Guide to Estepona

Estepona is a popular tourist resort at the western end of the Costa del Sol. Its development as a holiday town was slower than that of the bigger and better known resorts closer to Malaga’s international airport. Whilst towns like Torremolinos were transformed practically overnight by the explosion of mass market tourism in the late 1960s, Estepona metamorphosed rather more subtly from a sleepy fishing and farming community into a holiday hot spot favoured by northern Europeans.

Today the town offers thoroughly modern tourist facilities geared to the needs of summer sun seekers combined with a taste of traditional Andalucia. Echoes of a bygone age, before the advent of the package holiday industry, can be found in the narrow streets of Estepona’s charming old quarter and in the local fiestas which are celebrated today much as they have been for generations.

If you want karaoke bars and curry houses you’ll find them aplenty in this resort along with bull fighting, traditional tapas bars and daily auctions of the fresh fish which you can see being landed down at the port.

It’s a favourite holiday destination for families and couples looking for a good range of leisure activities without the high price tag of up market Marbella, 25 kilometres to the north east, or the fast pace of Torremolinos. And over the last two decades Estepona has attracted a large number of foreign investors who have bought villas and apartments here as permanent homes, holiday homes or for letting purposes.

The Benavista area, between Estepona and the neighbouring resort of San Pedro de Alcantara, has a large ex-pat community reflected in the local facilities which include English newsagents, shops such as Spar and Iceland, an international Montessori school and a quintessentially British lawn bowls club.

Estepona’s biggest attraction in the summer months is its 23-kilometre stretch of coastline. The town’s main sandy beach, La Rada, is flanked by an attractive 2.6 kilometre promenade which is awash with bars and restaurants to suit all tastes and budgets. The yacht marina, at the western end of the promenade, is a hive of activity in high season when hordes of holidaymakers congregate to eat, drink and party both by day and night.

The Old Town also has a buzzing social scene in its, bars, street cafes and night clubs. It may not be as racy as Torremolinos or as glitzy as Puerto Banus but there’s enough night life to satisfy all but the most hardened revellers especially in and around the town’s lovely main square – the Plaza de los Flores (Flower Square).

Golfers are well served with an 18-hole “pay as you play” course on the outskirts of town and a wealth of world-class courses within easy driving distance including the famous Valderrama, Monte Mayor in its breathtaking mountain setting and Torrequebrada which has hosted the Spanish Open.

To the west of the town there’s the Costa Natura complex which opened in 1979 as Spain’s first official naturist resort. The beachfront holiday village consists of more than 200 properties, largely owned by foreigners from all over Europe including many permanent residents.

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