Healthcare
The Centro de Salud de Almuñécar at Calle Chinguetti 2 is the public health centre, with 24-hour urgent care (urgencias). La Herradura has its own smaller health centre. The nearest hospital is Hospital Santa Ana in Motril, 20 km east; for specialist care patients are often sent to Granada. With a European Health Insurance Card (or the UK GHIC) visitors get necessary treatment on the same terms as Spaniards; travellers should still carry travel insurance. Private clinics with English- and Scandinavian-speaking staff exist in both Almuñécar and La Herradura.
- Emergency number
- 112 (all emergencies, English spoken)
- Centro de Salud Almuñécar
- Calle Chinguetti 2, +34 958 02 74 22
- Hospital Santa Ana, Motril
- Av. Enrique Martín Cuevas s/n, +34 958 03 82 00
- Policía Local
- +34 958 63 42 22 / 092
- Guardia Civil
- 062
Pharmacies
Pharmacies (farmacia, green cross) are found in a dozen places across the municipality. One is always on duty (farmacia de guardia) – the rota is posted on every pharmacy door and on the town hall website. Many common medicines, antibiotics for example, require a prescription; pharmacy staff are used to foreign customers.
Tourist office, opening hours and markets
The tourist office is in the Palacete de La Najarra, Avenida de Europa, tel. +34 958 63 11 25, visitalmunecar.es. Open daily in summer, weekdays and Saturday mornings the rest of the year; a branch on the beach in La Herradura in summer.
Shops are generally open 10–14 and 17–20:30 on weekdays and Saturday mornings; the supermarkets (Mercadona, Lidl, Supercor, Carrefour Express) stay open all day until 21–22 and close on Sundays except in summer. The siesta is real: between 14:00 and 17:00 the centre is quiet. The weekly market is on Friday mornings in Almuñécar and Tuesdays in La Herradura. Banks open weekdays 8:30–14:00.
Living here: NIE, padrón and residencia
Anyone buying property, opening a bank account or living here needs an NIE (Número de Identidad de Extranjero), a tax number for foreigners, applied for at the Policía Nacional in Motril or via a Spanish consulate at home. Anyone living in the municipality should register on the padrón (the municipal register) at the town hall – it gives access to the health centre, schools and discounts, and the town receives state funding per inhabitant. EU citizens staying more than three months must register as residente (the green EU certificate) with the Policía Nacional; non-EU citizens, including Britons since Brexit, need a visa or residence permit for stays over 90 days in any 180.
Living more than 183 days a year in Spain makes you tax resident here; pensions and investment income are then taxed under the relevant double-taxation treaty. A local gestoría (accountancy and paperwork agency) helps – it is worth the money.
Foreign residents in Almuñécar
The municipality has one of the largest foreign communities on this coast, with British, Scandinavian, German, Belgian and Dutch residents concentrated in La Herradura, Cotobro, Punta de la Mona and Velilla. Expat associations arrange meetings, walks and celebrations; local restaurants and estate agents often have English- and Scandinavian-speaking staff. The British consulate is in Málaga; the Swedish embassy is in Madrid with an honorary consulate in Málaga.
- Embassy of Sweden, Madrid
- swedenabroad.se
- British Consulate
- Málaga, via gov.uk
- Swedish-language site
- almunecar.se
Schools and children
The municipality has public primary schools (colegios) and secondary schools (institutos) in Almuñécar and La Herradura; teaching is in Spanish and children pick up the language quickly. There is an English-language international school in Almuñécar and more in Nerja and Málaga. Playgrounds along the promenades, the Loro Sexi bird park, the aquarium and the water park in Almuñécar are the children's favourites.
Everyday useful
- Internet and mobile: fibre throughout the municipality; EU mobile plans work with EU roaming. Spanish prepaid SIMs from Movistar, Vodafone, Orange and Digi.
- Tap water is drinkable but hard; most people buy bottled water or filter.
- Refuse goes in the street containers (grey general, yellow packaging, blue paper, green glass), preferably after 20:00. Bulky items are collected on request to the town hall.
- Post: Correos on Calle Alta del Mar. Parcels from abroad take a week; customs on goods from outside the EU.
- Electricity: 230 V, European plugs. EV charging at the car parks and supermarkets.
- Water and drought: Andalusia has recurring dry spells with irrigation restrictions – follow the town hall's instructions.
- Smoking is banned indoors in restaurants and on some beaches.
- Tipping: not obligatory; round up or leave 5–10% in restaurants.