western side through Santiago de la Ribera, Los Alcazares and south to Los Urrutias, Los Nietos and so on, and on the eastern side (i.e. the western side of La Manga). The reason is that cloudy water is an important criterion in blue flag evaluation, and following the problems with agricultural run-off into the MM lagoon a couple of years ago, all MM resorts fail.

The Mediterranean beaches to the north and south of the MM (i.e. El Mojon and Cabo de Palos) still have blue flags, as the Med water is still relatively clear.

From Lo Pagan you have the option of Med beaches or MM.

Despite the issues, the MM beaches are still popular, clean and fine for most reasons.

The Med beaches from El Mojon along the Med side of the Salinas de San Pedro are beautiful and relatively unspoilt. The water is pretty clean and clear. These beaches can be easily reached from Lo Pagan (and other points on the 'mainland') via the road to the marina area, or the foot/cycle path ("Paseo De Los Molinos") from Molino Quintín to Molino Calcetera and beyond to the point of the peninsula opposite La Manga. I prefer to cycle this route, but many regularly walk it. The effort is well worth it for the great beaches, Llana and so on, which are quiet.

There can be smells (I think out there almost certainly the result of seaweed), some jelly fish, and other natural 'hazards', but nothing major - in my experience. I love to go out there and visited just a couple of days ago.

We are really happy to have a house in Lo Pagan because it offers the facilities of the resort, plus the choice of beach options 'on our doorstep' without getting in the car.

Hello Rob

I'm trying to find out if people bathing or water surfing etc in Lo Pagan would be open to any health issues. My friends have children who would love to enjoy the leisure facilities on offer such as dinghy sailing, water boarding and other activities but the risk of them taking in a gulp of water given these reports have put me off recommending or using any of these facilities myself. 

It seems you are advising that it's just the cloudy water that is an issue now after Lo Pagan suffering effluent some 2 years ago???

Thanks, Thelma

The water is safe, it just looks murky.  I just prefer the med for this reason and the fact it's deeper

"PAcTo por el MAR MENOR" is a pressure group that campaigns for the ecology of the Mar Menor.

They can be found on the web and Facebook.

You might also want to search for articles on 'Murcia Today' and 'La Verdad', on this subject.

I have swam in the MM more or less every day for the last month and have not knowingly suffered ill effects. And I would guess that thousands of others have too.

However, if you want to know more about the cloudy water then please consult better experts than myself. I have just Googled "eutrophication Mar Menor", and found a wealth of articles on the subject.

Interesting read and supports the information I'd had re official scientific monitoring of conditions. Thanks, Thelma