Estepona
The 'Garden of the Costa del Sol' — a genuinely Spanish old town of flower-draped streets and hand-painted murals, with a long promenade and some of the least-crowded beaches on this stretch of coast.
Costa del Sol Costa Blanca Costa Cálida
What do you want to do?
A hyperlocal guide to the Costa del Sol — genuinely built for where you're standing, right now.
Costa del Sol
Málaga's sun coast — from the glamour of Marbella and Puerto Banús to the flower-filled old town of Estepona. Beaches, golf, white villages and one of Europe's biggest expat communities.
Cancelada
A low-key village between Estepona and San Pedro, popular with residents for its weekly market, everyday-priced restaurants and easy access to the New Golden Mile beaches.
Benahavís
A whitewashed mountain village inland from Marbella, known as the dining capital of the coast and surrounded by golf resorts and river pools in the hills.
San Pedro
Marbella's more relaxed, family-friendly neighbour — a real working town with a boulevard park, a laid-back beach and a proper local buzz in the evenings.
Nueva Andalucía
The 'Golf Valley' behind Puerto Banús — a leafy residential district ringed by courses, with the famous Saturday flea market at the bullring.
Puerto Banús
The glamorous marina of superyachts, designer boutiques and late-night clubs — the coast at its most high-octane, with a good beach right alongside.
Marbella
The name that needs no introduction — but the real Marbella is the orange-tree'd Old Town casco antiguo as much as the beach clubs, with a promenade running the length of the town.
Mijas
Two places in one — the whitewashed mountain village of Mijas Pueblo, high above the coast with views to Africa on a clear day, and the easy-going beach village of La Cala de Mijas below, linked by golf valleys and a long seafront boardwalk.
Fuengirola
A proper year-round Spanish town on seven kilometres of beach — a long, flat promenade, a Moorish castle that hosts summer concerts, one of Europe's best small zoos and a huge international community that keeps it lively all winter.
Benalmádena
Three towns in one — the white hill village of Benalmádena Pueblo, the everyday bustle of Arroyo de la Miel and the beaches and marina of Benalmádena Costa — with more family attractions than anywhere else on the coast, from the cable car to the butterfly park.
Torremolinos
The original Costa del Sol resort, ten minutes from Málaga airport — seven kilometres of beach, the old fishing quarter of La Carihuela and its fried-fish restaurants, a pedestrianised centre and Spain's best-known LGBTQ+ scene.
Costa Blanca
Alicante's white coast — Benidorm, Jávea, Dénia and the Marina Alta, a long-standing favourite with British and Northern-European residents.
Torrevieja
A big, unpretentious resort town built around two salt lakes — one famously pink — with long beaches, a huge Friday market and one of Spain's largest British and Northern-European communities.
Alicante
The Costa Blanca's capital and airport gateway — a proper year-round Spanish city with the palm-lined Explanada, the Santa Bárbara castle above a tangled old town, and a lively tapas and nightlife scene.
Benidorm
Spain's high-rise beach capital — two glorious blue-flag bays, a buzzing old town of tapas bars between them, and Europe's biggest cluster of theme parks and shows just inland. Brash, fun and busy all year.
Jávea
Known locally as Xàbia — an upmarket, low-rise favourite split between a historic inland old town, the working fishing port and the Arenal beach, ringed by pine-clad hills and the Montgó massif.
Dénia
A gastronomy city — UNESCO-listed for its cuisine — beneath a hilltop castle, with a working fishing port, ferries to Ibiza and the wild coves of Les Rotes just to the south.
Costa Cálida
Murcia's warm coast — the Mar Menor lagoon, Cartagena's ancient port and the beaches of Mazarrón and Águilas. Year-round sun, warm shallow waters and a strong British and Northern-European community.
Los Alcázares
A relaxed, flat Mar Menor town of calm, warm lagoon beaches and a long promenade — a family favourite with one of the region's biggest British and Northern-European communities.
La Manga
A slender 21 km sandbar of resorts dividing the warm, shallow Mar Menor lagoon from the open Mediterranean — a beach on each side, watersports everywhere and non-stop summer sun.
Cartagena
A spectacular natural harbour with 3,000 years of history — Carthaginian and Roman remains including a magnificent restored Roman theatre, striking modernist architecture and a living naval city. The Costa Cálida's cultural heavyweight.
Puerto de Mazarrón
A laid-back fishing port and resort with a string of sandy coves and clear water, backed by the striking eroded rock formations of the Bolnuevo badlands — a quieter, Spanish-family holiday coast.
Águilas
A characterful town at the region's southern tip — sheltered coves and long beaches beneath a hilltop castle, and one of Spain's great Carnivals (of International Tourist Interest) each spring.