Estepona
Estepona is a town in the western part of the Costa del Sol and lies 75 km from Malaga airport at the foot of the Sierra Bermeja mountains, just between Marbella and Manilva.
Estepona pictures
Originally Estepona was just a small fishing village, but due to the tourism boom in the second half of the 20th century Estepona became an attractive resort, where Estepona hotels and apartment blocks are perfectly integrated into the landscape. Nowadays it counts nearly 60,000 inhabitants.
Moreover, Estepona has kept its Andalusian charm with its white houses, flower decorated balconies, and, needless to say, the local people chatting outside their houses. The streets in the old part of the town are still cobbled, whereas along the seafront one can find a very pretty promenade lined wih palm trees, flowers and some chiringuitos (beach bars).
Estepona is certainly a pleasant resort for families and people looking for a quiet holiday aside from the busy nightlife of some of the more commercialised resorts along the coast although there exist some disco pubs nearby the marina. Numerous traditional tapas bars around the Plaza Las Flores and some excellent restaurants specialised in seafood and fish dishes are a good way to get to know the multifaceted local culinary range. In regard to sight-seeing, Estepona offers a noteworthy fish market at the port, the 18th century Church of Los Remedios in the Plaza de San Francisco, the Torre Reloj (clock tower), the bullfighting arena and diverse museums.
Estepona’s beaches were originally of rather coarse, grey sand but luckily, work has been done to improve them. As in many other coastal resorts, usual beach and water activities are available such as jet-skiing, parasailing, diving and pedalos, but the town probably stands out most for its many golf courses – a sport that can be played throughout all the year because of the advantageous climate. A special event in Estepona is the festival of the Virgen del Carmen on July 16th when a statue of the virgin is carried out to sea and taken back on fishing boats.
Since Estepona is not very far away from Malaga, you might opt for the possibility to take a shuttle bus from Malaga Airport to Estepona.