Waterfall Kayaking in Nerja — July 2026

We took the family to Nerja for a weekend in the middle of July — it is just about the most beautiful place you can imagine, and it is not that far from us, so we drove along the coast road. I was worried about traffic and parking with it being peak season, but when we landed in Nerja I found a space straight away, which was a result.

The main reason we wanted to go was the sea kayaking. My wife had wanted to do it with the kids for a long time, and the whole weekend was nearly kiboshed when we got a message from the kayak people the day before to say it was too windy and they were closed. We went anyway — the weather changes, and we had a place booked. I am so glad we did.

Friday and Saturday: the wind that saved the weekend

Friday evening we ate at Restaurante 34, and the food was really incredible, as was the service — not to mention the views, since it sits above a cliff.

Saturday we spent on the beach, and the wind they had warned us about turned into big waves, which was possibly the best thing my kids have ever experienced. It turns out they are quite adventurous and love big waves. That was a surprise: my son had been a bit afraid of the sea before this holiday, and he got that monkey off his back over the weekend. By the end of it he was jumping over waves and would not let me get out of the water.

Sunday: kayaking from Playa Burriana

As luck would have it the wind calmed down, we showed up at Playa Burriana the next day, and kayaking was on.

Parking was a different story here, mind you. I gave up circling and stuck it in the paid car park for the day — €11.85 in the end, and worth every cent not to be driving around in the heat instead of being in the water. Crystal Kayak Nerja, where we had the booking, was a short walk away.

The guys at Crystal Kayak were fantastic and got us kitted out with the usual gear: life vests, paddles and the kayak. There was no orientation, which I was glad about — honestly, it is a kayak, just paddle. While dragging ours down to the water I passed a group of about fifteen people with an instructor standing in front of them, demonstrating how to hold a paddle. Maybe it is just me, but that seems unnecessary, almost as if it has to be done to make the whole thing seem like more than it is.

We had about three hours before we needed to be back, which was fine — more than we needed, as it turned out. We headed left, towards the waterfall.

The sea was fairly full with kayakers like ourselves, paddle boarders, and a couple of Scuba Steves in by the rocks. I suspect that was because there had been no kayaking on the Friday or Saturday, so everyone had been rolled over to the Sunday like us. The water was calm enough — a small bit of swell, nothing challenging. We hugged the coastline, went between the giant fallen rocks in the sea, watched fish swimming underneath us, and reached the waterfall after about 45 minutes of gentle pushing.

The waterfall

The waterfall is just stunning. As I said, this was mid-July and there was still a tonne of water coming down it — imagine January or February when the rains come, that would be really something to see.

If I am honest, it was a bit too crowded to enjoy properly. You can see in the photos the number of other kayaks, and we did not fancy barging our way through there with small kids. We still enjoyed it, and it was well worth the trip out.

On the way back we stopped at one of the beaches for some snorkelling and, lo and behold, more fish in the water, which delighted my two and gave my wife and I a break from paddling. Then back to shore to spend the rest of the day on the beach and in the water.

Chiringuito Ayo: the best thing we ate all weekend

One last thing. We ate at a restaurant there, Chiringuito Ayo, and had paella and sardinas, and oh my God it was just amazing.

Plastic chairs, people walking around shouting, paper tablecloths and a sandy floor — all of which honestly just added to the charm. They have a big open fireplace where they cook dish after dish of paella and serve it straight out. It was probably one of the most authentic Spanish beach restaurants I have been to in my 22 years here, and not something you would see in Fuengirola or Marbella. Top class. The paella and sardinas were amazing, so was the wine, and it was cheaper than any modern place you would find anywhere else on the coast.

We were lucky, too: we got in around 1.30pm and left an hour and a bit later, and the queue outside by then was massive — it had to be fifty or sixty people. We hit the jackpot there.

So: top marks for Nerja, top marks for the kayaking, and top top marks for Chiringuito Ayo.