Puerto Sotogrande Is Now Spain's Fifth-Largest Marina, Ahead of Puerto Banús
A new count of active water berths puts Sotogrande's 1,382 at the head of every Andalusian marina — and reorders the Costa del Sol pecking order in the process.
Puerto Sotogrande has been ranked the fifth-largest marina in Spain by number of active water berths, according to a classification compiled by the Observatorio de Marinas y Puertos with data current to 14 July 2026 and reported on 21 July.
The Cádiz-province marina counts 1,382 operational berths. That places it at the head of every Andalusian facility in the table — ahead of Puerto Deportivo Benalmádena, Puerto Deportivo Almerimar, Puerto Banús and Puerto Sherry.
The national top five
- Marina d'Empuriabrava — 5,000 berths
- Port de la Ràpita — 1,825 berths
- Puerto Deportivo Tomás Maestre — 1,721 berths
- Marina dels Canals de Santa Margarida — 1,598 berths
- Puerto Sotogrande — 1,382 berths
Empuriabrava's margin is a quirk of geography rather than a fair fight: the Costa Brava development is built around a residential canal network, so a large share of its berths are private moorings at the bottom of gardens.
What the count included — and what it left out
The methodology matters here, because marina capacity figures are routinely inflated. The Observatorio counted active water berths only. Dry storage, shipyards, parking and announced-but-unbuilt expansions were all excluded, with figures taken from official marina websites and port authorities.
That is a stricter basis than the numbers marinas tend to quote in their own marketing, and it is why some familiar names sit lower than expected.
Why size is not the same as charter capacity
A berth count measures how many boats a marina can hold, not how many are available to charter. Sotogrande's basin is dominated by privately owned yachts kept on annual contracts; Puerto Banús, smaller in this ranking, remains the Costa del Sol's busiest commercial departure point because a far greater share of its fleet works.
For anyone planning a day on the water, the practical question is which port you leave from, not which has the most pontoons. Our guide to choosing between Marbella and Puerto Banús as a departure port covers the trade-offs, and the current fleet is at boat rental Marbella.
Puerto Banús placed second in a separate 2026 ranking judged on services and prestige rather than raw capacity — covered here.
Sources
- Puerto Sotogrande claims fifth spot among Spain's largest marinas — Euro Weekly News
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