Cala Nans is not listed as a beach in Cadaqués council's beach use plan or by the tourist office: it is the lighthouse headland plus a small inlet reached by some steps. The beach on this stretch is Sa Sabolla, about 50 metres long, reachable only on foot or by sea.
Anyone searching for «Cala Nans beach» expects a beach next to the lighthouse. There isn't one, at least not by that name. Cala Nans is the headland the lighthouse stands on, plus a small inlet below it. The beach on this stretch is another place: Sa Sabolla, halfway along the path. This guide sets out what the official lists say, how you reach the water at each spot and which rules apply. The walk to the lighthouse, with its distances and history, has its own guide.
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Is there a Cala Nans beach?
Not as a beach. Cadaqués council's beach use plan for the 2025 season has a fact sheet for every beach in the municipality: there are 26, from Cullaró on Cap de Creus down to Sa Conca, the last one heading south. Cala Nans is not among them. Nor is it on the tourist office's list of beaches and coves, which does include Sa Conca, Sant Pius V beach and Sa Sabolla cove.
Catalan Wikipedia has no article on a beach of that name. The lighthouse article, Far de Calanans, places it at the tip of the Cala Nans headland, on the southern edge of the natural harbour of Cadaqués. In other words, Cala Nans is above all the name of a headland.
There is, though, a patch of sea with that name. The tourist office explains that some steps beside the lighthouse lead down to Cala Nans, from where you can see the islets Es Cucurucuc de Terra and Es Cucurucuc de Sa Sabolla, with the bay of Cadaqués behind. The same site explains the name: it marks the place where nets were set for fishing.
Getting into the water by the lighthouse
The Rutes Pirineus route guide puts it in one line: a small path leaves the lighthouse itself and lets you go down to the sea. Escapada amb Nens adds that the cove that gives the lighthouse its name lies beside it. None of the sources we checked describes the seabed, the way into the water or the depth, so we don't either.
What we can say is what is missing. As it is not a beach in the use plan, it has no fact sheet, no services and no buoyed area of its own. If you go down, you are going down onto the rock of an open headland, so look at the sea before you get in. For the way there, see the guide to the walk to Cala Nans lighthouse.
Sa Sabolla, the real beach on this stretch
If you want a swim, the place is Sa Sabolla. Catalan Wikipedia describes it as a natural beach on the south side of the bay of Cadaqués, near the lighthouse and inside the Parc Natural del Cap de Creus: about 50 metres long and 23 metres wide on average, made of coarse sand, gravel, pebbles and boulders. You reach it along the coastal path.
The tourist office classes it like this: natural setting, access on foot, pebbles, and difficult access. Visit Costa Brava recommends arriving by sea or on foot, following the path to Cala Nans lighthouse.
The main path does not go down to the beach: it skirts it halfway up along a cobbled stretch. According to Rutes Pirineus, a path branches off to the left there and leads down to Sa Sabolla. The park sign at the start of the route already announces it: «Accés Cala Sa Sabolla / Far de Cala Nans».
Two details from Catalan Wikipedia. The name is linked to bollar, the bubbles fish make when they breathe, a sign they were plentiful here. And mortar was once extracted from this cove, which also had a lime kiln. Out in the water, the 2025 use plan added a 65-metre line of buoys so that boats do not anchor over an invasive seaweed.
Sa Conca and Sant Pius V, before you set off
If you would rather not walk, the two beaches where the path starts are easier. The tourist office describes Sa Conca and Sant Pius V in the same terms: natural and urban setting, access on foot or by car, pebbles, easy access and parking nearby. In summer the council installs one of its five floating jetties at Sa Conca, used to reach boats moored in the bay.
What isn't there, and the rules
In its list, the tourist office flags which beaches have a bar, showers or parking. It gives Sa Sabolla none of those services. Bring water and take your rubbish back with you.
These coves are inside the natural park, and the tourist office lists its rules: no fires, no camping, and no picking plants or taking rocks or minerals.
On nudism, the sources do not agree. Catalan Wikipedia says it is practised at Sa Sabolla, while the tourist office says naturist beaches are not officially recognised. The council's bylaw on public behaviour, in its 2025 text, bans full nudity on the quays and beaches of the bay of Cadaqués, with a 100 € fine. It does not specify which beaches count as part of that bay.
Checked
Data checked in October 2026 against: the Ajuntament de Cadaqués (seasonal beach use and services plan, 2025 season; bylaw on public behaviour and use of public spaces, 2025 text), the Cadaqués tourist office (visitcadaques.org: beaches and coves, hiking routes), Catalan Wikipedia (Far de Calanans; Platja de sa Sabolla), Visit Costa Brava (Sa Sabolla), Rutes Pirineus (Far de Cala Nans des de Cadaqués) and Escapada amb Nens (coastal path to Cala Nans lighthouse).
Quick questions
How do you get into the water by Cala Nans lighthouse?
According to the tourist office, some steps beside the lighthouse lead down to Cala Nans. It has no beach fact sheet, no services and no buoyed area of its own.
What services does Sa Sabolla have?
None on the tourist office's list, which describes it as a natural setting with access on foot, pebbles and difficult access. Bring water.
Is nudism allowed at Sa Sabolla?
Catalan Wikipedia says it is practised there, but the 2025 bylaw on public behaviour bans full nudity on the quays and beaches of the bay of Cadaqués, with a 100 € fine, without specifying which beaches it covers.