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Date Published: 09/04/2025

Cartagena faces Easter 2025 without beach bars

Most beach bar owners in Cartagena agree there’s no way they can be ready for Holy Week

Although the weather forecast sadly isn’t great for Easter 2025, Cartagena’s beaches are still expected to be packed with holidaymakers. However, they’ll have to go without drinks and snacks, and even bathrooms, as a delay in issuing new contracts means that the beach bars, or chiringuitos, won’t be allowed to set up in time for Holy Week.

Starting this year, Cartagena City Council has applied new criteria for the concession of chiringuito beach bars along its coastline and has reduced the number of available licences from more than 50 to just 33. In theory, the new system should improve the quality of the bars and their overall facilities, while at the same time allowing the council to address any issues or non-compliances swiftly.

But despite the council’s assurances that everything would be in order for Easter openings, the contracts haven’t been signed off on in time. The Department of Coastal Affairs is blaming MITECO, the Ministry of Tourism, while the ministry insists it’s because the paperwork didn’t arrive from the City Council until March.

The process takes time, so given these delays, there was no way the chiringuitos were going to open for Holy Week, which begins this Friday April 11.

As it stands, contracts are in place for nearly two-thirds of the beach bars, but not one has been given the green light to raise its shutters from MITECO. According to the manager of one of La Manga’s most well-known chiringuitos, who has years of experience in the trade, they couldn’t open “even if we were given the permits and the concession tomorrow. Setting up a beach bar is a lot of work.”

Councillor for the Coast, Gonzalo López, doesn’t agree. He says that if the people awarded the contracts have everything ready to go – the beach bar buildings, staff, supplies etc. – they could be up and running in time for the main Easter weekend. Most of the managers, however, agree that this is completely impossible.

With only days to go, everyone is keeping their eyes on the shorelines for any sign of activity.

Image: Ayuntamiento de Cartagena

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