Costa del Sol, Spain

Cabopino Beach, Costa del Sol, Spain (cc)

Costa del Sol Travel Guide

Introduction

Costa del Sol, which literally means "coast of the sun," strings out along the Mediterranean coast in the south of Spain. There are resorts and towns here with tons of beaches, more than 50 at last count, and endless sunshine – more than 300 days of it in any given year. There are celebrities here, holed up in their holiday homes (think Hollywood bigwigs and bestselling authors, and British gangsters and Cuban dictators). There are yachts in the harbors and seafood paella on the plates in the dining establishments. There are gaudy high-rise apartments and manmade promenades. It is a thoroughly developed coast, all 150 kilometers (90-plus miles) of it, frequently derided as the "concrete coast." But still, it is a monstrously popular tourist destination of world renown, where nothing, and nothing, is missing.

Location

How to Get There

Sightseeing

Neighborhoods

How to Get Around

Where to Stay

Where to Eat

Where to Party

Essential Information

Nearby Destinations

How to Get There

Sightseeing

Costa del Sol is actually squeezed between two other costas of lesser notoriety, Costa de la Luz and Costa Tropical, but is generally accepted as the section between the cliffs at Maro in the east and Punto Chullera in the west. Its capital is Málaga, its principal towns Marbella and Nerja, with a host of others shouting from the rooftops, notably Torremolinos, Benalmádena, Fuengirola, Mijas, San Pedro de Alcántara, Estepona, Manilva, Casares, Rincon de la Victoria, Vélez-Málaga, Frigiliana and Torrox.

Main Neighborhoods