Spain Guide
Andalucía
The Costa del Sol resorts
West of Málaga – or more correctly, west of Málaga airport – the real Costa del Sol gets going. If you've never seen this level of tourist development, it's quite a shock. These are certainly not the kind of resorts you could envisage anywhere else in Europe. The 1960s and 1970s hotel and apartment tower-blocks were followed by a second wave of property development in the 1980s and 1990s, this time villa homes and leisure complexes, funded by massive international investment. An estimated 300,000 foreigners now live on the Costa del Sol, mostly British and other northern Europeans.
Approached in the right kind of spirit, it is possible to have fun in Fuengirola and, at a price, in Marbella. But if you've come to Spain to be in Spain, put on the shades and keep going at least until you reach Estepona.