Costa del Sol, Málaga, Marbella and Torremolinos
Lost a ring or other jewellery in Málaga, Marbella, Torremolinos or along the Costa del Sol
Málaga, Torremolinos, Benalmádena, Fuengirola, Mijas Costa, Marbella, San Pedro de Alcántara, Estepona, Torre del Mar and Nerja.
The Costa del Sol has one thing in its favour when something is lost. The sea here has very little tide, so the spot does not shift up and down the beach. What decides the outcome is how exactly you can place the spot and how soon someone looks.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewellery recovery service that connects people who lost a ring, wedding band, watch or phone on the Costa del Sol with a metal detectorist who can search there. We have searched in Spain before.
Tell us what happened and where. We find a detectorist who can reach your beach, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor.
How a search works between Estepona and Nerja
Fix the place before you leave it. Drop a pin on your phone, then take one photo towards the promenade and one towards the sea, with a lifeguard post, a shower or a beach bar in the frame. Note when it happened and whether it went into dry sand, wet sand or the water. Tell the lifeguards and the Policía Local, then send us the pin and a picture of the item on WhatsApp.
We find a detectorist who can reach your beach and brief them with your map and photos, so the search starts on the right patch of sand.
Places we cover on the Costa del Sol
- Málaga, La Malagueta
- Málaga, Pedregalejo and El Palo
- Torremolinos, La Carihuela
- Torremolinos, El Bajondillo, Playamar and Los Álamos
- Benalmádena
- Fuengirola
- Mijas Costa, La Cala de Mijas
- Marbella, La Fontanilla, El Faro and Nagüeles
- Marbella, Puerto Banús
- Marbella, Artola-Cabopino beach and the Dunas de Artola
- San Pedro de Alcántara
- Estepona, La Rada
- Torre del Mar, Vélez-Málaga
- Nerja, Burriana
- Maro and the coves under the Maro-Cerro Gordo cliffs
- El Cañuelo, Nerja
Where rings and jewellery go missing from La Rada to Burriana
City beaches in Málaga, the resort strip to the west, the dunes at Cabopino and the cliff coves east of Nerja.
Málaga, La Malagueta, Pedregalejo and El Palo
The city tourist office counts 16 beaches in Málaga. La Malagueta is the urban one, close to the historic centre. Pedregalejo and El Palo are in the east of the city. El Palo lies between the Gálica stream and Pedregalejo and is 1,200 metres long and about 25 metres wide, with dark sand and usually a moderate swell. The provincial tourist board gives Pedregalejo more than a kilometre of dark sand, 20 metres wide on average.
Torremolinos, La Carihuela and El Bajondillo
The town tourist office describes La Carihuela as about two kilometres of beach beside a promenade of shops, bars, restaurants and beach clubs, with sunlounger hire on the sand. The El Morro landmark is at its eastern end. Beyond it, El Bajondillo is one kilometre long and 40 metres wide, with dark sand and a moderate swell, and Playamar comes next. Phones, watches and sunglasses go missing around the sunbeds, and rings slip off in the water with sun cream. Benalmádena and Fuengirola follow to the west.
Mijas Costa, La Cala de Mijas
The Mijas tourist office lists La Cala beach at 1,258 metres long and 38 metres wide, with fine sand and a sandy seabed. It has a Blue Flag, six beach bars and 450 sunbeds.
Marbella, Puerto Banús and San Pedro de Alcántara
Marbella's tourist office counts 24 beaches along 27 kilometres of coast, from Artola and Cabopino in the east to San Pedro Alcántara in the west. Its list includes Puerto Banús, La Fontanilla, El Faro and Nagüeles. If you are not sure which beach you were on, send us the name of the nearest hotel or beach club.
Cabopino and the Dunas de Artola
At the eastern edge of Marbella, Turespaña gives Artola-Cabopino beach 1,200 metres of golden sand, 30 metres wide, beside the Cabopino marina, with moderate waves, sunbed hire and a stretch where naturism is practised. Behind it lie the Dunas de Artola, which the Junta describes as fossil and mobile dunes. Say whether you were down by the water or up among the dunes, and how far along from the marina.
Estepona, La Rada
La Rada is the town's main beach, 2,630 metres of fine grey sand beside Avenida España in the centre of Estepona, with a promenade running its length. Some of its beach bars stay open late with live music at weekends. A beach that long needs a landmark in your photo.
Torre del Mar, Nerja and the Maro cliff coves
East of Málaga, Torre del Mar beach is about 2,000 metres of dark sand with moderate waves, and beach guides put its average width at about 40 metres. Burriana in Nerja is about 800 metres long. From the watchtower at Maro, the cliffs of Maro-Cerro Gordo run east to La Herradura in Granada, broken by beaches and small coves that are hard to reach on foot, and people snorkel and kayak there over clear water. In summer a shuttle runs from the car parks down to El Cañuelo. Tell us which cove you were on and whether you came on foot, by shuttle or by kayak.
What Ring Seekers does for a loss on the Costa del Sol
One person on WhatsApp
You explain it once. The same person replies from your first message to the last.
The detectorist gets your map and photos
Your pin, your photos and a picture of the item reach the detectorist before they set out.
Plain about poor odds
A ring somewhere along the 2,630 metres of La Rada with no landmark may not be worth a search. If that is your case, you will hear it from us.
We know how this sea behaves
There is very little tide here, so a marked spot stays where it is. A moderate swell is usual at El Bajondillo, El Palo and Torre del Mar, so work in the water waits for a calm morning.
Costs explained first
We explain the costs before any search is booked.
Sand and sea from Estepona to Nerja
What the beaches are made of and how the sea behaves.
Dark sand, grey sand and fine sand
The tourist offices describe dark sand at El Bajondillo, El Palo, Pedregalejo and Torre del Mar, fine grey sand at La Rada in Estepona and fine sand over a sandy seabed at La Cala de Mijas. The widths given run from 20 to 40 metres, so a pin and a note of how far you were from the water narrow the search to a small patch.
A sea with very little tide
This part of the Mediterranean is the Alboran Sea, and its tide is small. There is no low water to wait for. The tourist offices describe a moderate swell at El Bajondillo, El Palo and Torre del Mar. A search in the water waits for a calm morning, and a well marked position stays useful for days. Málaga sets its bathing season from 1 June to 30 September.
Questions about the Costa del Sol, Málaga, Marbella and Torremolinos
I lost my wedding ring at La Carihuela or El Bajondillo in Torremolinos. What can be done?
Pin the spot and photograph it against something fixed behind the beach. Tell the lifeguards, who are on duty in Holy Week and from 1 June to 30 September, and the Policía Local. Then send us the pin. El Bajondillo is 40 metres wide and one kilometre long, far too much sand to search without a marked spot. We find a detectorist who can reach Torremolinos, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor.
What should I do in the first hour after losing a ring at La Rada in Estepona?
Drop a pin on your phone before you move. La Rada is 2,630 metres of fine grey sand with a promenade running its length, so take one photo towards the promenade and one towards the sea, with a lifeguard post, a shower or a beach bar in the frame. Note the time and whether it went into dry sand, wet sand or the water. Tell the lifeguards and the Policía Local, then send us the pin and a picture of the item on WhatsApp.
My ring came off in the sea at La Malagueta, Pedregalejo or El Palo in Málaga. Any chance?
Some, if you know where you were standing. The sea here has very little tide, so the spot does not move up and down the beach. The city tourist office says El Palo usually has a moderate swell, so a search in the water waits for a calm morning. The beaches are narrow, about 25 metres at El Palo and 20 at Pedregalejo, which helps you line the spot up with a building behind it.
I lost a watch, phone or sunglasses at a beach club in Marbella or Puerto Banús. Can you help?
Start with the beach club or the sunbed attendant, then the Policía Local, because that is where found items are handed in. A phone can be traced from another device while its battery lasts. Sunglasses in the water are a job for someone with a mask. Marbella has 24 beaches along 27 kilometres of coast, so tell us which one and where on it.
I lost a ring at Cabopino, on the beach or up in the Dunas de Artola. Is that different?
Not really. The beach runs about 1,200 metres from the Cabopino marina with the dunes behind it, so tell us how far from the marina you were and whether it was on the beach or up in the dunes. A search starts around your marked spot.
I lost an Oura ring or an earring at Burriana in Nerja, or kayaking under the Maro cliffs. Is it worth a try?
At Burriana, a lost Oura ring on dry sand is worth a search around your pin, because it is a chunky item. A thin earring is a hard target anywhere. The coves under the Maro cliffs are small, so a ring lost on the sand or in the shallows of a named cove is worth a search too. Something dropped from a kayak out over deep water is very unlikely to be found, and we would tell you so.
Costa del Sol, Málaga, Marbella and Torremolinos
Mark the spot on the Costa del Sol first, then tell us what happened
Town and beach, the nearest landmark, the time, dry sand, wet sand or water, and a photo of what you lost.
With so little tide here, a well marked spot is still worth a careful look days later. Drop the pin, report the loss to the lifeguards or the Policía Local, and then send us the details on WhatsApp.