Estepona

Estepona lies at the end of the New Golden Mile that runs between it and San Pedro de Alcántara.

Like its more established namesake, the New Golden Mile is actually more than mile long and is flanked by a number of communities on either side of the coastal highway. It offers beachside opportunities as well as the more rural properties with easy access to some superb golf courses (but still little more than an ambitious drive shot from the sea!)

Estepona marina offers bars and restaurants at which to enjoy a leisurely lunch or an evening dinner whilst gazing out to sea. After midnight, especially in the summer months, the port is a draw for the young, bronzed and restless as clubs and music bars play on until the early hours.

Estepona’s beaches are numerous and varied.

Ranging from the long, sandy and wide such as the ‘Playa la Rada’ which is backed by over 2 ½ km of promenade, served by 2 underground car parks and provides easy disabled access to its sands to narrow strips of sand, reached by driving through urbanisations and providing car parking for the adventurous and well sprung!

The choice of beaches in between these two extremes offer something for every visitor. many are dotted with ‘chiringuitos’ beach cafés where you can sample delicious fish dishes, international cuisine or simply a refreshing cocktail to complete your day in the sun.

There are upmarket beachfronts which lay before the more expensive urbanisations, where a sunbed and your refreshments will cost a little bit extra for the rarefied environment. Alternatively, there’s the more ‘anything goes’ beaches where you’ll find beach DJs and a gently sloping shoreline making it an ideal place for children to enjoy the sea. And for those who really like to feel the Spanish sun on their skin, there is the ‘Costa Natura’ naturist beach, a complex open to members but who welcome temporary, like- and open- minded members to join them.

The town of Estepona sits around its main square ‘Plaza de las Flores’. Its history can only be traced as far back as the Moors and little evidence remains of that time in the town. But Estepona still boasts its historical buildings such as its 15th century clock tower. Along its steep, cobbled streets there are cafés serving traditional tapas and quirky, independent shops to browse around.

Making new history, ‘La Ruta de Murales Artísticos de Estepona‘ is not difficult to decipher as The Route of Artistic Murals of Estepona and, although it sounds so much more creative in Spanish, this fascinating (and free!) attraction does exactly what it says on the tin.

Around the town are murals, painted on buildings, the locations of which can be found on a map provided by the Travel Office. Very much a work in progress, the murals are added to as a contributing artist feels inspired.

Estepona is a town of pleasing contrast, old meets new, traditional and conventional happily reside alongside each other and water and land meet to create a vibrant marina where working fishing boats and luxury yachts rub shoulders. It provides all the required visitor facilities- hotels, restaurants and leisure activities and yet possessively holds onto its Spanish personality and charm.

But Estepona is a town generous in what it has to offer and is more than happy to share its treasures.