Residential property in El Carmoli (Mar Menor)

The more modern properties lie higher up the mountainside in El Carmolí

The small village of El Carmolí on the inland shore of the Mar Menor is not one of the Costa Cálida’s largest beach resorts, but the residential area which occupies the lower eastern slopes of the 113-metre volcanic plug known as Monte Carmolí is an attractive one, and has for decades been appreciated by residents of Murcia and Cartagena looking for a secluded and tranquil second home in the Mar Menor area.

Most of the properties by the seafront are rather unglamorous, dating back to the 1960s and 1970s, when the first Spaniards began to build and buy a few holiday homes here. This is the case on the majority of the seaward side of the RM-54 road which runs through El Carmolí, but on the inland side the story changes. 

On the lower slopes of the mountain are small but fairly attractive detached houses with modest but settled gardens, and although these properties again date from the last century, towards the higher end of the built-up area much more modern properties can be found. Due to their elevated location many of these have panoramic views out over the Mar Menor, and these are the homes which tend to attract most interest from non-Spanish buyers in El Carmolí.

The village of El Carmolí is very well connected due to the proximity of the AP-7 motorway. The city of Cartagena is no more than 15 minutes away by car, and the airports of San Javier and Alicante-Elche are just ten minutes and 50 minutes away respectively. Similarly, the city of Murcia is under an hour away, and although shopping and eating out opportunities in El Carmolí itself are limited the nearby towns of Los Alcázares and Los Urrutias are close enough at hand to minimize any inconvenience.

Like many of the smaller coastal towns in the Region of Murcia and the Costa Cálida, El Carmolí is quiet during the off season and lively in summer, especially during the fiestas to celebrate Santiago Apóstol (19th to 25th July) and the Assumption on 15th August.

The year-round population is low, there is no chemist’s and no medical centre, and a measure of the lack of social facilities is that although a neighbours’ association exists it doesn’t have a headquarters. This tranquility will be a bonus to some and less attractive to others, but there is no doubting the attractiveness of some of the mountainside properties in El Carmolí!

For further information visit the El Carmolí town page.