Costa del Sol - 8th January to 6th February 2026
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| Good Morning from our terrace in Calahonda |
Getting There
The trip began with a late departure from Poole. Our Ryanair flight to Málaga wasn’t scheduled to leave until 20:40, and only after booking did we fully appreciate what that meant: we wouldn’t land until 00:30. That awkward arrival time made planning our transfer to Calahonda very tricky. It was too late for the train, so we tried to book a hire car online with Thrifty. The booking was rejected—presumably because their desk would be closed by the time we arrived.
To our relief, the office was still open when we reached Málaga. We managed to get a car, though at a much higher price than if we’d booked ahead. Walk‑ups are obliged to take the eye‑wateringly expensive insurance, so we limited the hire to four days and skipped the second driver.
TW took the wheel and we set off towards Calahonda. The road is excellent, but there’s a toll when you exit. We chose a booth that accepted credit cards, only to discover the bay was extremely narrow and had no barrier—just a red or green light. We paid the €3.50 toll three times, and still the light refused to change. Thankfully, we avoided scraping the car on its maiden voyage. After that, we stuck to toll gates with proper barriers.
The challenges continued at Playa de Lucera. Entry required a keypad code, but the keypad only opened a pedestrian door, not the main gate. That meant we had to locate the apartment first and find the key box containing the all‑important gate key. It was now around 2:30 a.m., pitch black, and we wandered around for far too long before finally spotting the box—nowhere near the gate, of course. Once inside, we reached our very cold apartment and collapsed. Note to self: never book a late departure again.
All was forgiven the next morning when we woke to a beautiful Mediterranean sunrise glowing through the bedroom window.
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| Our resort - Playa de Lucera Once the Airbnb finally warmed up, it became a comfortable base. The owner managed to source an oil‑filled radiator for us, which made all the difference. The air‑conditioning units could blow hot air, but that’s never our preferred way to heat a room. |
After four days we headed back to the airport to swap our car for a more economical option, this time with Wiber. The price gap was astonishing: the next 28 days cost only slightly more than the previous four, and it even included a second‑driver supplement. A bit of hassle, but absolutely worth it.
Driving in the area isn’t difficult, but it does demand attention. The biggest challenge is joining the A‑7 from our accommodation. The slip road is short, and patience is essential—most of the traffic charging towards us seemed to treat the 80 kph limit as optional.
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| Here come the sun -Sunrise |
Our apartment was on the front row with effortless access to the boardwalk. Turn left and you’re on your way to La Cala de Mijas; turn right and you’re heading towards Cabopino. Hitting our 10,000 steps was no challenge at all—La Cala is roughly 5,000 steps each way, a perfect first walk.
We quickly found a favourite coffee stop in town, Bsweet Coffee and Bakery, and ended up returning several times during our stay. Coffee in Spain is wonderfully inexpensive at around €1.80. We also discovered Cafetería Cañon, a traditional Spanish spot where TBIL tried one of the local treats: churros, long twists of choux pastry meant for dipping into molten chocolate.
Another late favourite was Hogar del Jubilado, a simple café right on the boardwalk at La Cala. The food was very reasonably priced, and the service was warm and friendly.
Our boardwalk strolls became one of the highlights of the trip. Just past Cabopino Harbour we came across Andy’s Bar, a rustic little place that must be buzzing in the summer with beachgoers. Beyond Andy’s, the boardwalk continues through a stretch of wild, natural landscape that was surprisingly peaceful. At Cabopino, our top pick was Albert’s, perfectly positioned beside the harbour.
Closer to home, in the direction of La Cala, The Garden Café became a lovely spot for a relaxed morning coffee outdoors.
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| Alberts at Cabopino |
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| Cabopino Harbour |
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| TW on the boardwalk |
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| Churro dipping in Cafeteria Canon |
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| Lunching at Hogar del Jubilado La Cala in Cala de Mijas |
Puerto Banús is only a short hop from Marbella, but it feels a world more glamorous. It’s full of designer shops and smart cafés, and the car park was packed with high‑end cars—our Audi looked rather modest next to a gorgeous Bentley. The marina is great for a stroll, though, with plenty of impressive yachts to admire, some even available for hourly hire - that would be a great treat! Our morning coffee and cake were nice, just not exactly budget‑friendly!
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| Estapona - Orange pot street |
Estapona sits about forty minutes down the coast, and we chose to take the AP‑7 toll road to get there. It’s roughly seven euros, but the drive is far more comfortable than the neighbouring A‑7—no potholes, no sudden joiners, just an easy run along the coast.
The centre of Estapona is surprisingly smart, and we really enjoyed our time wandering around. We even parked in an underground car park beneath the sea, which was a first for us. The narrow streets are spotless and well maintained.
One of the town’s quirks is its obsession with plant pots. Each street seems to have agreed on a single colour, which actually makes navigation wonderfully simple: left at the yellow pots, right at the blue ones.
Coffee and cake are essential on any outing, and we found an excellent spot at Granier on Calle Terraza—a good brew and perfect for people‑watching. Calle Terraza appears to be the main shopping street, with pretty whitewashed side streets branching off, each lined with those colour‑coded pots.
For lunch, we chose fish at La Palma, a traditional Spanish restaurant also on Calle Terraza. Afterwards, we strolled along the seafront promenade, which is smart and well kept, and the beach looked inviting. We even spotted a bike shop, Costa Bikes, due to open the next day. We’d hoped to hire bikes and pedal towards Marbella, but that will have to wait for next time.
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| Calle Terraza |
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| Blue Street |
The Costa del Sol earns its name with its coastline and sunshine, but some of its best surprises lie just inland. Benalmádena Pueblo is one of those traditional hillside towns that rewards a visit, with quiet residential lanes, pretty squares, and a relaxed, lived‑in feel.
One feature you don’t forget is the remarkably narrow one‑way street controlled by traffic lights. It’s the sort of road where the red signal is extremely easy to miss, and anyone foolish enough to proceed finds themselves stopping halfway, squeezing past oncoming cars, avoiding eye contact, and hoping the hire car escapes unscathed. Not that we would know anything about that… 😓
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| Castle Colomares |
Gibraltar - on the Rock
The drive from Calahonda down to the Rock is an easy 75 minutes, most of it along our favourite road, the AP‑7 toll motorway. The final stretch through La Línea isn’t exactly scenic, but before long we were parked at Aparcamiento Santa Bárbara on the Spanish side of the border. From there it was only a short walk through Border Control and into UK territory. Driving in Gibraltar isn’t recommended—and often not permitted in a hire car—so we hopped on a red bus with a cheerful driver who whisked us straight into the city centre.
For a rainy day at the end of January, Gibraltar was surprisingly lively. Traffic squeezed through the narrow streets, and the pavements were busy with shoppers and cruise‑ship passengers. We found a spot at Costa Coffee in Casemates Square and settled in for some people‑watching. It was oddly satisfying to use pounds again; euros feel so dull by comparison. Crossing borders used to mean new currencies—pesetas, francs, schillings. Economists have a lot to answer for.
Two cruise ships were in port, and the square was full of lanyards and excursion stickers. Unfortunately, the cable car up the Rock was closed for refurbishment, so there was no chance of seeing the famous apes. Taxis and tours were available, but the cost was steep: around £30 just to enter the Nature Reserve, plus roughly £50 for the taxi. If the weather had been better and the cable car running, we’d have gone up without hesitation.
Instead, we wandered down Main Street, which felt comfortingly familiar with its Marks & Spencer and other British staples. Lunch was a very British affair too—fish and chips at Roy’s back in Casemates Square. Afterwards, we headed to Ocean Village, a modern waterfront development with bars, restaurants, and a marina.
We almost went on a cruise, but our ship wasn’t going anywhere. The Sunborn Hotel, a permanently moored super‑yacht, looked impressively glitzy. We enjoyed a coffee on deck and ordered a chocolate dessert that took so long to arrive we’d be eating it somewhere in the mid‑Atlantic if the vessel ever set sail.
Eventually we disembarked, caught the red bus back to the Eurozone border, and reunited with our little Audi. Despite the weather, it was an enjoyable outing.
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| Trafalgar Cemetary |
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| Joining the Dorsetshire Regiment of Foot |
Mijas Pueblo sits high in the hills, about twenty minutes from Calahonda, and we visited a couple of times during our stay. It’s certainly a little touristy, but the old town still has plenty of charm, with narrow lanes and white‑washed houses perfect for wandering. Beside the Church of the Immaculate Conception we came across the Bullring—an interesting building to look at, though not something that appeals to us.
Above the village sits the small shrine of Ermita del Calvario. The walk up is straightforward enough, though the path is rocky in places. A donkey would have been handy—fitting, given that donkey rides are still offered in the village, something we found rather odd and definitely not for us.
Parking our own “steed” in Mijas Pueblo proved more challenging than the climb. The multi‑storey car park is less a convenience and more a test of nerve: tight turns, narrow spaces, and pillars lurking everywhere. Thrill‑seekers might enjoy it in an old banger, but in a hire car it felt more like a horror attraction. Thankfully, both we and the vehicle escaped unscathed.
There’s no shortage of cafés and restaurants in the village. We had tapas for lunch at Tomillo Limón—sampling tapas in Spain is essential, though for us it always feels a bit like ordering dim sum or picking from a box of chocolates: you’re never entirely sure what you’ll end up with.
After our walk we stumbled upon a lovely traditional bakery, Panadería de María Quero on Calle Málaga. The prices were very reasonable and the cakes excellent.
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| Tomillo Limon. |
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| View from the Ermita del Cavario |
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| View from the Ermita del Cavario |
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| Walking on the Prom |
Marbella is only a short hop down the coast, though for us it has always carried a certain notoriety as the supposed playground of international crime syndicates. Today, however, our ambitions were far more innocent: a tapas lunch and a wander through the old town—honestly.
Tapas with a twist......
We chose Lekune for lunch, where they offer a playful variation on the usual tapas format. Instead of ordering plates, servers circulate with trays of small bites—almost like canapés—each one topped with a little flag on a cocktail stick. You simply take what you fancy and drop the flag into a pot on the table. Some items, like a simple sausage, came with just a stick. At the end, the staff count the flags and the sticks and produce the bill.
It’s clever and fun, but it does mean a server appears at your elbow every few moments with yet another tempting dish. Relaxing it is not, and keeping track of how much you’ve eaten becomes a bit of a guessing game. Still, we enjoyed the novelty.
A damp stroll along the promenade
Despite the wet weather, the promenade beckoned. It’s a very smart stretch, and we tried to imagine how lively it must be on a sunny day in high season. On this grey January afternoon, though, it was almost deserted. Staff at the various seafront restaurants looked thoroughly bored as we wandered past.
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| On the Marbella Prom with TBIL |
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| Winter on the Prom in Marbella |
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| Nearest we got to a bike ride on the Prom |
Marbella manages to be both sleek and modern while still hiding a wonderfully picturesque old town at its heart. We had a very pleasant wander through its narrow, white‑washed streets, the kind that twist and turn just enough to make you slow down and enjoy them.
A very decent coffee and a slice of apple cake appeared at Café Bar Central, right in the beautifully atmospheric Plaza de los Naranjos. The square is made even lovelier by the orange trees, heavy with fruit and glowing against the white buildings.
Of course, the oranges themselves are the famously bitter Seville variety — perfect for marmalade, disastrous for eating. Tempting as it was to gather a few and start boiling sugar, it turns out you’re not actually allowed to pick them.
One can only assume this is why Marbella’s crime syndicates flourish: the police must be far too busy chasing down rogue orange scrumpers.
Marbella can be a bit of a puzzle to navigate by car, and the hunt for parking is not exactly relaxing, but once you’re out on foot the visit feels entirely worthwhile.
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| Orange Tree Square |
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| Smart square in the old town Marbella |
Casares: in the white place
Casares is a small, striking community perched high above Estepona. The satnav’s chosen route took us up via what can only be described as fly‑tippers’ alley — a scruffy, potholed road that didn’t exactly inspire confidence. The return journey was far more pleasant: a longer but smoother coastal route through Casares Costa, with a couple of busy-looking restaurants along the way that probably offer wonderful sea views.
Exploring the town
We were lucky to find a free multi‑storey car park on the edge of Casares, and from there we walked into the old town. At 1,400 feet, and with a strong wind blowing, it felt noticeably colder than the coast. The village itself is charming and not overly commercialised, with whitewashed houses lining the steep streets as we made our way up to the castle.
The castle, dating back to Moorish times, rewards the climb with sweeping views across the hills and down to the sea. It’s easy to understand why this vantage point was chosen for a fort. Overhead, several birds of prey circled — almost certainly Griffon vultures. It's suggested they occasionally take cats, which is quite the reversal of roles.
Lunch was in a very traditional café in the centre of town. The waitress was friendly, but the food less so: a Spanish take on scampi and chips where the fish was unfortunately undercooked. Even so, the setting made up for it.
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| Casares Pots |
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| Nice Juliet Balcony? |
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| Castle View |
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| Bit of a draught - There is a hole in my castle! |
Just along the boardwalk from Playa de Lucera, and only a few doors away is the Dona Lola resort. It was an easy stroll between the two, which worked well since TBIL and TSIL were staying at Dona Lola and we were able to join them for their regular activities — wine tasting, flamenco evenings, and music nights. The on‑site restaurant was also a welcome option, especially during the spell of fierce storms that rolled through while we were there.
A section of the boardwalk had actually been washed away shortly before our arrival, and at times the council closed parts of it for safety. Even so, the short walk between the resorts remained manageable, and having friends close by made the unsettled weather far less of an inconvenience.
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| A taste of Spain |
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| Dona Lola Sunset |
