Estepona is a lively town and resort in the western part of the Costa del Sol. Unlike the larger neighbouring resort of Marbella, Estepona not only attracts visitors to its sandy beaches, but also to its beautiful historic centre full of typical Andalusian white houses, or to hikes in the Sierra Bermeja mountains with peaks over 1,400 metres high.
Beaches and swimming
Estepona boasts a beautiful and spacious beach, Playa de la Rada, over 2km long. It's covered in fine, light sand and lined with a wide pedestrian promenade with palm trees and plenty of restaurants, bars and shops. The beach stretches along the entire Estepona coastline and is one of the nicest urban beaches on the Costa del Sol. There are no extremely tall concrete buildings on the coast, but rather lower 3-4 storey houses.
Of course, there are sunbed and umbrella rentals (prices around 20 eur per set per day) and water sports on offer.
The beaches in Estepona drop into the depths of the sea quite quickly, so they're not really suitable for very young children, but ideal for water sports or swimming in the sea.
The historic centre
As well as the beach, Estepona's pride is its extensive historic centre, which is one of the largest of any town on the Costa del Sol. Let your steps drift into the unfamiliar knotty streets with typical white houses with painted facades and rich floral decorations.
A popular tourist attraction is also the modern greenhouse with hundreds of orchids located on the northern edge of the centre. For information on admission fees or opening times, visit orchidariumestepona.com.
A romantic spot in Estepona is the old fishing harbour, converted into a marina for yachts with plenty of tapas bars and restaurants.
Accommodation Estepona
Estepona is a popular place to spend an entire holiday, but also for stops when travelling around Andalusia. You can stay here for a day, but you can also stay for a whole week. Prices for the cheapest apartments in high season are around 84 eur per night for 2, while classic beachfront hotels can be found from 128 eur per night upwards.
In the historic centre we would choose for example these cheap but very well rated hotels: Hotel Boutique Casa Veracruz, Casa de las Remigias.
Transportation
The city lies about 80 km from Málaga and about 50 km from Gibraltar. There is no railway, but Estepona has a number of bus services and is on the AP-7 motorway, so it is easily accessible by car.
Estepona is very accessible by car, and although on-street parking is chargeable, free parking is available, for example at the San Lorenzo car park near the centre and beaches.
Bus services to Estepona are mostly provided by Avanza. Long-distance tickets can be bought at booking.avanzabus.com, and timetables for all routes to Estepona can be found at malaga.avanzagrupo.com/es/destinos/estepona. For example, you can use Avanza buses on the following routes from Estepona:
- Málaga: 1-2 times per hour, the journey takes an hour and a half and costs approx. 10 eur
- Marbella: 2-3 times per hour, the journey takes 45 minutes and costs approx. 3,50 eur
- La Línea de la Concepción: 5-6 times per day, the ride takes 45 minutes and costs approx. 5 eur
You can also take the bus around Estepona itself. Tickets for local lines can also be bought via a mobile app.
What to see around
Discover all the places to see in Costa del Sol.
