Costa del Sol Travel Guide

Benalmadena is a resort situated between Fuengirola and Torremolinos. It's made up of three main parts; Benalmadena Pueblo, Benalmadena Costa and Arroyo de la Miel.

Benalmadena Pueblo is a traditional white-washed village, situated a couple of miles inland. Due to its position on the mountainside, there are some great views of the Mediterranean coastline from here.

Benalmadena is the main coastal strip, where you will find most of the hotels, bars and restaurants. There is also a lovely marina.

Arroyo de la Miel is a commercial area situated between Benalmadena Costa and Benalmadena Pueblo. You will find plenty of Bristish and Irish bars here, alongside more traditional Spanish establishments.

With a population of over 500,000 inhabitants, Malaga is by far the largest city on the Costa del Sol. Despite its size, most vistors ignore and head straight for the resorts. That's a shame, because Malaga has some notable historic monuments and art museums, although I probably wouldn't set aside more than a day or two to visit the city.

Malaga's greatest claim to fame is that it's the birthplace of one of the greatest artists of the 20th century, Pablo Picasso. A museum dedicated to Picasso, finally opened in the city just a few years ago.

There is a large number of golf courses on the Costa del Sol, especially around the resort of Marbella. The best known course is probably Valderrama, which is situated near Sotogrande. Valderrama recently hosted the last ever Volvo Masters (it's now being replaced by the Race for Dubai) and in 1997 the Ryder Cup was held here.

Here is a brief selection of other popular courses on the Costa del Sol:

Las Brisas

La Cala Golf Resort

Rio Real

Santa Clara

Santana

Torrequebrada.

I will be adding more details later!