Santa Susanna & Malgrat de Mar Beach Walk Guide
A personal beach walk guide to Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar, the hotel-backed package-holiday beach stretch north of Barcelona with families, chiringuitos, topless sunbathing and resort atmosphere.
Quick answers to your Santa Susanna & Malgrat de Mar Beach questions.
A long Maresme resort-beach walk with two neighbouring town personalities.
Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar are easy to combine in one beach walk: wide sand, hotel-strip holiday energy, family facilities, train access and a different coastal mood from Barcelona’s city beaches.
Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar are neighbouring Maresme coast towns north of Barcelona.
Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar sit next to each other on the Maresme coast, linked by a long beach and resort strip. That makes them easy to combine in one walk, especially if you want to compare hotel-front beach life with a little more town character behind the sand.
- CoastNorth of Barcelona on the Maresme coast.
- Beach logicA long connected stretch, useful for one extended walk.
- Best forVisitors who want resort atmosphere, space and practical beach services.
Yes. They are popular beach-holiday destinations with a strong resort feel.
Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar are built for easy beach holidays: wide sandy beaches, hotels, restaurants, chiringuitos, family facilities and plenty of seasonal activity. They feel very different from central Barcelona beaches, and that is part of their appeal.
- Main appealWide beaches, hotels and a practical holiday setup.
- AtmosphereMore package-holiday resort than urban local beach.
- Best fitGood for families, longer beach days and relaxed holiday routines.
Yes. The beach between Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar is very family-oriented.
The long beach, nearby hotels, seasonal lifeguard presence, restaurants, beach bars and practical resort facilities make this stretch a strong family option. Parents should still check sea conditions, beach flags and lifeguard advice, because a friendly beach still deserves respect.
- Family strengthsSpace, facilities, food nearby and resort convenience.
- Watch forSea conditions, beach flags and seasonal lifeguard guidance.
- Best useA full beach day where comfort and logistics matter.
The sand is generally coarse and golden, typical of much of the Maresme coast.
The beach is comfortable enough for sunbathing and long walks, but visitors should not expect soft powder-style sand. This part of the Maresme coast often has a coarser, more golden texture that works well for walking but can feel different from brochure-soft sand expectations.
- TextureCoarse golden sand rather than powder-soft sand.
- WalkingGood for long beach walks along the resort strip.
- ExpectationPractical and pleasant, but not luxury-soft underfoot.
Both are tourist-focused, but they do not feel exactly the same.
Santa Susanna often feels more hotel-strip and package-holiday oriented along the beach. Malgrat de Mar also has a strong holiday feel, but it has more of an older town identity behind the beach. Walking between them is the best way to feel the difference rather than trying to label one as simply better.
- Santa SusannaMore hotel-strip, resort-front and package-holiday in feel.
- Malgrat de MarStill touristy, but with more older-town character behind the beach.
- Best answerWalk both and let the town edges tell the story.
No. They feel very different from Barcelona’s city beaches.
Barcelona beaches feel urban and locally integrated, with the city running right into the sand. Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar feel more like beach-holiday destinations, with hotels, resort services and a slower package-holiday rhythm.
- BarcelonaUrban, local, busy and closely tied to the city.
- Maresme resort stripHoliday-focused, hotel-led and more spacious in places.
- Choose this ifYou want a resort beach day rather than a city beach experience.
Yes. Topless sunbathing is common, as it is on many Spanish beaches.
On this stretch, topless sunbathing often feels more like holiday freedom than local city-beach culture, but it is still part of the normal beach environment. The respectful response is simple: treat it as ordinary beach life and do not stare, photograph or make people uncomfortable.
- Normal in SpainTopless sunbathing is common on many Spanish beaches.
- Local flavourHere it often sits inside a relaxed holiday-resort atmosphere.
- RespectNo staring, no intrusive photos, no turning beach culture into a spectacle.
The main hotel-front beach stretch is not best described as naturist.
Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar’s main resort beach is better understood as a mixed public holiday beach where topless sunbathing is common. Some outer Maresme beach sections may be listed as naturist or nude areas, but that is a different experience from the central hotel-front strip.
- Main stretchMixed resort beach, not a dedicated naturist beach.
- Nearby coastSome outer Maresme sections may have naturist references.
- Visitor ruleRead the local atmosphere before making assumptions.
Yes. Both towns are on the R1 coastal train route from Barcelona.
Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar are practical to reach without a car because both sit on the R1 coastal train route. That makes them useful for visitors who want to explore the Maresme coast and see a different beach style from Barcelona’s central seafront.
- RouteUse the R1 coastal train route north from Barcelona.
- Good forVisitors exploring beaches without hiring a car.
- BonusThe journey itself helps you understand the Maresme coastline.
Both work best together as one longer beach walk.
Santa Susanna gives you the hotel-strip resort feeling, while Malgrat de Mar adds more town character behind the beach. Walking between them is the best way to understand the difference, because the shift happens gradually rather than at one neat boundary line.
- Santa SusannaResort-front, hotel-strip and holiday-beach atmosphere.
- Malgrat de MarMore town identity behind the beach.
- Best routeCombine them in one walk to feel the transition properly.
You can watch full-length Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar beach walks through Bear Beach Walks.
Bear Beach Walks includes full-length Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar beach walk experiences for members, including 4K and 360 videos where available. A full walk helps you judge the resort atmosphere, beach width, crowd levels, walking route and the difference between the two neighbouring towns.
- 4K walksBest for relaxed viewing and real beach atmosphere.
- 360 walksUseful for a stronger sense of space and surroundings.
- Why watchPhotos show the beach; a full walk shows how the place actually feels.
The Package-Holiday Beach Stretch North of Barcelona
Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar have a very different beach atmosphere from Barcelona.
That is the first thing to understand.
This is not Barceloneta. It is not Bogatell. It is not Mar Bella. It does not have the same local city-beach rhythm, where people meet their usual crowd after work, wander down from nearby flats, or treat the beach as an extension of everyday Barcelona life.
Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar feel much more like a proper holiday coast.
Families from the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands and other parts of Europe arrive for sunshine, hotels, swimming pools, beach bars, evening drinks, souvenir shops, day trips and a Mediterranean break that does not require learning the emotional complexity of the Barcelona metro.
The beaches reflect that.
You get wide stretches of sand, big hotel backdrops, sunloungers, small beach tents, chiringuitos, family groups, young holidaymakers travelling in packs, lifeguards keeping an eye on busy summer waters, and people spaced out in little islands rather than packed into the more integrated social fabric you often see on Barcelona’s city beaches.
- This is a coast of holiday clusters.
- Families in one patch.
- Teenagers in another.
- Couples closer to the water.
- Groups of young lads and young girls pretending not to notice each other while very obviously noticing each other.
- Parents trying to apply sun cream to children who appear to have declared themselves frictionless.
- Someone asleep under a beach tent that may or may not survive the afternoon wind.
- It is not Blackpool in the sun, exactly.
But along the Catalan coast, this is probably one of the closest things to that classic package-holiday beach feeling: sunny, practical, slightly noisy, easy to understand, full of hotels, and built around people being away from home.
And that makes it very useful for Bear Beach Walks.
Because this beach stretch tells a different story from Barcelona.
Watch a Short Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar Beach Preview
This short preview gives you a first look at the beach stretch between Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar: the wide sand, hotel-lined backdrop, holiday crowds, lifeguard posts, beach bars, sunloungers, family groups and the slower resort rhythm that makes this part of the coast feel so different from Barcelona.
A short teaser shows the setting.
The full Bear Beach Walks video shows the pace of the place.
That matters here because Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar are not about one dramatic landmark or one famous postcard angle. They are about the long beach walk: the hotel strip, the groups on holiday, the gradual town-to-town transition, the changing beach sections, the coarse sand underfoot, the chiringuitos along the edge, and the sense that everyone around you is in some version of holiday mode.
It is not the most local-feeling beach walk in Catalunya.
That is exactly why it is interesting.
See more Beaches North of Barcelona
Quick Guide to Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar Beaches
| Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar beaches | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Best for | Package-holiday beach atmosphere, families, resort walks, hotel-backed beach scenes, 4K walking videos |
| Not the best for | A local Barcelona-style beach vibe, quiet solitude, hidden coves or a polished city-beach scene |
| Atmosphere | Tourist-focused, spacious in parts, family-heavy, relaxed, social and very holiday-oriented |
| Beach culture | Mixed resort beach, common topless sunbathing, not mainly a naturist-style beach experience |
| Sand | Coarse golden sand, generally comfortable but not soft powder |
| Backdrop | Large hotels, promenades, campsites, beach bars, restaurants and resort infrastructure |
| Crowd feel | Groups and family clusters rather than the tightly integrated local beach culture of Barcelona |
| Best walk | Santa Susanna toward Malgrat de Mar, or Malgrat back toward Santa Susanna depending on light and mood |
| Transport | R1 coastal train from Barcelona, with stations at Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar |
| Bear Beach Walks verdict | A very different Catalan beach experience, and a strong search opportunity for walking-tour viewers |
Where Are Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar?
Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar sit north of Barcelona on the Maresme coast, close to the point where the Costa del Maresme starts to feel like it is nudging toward the Costa Brava.
They are neighbouring towns, and for beach walkers they work naturally as one connected coastal route.
Santa Susanna sits between Pineda de Mar and Malgrat de Mar. Malgrat then carries the coast further toward the Tordera River and Blanes beyond.
This matters because many visitors experience the area as one holiday strip rather than two separate towns. They may stay in a Santa Susanna hotel, walk into Malgrat for food or nightlife, spend the day on the beach between the two, then later forget which town they were technically in when they bought the inflatable crocodile.
That is part of the appeal.
The town boundary matters on a map.
The beach walk feels more continuous.
A Different Beach World from Barcelona
The beaches around Barcelona have their own rhythm.
Bogatell feels young, local and social.
Barceloneta feels famous, busy and tourist-heavy but still woven into the city.
Sant Sebastià feels mixed, active and iconic.
Mar Bella has its open-minded, naturist-friendly edge.
Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar are different again.
Here, the beach is more clearly tied to the holiday industry.
You see the hotels before you understand the town. They form the backdrop to much of the beach, especially through the Santa Susanna stretch. Large package-holiday hotels, apartment blocks, beach services, restaurants, bars and campsites shape the feeling of the coastline.
People are not usually here because they finished work early and decided to meet friends for an evening swim.
They are here because they are on holiday.
That changes everything.
The pace is slower in some ways, but also more obviously organised around leisure: breakfast at the hotel, beach in the morning, pool later, shower, dinner, drinks, maybe a walk along the promenade, then repeat until the skin tone and airport luggage allowance both become questionable.
This is not a criticism.
It is the identity of the place.
Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar are resort beaches, and they behave like resort beaches.
The Package-Holiday Vibe
There is a very particular kind of atmosphere you get on package-holiday beaches.
- It is not the same as a local beach.
- It is not exactly wild nightlife either.
- It is more like thousands of people temporarily living parallel holiday lives beside each other.
- You see families settling into their favourite patch of sand.
- Parents carrying too much gear because apparently a beach day now requires the logistics of a minor expedition.
- Small beach tents popping up like colourful mushrooms.
- Groups of teenagers wandering just far enough away from their parents to feel independent.
Young people travelling in separate little clusters, looking across the sand at each other with that universal holiday-question in their eyes:
“Are we going to talk to them, or are we just going to do this awkward distance-based theatre until dinner?”
You see older couples who clearly know exactly how to do this properly: towels down, umbrella set, book open, no drama.
You see sunloungers lined up in rental areas, hotel guests drifting between the pool and the beach, people carrying supermarket bags with beach snacks, and chiringuitos doing exactly what chiringuitos are meant to do: making it very easy to turn “just one drink” into an afternoon with receipts.
- It is not the same as Barcelona’s beach culture.
- It is more separated into little holiday worlds.
- But that gives the beach walk a different kind of human interest.
- You are not watching a neighbourhood use its beach.
You are watching a resort coastline host thousands of temporary beach lives at once.
The Beach Itself: Spacious, Coarse and Practical
The beach between Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar is spacious in many places.
That space is one of its strengths.
Compared with the central Barcelona beaches, the sand often feels less compressed. Even when the beach is busy, people tend to spread out more. The groups form clumps rather than blankets of towel-to-towel crowding.
The sand is coarse, as it often is along this part of the Maresme coast. It is not unpleasant, but it is not fine powder either. After a long walk, your feet will know they have been somewhere.
This is a beach made for practical holiday use.
There is enough room for:
- Families with children
- Sunlounger rental zones
- Small beach tents
- Couples near the waterline
- Groups of friends
- People walking between towns
- Lifeguard stations
- Beach bars and restaurants
- Hotel guests moving between accommodation and sea
- Campsite visitors using the Santa Susanna stretch
The beach is not delicate.
It is functional, sunny, wide and useful.
And for walking videos, that is valuable.
The eye has space to travel. The camera can move. The groups are visible without feeling crushed together. The hotel backdrop tells you where you are before anyone says a word.
Walking from Santa Susanna to Malgrat de Mar
The walk between Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar is one of the simplest ways to understand this beach stretch.
At town level, you notice the change more clearly. Walking through the streets, the transition around the roundabout and the British-style pub and holiday-bar zone feels like a shift from one glossy brochure to another.
- On the beach, the change is softer.
- The sand continues.
- The hotels continue.
- The holiday feeling continues.
But slowly, the tone adjusts. Santa Susanna feels very hotel-strip and resort-oriented, with the beach tied closely to accommodation and package-holiday infrastructure. Malgrat de Mar has more of its own town identity nearby, especially once you move away from the pure hotel-strip feeling and toward the older centre.
From the sand, though, both towns share a similar beach language:
- Sun.
- Hotels.
- Families.
- Beach bars.
- Groups.
- Lifeguards.
- Coarse sand.
- Mediterranean blue.
- People on holiday doing people-on-holiday things.
That is why the walk works well in video. The change is not dramatic, but it is there. You feel it gradually rather than having it shouted at you by a landmark.
Some beach walks are about a famous view.
This one is about a long shift in atmosphere.
We cover the beach walk between Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar in the preview video, but if you’d like to see a more in-depth walk between the towns and get a feel for how they fit into the holiday destination vibe, check out this video.
In this 35-minute video, we walk from the quiet end of Santa Susanna through the busy hotels and end the walk at the Renfe station at Malgrat de Mar, stopping at a few of the points of interest.
The video gives you a sense of how these 2 towns feel during the peak summer season.
If you want an even deeper dive into this area, we also have a video that is a little over an hour where we visit some of the hotels and restaurants along this walk here. The channel also has some videos of specific hotels for those who are planning to stay in the area and want a quick look before they arrive; just use the search feature on the YouTube channel page.
Santa Susanna Beach: Hotels, Campsites and Holiday Space
Santa Susanna’s beach is strongly shaped by the resort infrastructure behind it.
Large hotels sit close to the coast, and the beach often feels like the outdoor living room for the people staying in them. There is also a section connected with camping and caravan visitors, which gives part of the beach a slightly different holiday rhythm from the hotel areas.
That mix is interesting.
Hotel guests and campsite visitors use the beach differently.
Hotel visitors often move in and out through the day, beach, pool, food, room, repeat.
Camping and caravan visitors may feel more settled, with their own routines, gear and beach-day systems. They can look like they have established a temporary summer base camp, only with more sandals and fewer mountaineering credentials.
Santa Susanna is especially useful for viewers who enjoy resort-walk videos because the beach and holiday accommodation are so visibly connected.
This is not a beach hidden behind old streets.
It is a beach designed around people staying nearby and using it every day of their holiday.
That makes it less “local discovery” and more “holiday machine in full operation.”
And when you are filming a beach walk, that can be fascinating.
Malgrat de Mar Beach: Resort Energy with More Town Behind It
Malgrat de Mar has a slightly different feeling.
It is still a major holiday destination, and the beach remains firmly in package-holiday territory. But compared with Santa Susanna, Malgrat has a stronger sense of town beyond the resort strip.
You feel that especially when walking away from the sand and into the streets. Malgrat has more of an older-town identity, with shops, restaurants, squares, local life and places that feel less purely hotel-driven.
On the beach itself, the difference is subtler.
You still get tourists, families, sunloungers, chiringuitos and holiday groups. You still get the coarse sand and wide beach feel. You still get the sense that most people are here for a week or two of sunshine rather than an afternoon after work.
But Malgrat’s beach has a slightly different backdrop and a slightly different rhythm.
It feels less like one long hotel frontage and more like a resort town that happens to have a very long, very useful beach attached.
That distinction is small, but on a full beach walk it starts to matter.
A Beach for Families
Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar are very family-oriented beach destinations.
That is one of the clearest things about the area.
You see families everywhere: young children with buckets, parents organising shade, grandparents watching from chairs, teenagers wandering off in groups, and family units setting up for the day in that classic beach formation of towels, bags, umbrellas, bottles, snacks and one person who has already lost a flip-flop.
The beach works for families because it is practical.
You have:
- Plenty of sand in many sections
- Nearby hotels and accommodation
- Beach bars and restaurants
- Seasonal lifeguard presence
- Sunlounger rental areas
- Space for children to play
- Promenade walking
- Easy access from holiday accommodation
- Train links for day visitors
That does not mean every section is ideal for very small children.
As with many Maresme beaches, the sea can shelve more quickly than people expect in places, and conditions can change. Parents should always pay attention to beach flags, lifeguard advice, waves and the actual slope of the shoreline on the day.
But as a general holiday beach, this stretch is built around family use.
It is not polished in a luxury-resort way.
It is practical, familiar and easy to understand.
That is part of why people return.
Topless Sunbathing and Beach Culture
Topless sunbathing is common on these beaches, but the feeling is different from Barcelona.
In Barcelona, topless sunbathing often feels like part of everyday urban beach culture. It is simply one of the normal ways people use public beaches.
In Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar, the tone can feel more like holiday freedom.
People are away from home. They are in Spain. They are on the beach. The weather is warm. The hotel is nearby. The usual rules feel slightly loosened.
That gives topless sunbathing here a different atmosphere from beaches like Bogatell or Mar Bella.
It is still not adult content.
It is still normal in the Spanish beach context.
But it often feels less like “this is my local culture” and more like “I am on holiday and I can relax properly here.”
That distinction is subtle, but it is real.
This is not mainly a naturist-friendly beach stretch in the way people might talk about Mar Bella, La Musclera or specific naturist areas further along the coast. The main Santa Susanna to Malgrat holiday strip is better understood as a mixed resort beach where topless sunbathing is common, but full naturist use is not the defining feature.
There are wider Maresme coastal areas and outer beach sections where naturist use is recognised or marked in beach listings, but that is not the central package-holiday beach experience most visitors mean when they talk about Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar beach.
For Bear Beach Walks, the same principle applies here as everywhere else.
We show real public beach culture respectfully and in context.
Not as a spectacle.
Not as clickbait.
Just as part of the beach.
The Crowd: Holiday Clumps, Not Barcelona Flow
One of the most interesting differences between these beaches and Barcelona is how people arrange themselves.
On Barcelona beaches, especially places like Bogatell, the crowd often feels integrated. Locals, students, tourists, families, topless sunbathers, swimmers and groups of friends mix into one dense social fabric.
Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar feel more segmented.
- People form holiday clumps.
- A family here.
- A group of teenagers there.
- A row of rented loungers.
- A couple near the water.
- A campsite crew with a beach tent.
- A hotel group moving in a loose pack.
Two groups pretending not to notice each other while conducting an international summit of sideways glances.
This gives the beach a very different visual rhythm.
There is more space between people in many sections, but also less of that organic local-beach blend. It feels more like everyone has arrived from somewhere else and temporarily claimed a patch of sand.
That is exactly what makes the beach interesting on video.
It tells you not just what the place looks like, but how it is being used.
Chiringuitos, Restaurants and Resort Convenience
This coast is built for convenience.
Along the beach edge, you will find bars, restaurants and chiringuitos spread along the sand and promenade areas. Some are simple. Some are more polished. Some exist mainly because holidaymakers eventually need something cold, something fried, or something with an umbrella in it.
The practical value is obvious.
You can walk, swim, eat, drink, sit, continue walking, then repeat the whole cycle with very little planning.
That is part of the package-holiday appeal.
Nobody wants a beach day that requires a spreadsheet.
In Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar, the beach makes things easy. Hotels are close. Food is close. Shade can be found or rented. Sunloungers are available in places. Lifeguard points are visible in season. The promenade keeps everything connected.
It is not the most culturally subtle beach experience in Catalunya.
But it is extremely functional.
And functional beaches have their own kind of beauty.
Especially when you are tired, hot, hungry, and suddenly very grateful that someone nearby is selling cold drinks.
The Hotel Backdrop
The large hotel backdrop is one of the defining visual features of the Santa Susanna and Malgrat beach walk.
In Barcelona, the backdrop is city architecture, apartment blocks, promenades, towers, port structures and neighbourhood edges.
Here, the backdrop is often hotels.
Big ones.
Holiday ones.
The kind of hotels that make it very clear people have arrived on coaches, checked in at reception, been issued breakfast times, and are now negotiating which family member forgot the room key.
This backdrop changes the feeling of the beach.
It makes the coastline feel organised around visitors.
That can make the beach feel less romantic than smaller coves or older fishing-town beaches, but it also makes it very accessible and easy to understand.
For video, the hotel backdrop helps locate the walk.
You are not in Barcelona.
You are not in a hidden Costa Brava cove.
You are in a mature Catalan resort beach zone, and the whole landscape is honest about that.
There is something refreshing about a place that does not pretend to be something else.
Is This a Beautiful Beach?
Yes, but not in the same way as a postcard cove.
Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar are not delicate, secret, pine-framed coves with one fishing boat and a waiter who knows the exact emotional temperature of grilled sardines.
They are broad resort beaches.
The beauty is in the width of the coast, the sea, the holiday movement, the long walking route, the morning light, the hills behind Malgrat, the row of beach bars, the colour of umbrellas, the life of families settling in, and the simple fact that thousands of people come here to be near the Mediterranean for a while.
It is not ruggedly romantic.
It is not hidden.
It is not trying to be elite.
It is a working holiday beach.
And when you accept it on those terms, it becomes much more interesting.
Some beaches are beautiful because they are untouched.
Others are interesting because they are thoroughly touched, used, loved, rented, walked, photographed, sunburned, slept on and returned to year after year.
Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar belong to the second group.
The R1 Renfe/Train: One of the Best Ways to Arrive
The R1 train makes this coastline much easier to explore from Barcelona.
Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar both sit on the coastal train route north of the city, and this is one of the pleasures of the journey. For much of the route, especially along the Maresme coast, the train runs close to the sea.
That means the journey itself becomes part of the beach experience.
Sit on the sea-facing side, watch the coast pass, and you start to understand how different this stretch is from the Barcelona beaches.
You pass town after town, beach after beach, hotel after hotel, promenade after promenade. By the time you reach Santa Susanna or Malgrat, you have already had a moving preview of the coastline.
For visitors, this makes the area useful as a day trip.
For Bear Beach Walks, it makes it part of the wider story of the Catalan coast.
Barcelona is not the whole beach story.
Sometimes the best way to understand the coast is to get on the train and let the shoreline unfold outside the window.
Santa Susanna vs Malgrat de Mar: What Changes?
The two towns are closely connected, but they do not feel identical.
Santa Susanna
Santa Susanna feels more hotel-strip and package-holiday focused along the beach. The accommodation presence is obvious, and the beach works naturally as the outdoor extension of the resort zone. It is practical, organised and very much built around visitors.
Malgrat de Mar
Malgrat de Mar still has a strong holiday feel, but there is more sense of a town behind the beach. The older centre, shops, restaurants and wider street life give it a slightly different character once you move away from the sand.
Along the beach
The transition is subtle.
You do not cross an invisible line and suddenly hear a different soundtrack. The beach continues, the holiday groups continue, the hotels continue, and the sand does what sand does, which is get everywhere with unnecessary confidence.
But the feel does shift gradually.
Santa Susanna is more resort-strip.
Malgrat is more resort-town.
That is a useful distinction for visitors and a good reason to walk both.
Best Time to Visit
Morning
Morning is best for a calmer beach walk.
The light is usually better, the sand is less crowded, and the beach has that early holiday feeling: people arriving slowly, bars opening, loungers being arranged, families beginning the daily operation.
Midday
Midday is when the beach becomes more obviously resort-like.
More families, more sunbathers, more tents, more loungers, more heat, more movement between hotels and sand. This is the full package-holiday beach experience, though not necessarily the easiest time for filming or walking.
Late Afternoon
Late afternoon can be excellent.
The heat softens, the crowds remain, and the beach often takes on a more relaxed social feel. People start thinking about dinner, drinks, showers, evening walks and whether they have overdone the sun in a way that will only become fully clear after 8pm.
Evening
Evening is good for promenade walking and watching the resort change mood.
The beach itself starts to empty, but the town edges, bars, restaurants and hotel fronts become more active.
This is when the beach day turns into the holiday evening.
Different scene.
Same coast.
Who Will Enjoy This Beach Walk Most?
This beach walk is especially good for:
- People who know Santa Susanna or Malgrat from holidays
- Viewers searching for walking tours of these towns
- Families considering a holiday on the Maresme coast
- People who enjoy resort beach atmosphere
- Former visitors wanting to revisit the area virtually
- Treadmill-walk viewers who like long, open beach routes
- Viewers interested in beaches beyond Barcelona
- People comparing Costa Barcelona, Maresme and Costa Brava-style holiday towns
- Anyone who enjoys seeing how beach culture changes from place to place
This is not the beach walk for someone expecting hidden-cove silence.
It is the beach walk for people who enjoy the life of a holiday coast.
- The hotels.
- The groups.
- The sand.
- The bars.
- The families.
- The little human scenes.
- The feeling that everyone has temporarily agreed to live by beach time.
- That has its own charm.
Why This Beach Works for Bear Beach Walks
Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar work well for Bear Beach Walks because they show a side of the Catalan coast that is different from Barcelona.
The Barcelona beaches are about city life meeting the sea.
Santa Susanna and Malgrat are about tourism meeting the sea.
That difference matters.
It changes the way people sit, walk, swim, dress, gather, eat and move through the day.
A full beach walk lets viewers see that difference clearly.
You see:
- The wider resort sand
- The hotel backdrop
- The beach tents
- The family clusters
- The sunlounger zones
- The chiringuitos
- The lifeguard presence
- The groups of young holidaymakers
- The transition between towns
- The beach as a lived holiday space
A short teaser can show the sunshine.
A full 4K walk shows the holiday machine breathing.
And for viewers who have stayed here before, that can be surprisingly powerful. A simple beach walk can bring back the memory of a holiday more effectively than a polished hotel promo ever could.
- The squeak of sand.
- The line of hotels.
- The lifeguard chair.
- The group of teenagers trying to look casual.
- The beach bar you probably passed every evening.
- The sea doing its reliable blue thing.
- That is what we are here to capture.
Watch the Full Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar Beach Walk
The YouTube preview gives you the first look.
The full Bear Beach Walks video gives you the beach.
Members can watch full-length 4K and 360 beach walk videos from Santa Susanna, Malgrat de Mar, Barcelona, Badalona, Sitges, Castelldefels, Gavà, Montgat and other parts of the Catalan coast.
Our videos are not just short highlights. They are slower, fuller and more observational. They show the shoreline, the people, the beach culture, the hotels, the promenade, the little details and the changes in atmosphere that make each place feel different.
Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar are perfect examples.
A short clip can show you a holiday beach.
A full walk can remind you what it feels like to be there.
Final Thoughts
Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar deserve a place in the Bear Beach Walks archive.
Not because they are the most hidden beaches.
Not because they are the most local beaches.
Not because they are untouched corners of the Catalan coast.
They matter because they are important holiday beaches.
For many visitors from the UK, Germany and across Europe, this is the Catalan coast they know. Not the intense urban beaches of Barcelona. Not the dramatic coves of the Costa Brava. But the long resort beaches of Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar: hotel-backed, family-friendly, practical, sunny, social and full of people making temporary summer lives beside the Mediterranean.
That is worth documenting.
It is easy to dismiss package-holiday beaches as less authentic, but that misses the point.
They are authentic to the people who use them.
This is where families return year after year. Where teenagers discover holiday freedom. Where parents negotiate beach tents and sun cream. Where older couples find the same patch of sand. Where the beach bar becomes part of the daily routine. Where people who spend most of the year somewhere colder get to feel the sun on their skin and remember that life has better settings.
Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar may not have the integrated local vibe of Bogatell.
They may not have the famous identity of Barceloneta.
They may not have the naturist-friendly edge of Mar Bella.
But they have something else.
They have the honest, slightly sunburned, very human rhythm of the European package-holiday beach.
And that is absolutely worth walking.
FAQs
Where are Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar?
Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar are neighbouring coastal towns north of Barcelona on the Maresme coast. They are connected by a long beach and resort strip, making them easy to combine in one beach walk.
Are Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar good beach destinations?
Yes. They are popular beach-holiday destinations with wide sandy beaches, hotels, restaurants, chiringuitos, family facilities and a strong package-holiday atmosphere.
Is the beach between Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar good for families?
Yes. The beach is very family-oriented, with plenty of space in many areas, nearby hotels, seasonal lifeguard presence, restaurants, beach bars and practical resort facilities. Parents should still check sea conditions, beach flags and lifeguard advice.
What is the sand like at Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar?
The sand is generally coarse and golden, typical of much of the Maresme coast. It is comfortable enough for a beach day and good for walking, but it is not soft powder-style sand.
Is Santa Susanna or Malgrat de Mar more touristy?
Both are tourist-focused, but Santa Susanna often feels more hotel-strip and package-holiday oriented along the beach. Malgrat de Mar also has a strong holiday feel, but it has more of an older town identity behind the beach.
Are Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar like Barcelona beaches?
No. They feel very different from Barcelona beaches. Barcelona beaches are more urban and locally integrated, while Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar have a stronger resort and package-holiday atmosphere.
Is topless sunbathing common at Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar?
Topless sunbathing is common, as it is on many Spanish beaches. Here it often feels more like holiday freedom than local city-beach culture, but it is still part of the normal beach environment.
Are Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar naturist beaches?
The main hotel-front beach stretch between Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar is not best described as a naturist beach. It is better understood as a mixed resort beach where topless sunbathing is common. Some outer Maresme beach sections are marked in beach listings as naturist or nude areas, but that is a different experience from the central holiday strip.
Can you get to Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar by train from Barcelona?
Yes. Both towns are on the R1 coastal train route from Barcelona, making them practical for visitors who want to explore the Maresme coast without a car.
Is Santa Susanna or Malgrat de Mar better for a beach walk?
Both work well together as one beach walk. Santa Susanna gives you the hotel-strip resort feel, while Malgrat de Mar adds more town character behind the beach. Walking between them is the best way to understand the difference.
Where can I watch a full Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar beach walk video?
You can watch full-length Santa Susanna and Malgrat de Mar beach walk videos through Bear Beach Walks, including 4K and 360 beach walk experiences available to members.
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