Estepona
Estepona is a town at the southern end of the Costa del Sol in the province of Malaga. It is renowned for its beaches, which stretch along about 21 km of coastline. It is a very popular resort and holiday destination. It has a population of about 60,000. It is surrounded by the sea and Sierra Bermeja mountains, and it boasts over 325 days of sunshine each year.
Estepona has many interesting features which make it a popular and interesting all year round holiday destination, including two beaches, a modern sports marina, many tapas bars and restaurants, and a white-walled town with good shopping and picturesque squares.
Playa del Cristo, or Cristo Beach, is five minutes West of Estepona Port. It is a small cove with two chiringuitos (beach bar/restaurants). La Rada Beach is 2 minutes east of the Estepona Marina and is over 1.5 km in length and runs from the Marina past Estepona old town.
Estepona is not known for the night club culture found in other resorts on the Costa del Sol, but makes up for it with a wide variety of restaurants & bars, ranging from local Spanish cuisine to most Mediterranean cuisines, including Italian and French. Many restaurants offer terraces allowing diners to eat outside during the late evening. This is definitely a 'laid-back' resort, ideal for relaxing.
Estepona's small local shops offer locally made produce and goods. In the main town centre there are a number of boutiques offering modern international clothing brands and other goods. There is also a busy Wednesday market featuring clothing as well as food and vegetables. In the old town you can find the usual range of small-to-medium-sized shops, typical of a Spanish town of this size.
There are plenty of golf courses within easy reach of Estepona.
Estepona is ideal as a base for day trips, and three of the most popular are
Gibraltar which is about a 40 minutes drive from Estepona. Gibraltar offers duty free shopping from electronic equipment and jewellery to leather & perfumes. Haggling is customary. Other attractions in Gibraltar include the natural caverns of St. Michael's Caves and the Ape's Den, home to some of Gibraltar's Barbary Apes, the only free-to-roam primates in Europe.
Puerto Banus is a very 'up-market' resort just 30 minutes drive away from Estepona Port with a large number of designer stores, including Versace and Armani. If you want to see how the rich live, visit the marina and stroll along the sea front.
Selwo Safari Park. This park is based on the African safari park and has around 2000 animals in semi-wild conditions. Only 20 minutes drive away from Estepona Port (and on the public transport route).
