Cheap Holidays to Benalmadena, Spain

Benalmadena, Costa del Sol, Spain Holiday Review - Great Location To Get About

Submitted by: Kevin
Date of travel: 15-March-2009

Benalmadena, this is great central location for getting around the Costa del Sol and my favourite mainland Spanish resort. There is a great train service that links the Costa del Sol area running from Malaga ? Fuengirola which is only a couple of Euros and also there is a good regular bus service that links the resorts. In fact we have used the train instead of taxis / transfers to & from the airport since the train stops here as well! So unless you have difficulty in walking you don?t need to hire a car. In a car or taxi it?s about 15-20 minutes drive to the airport and costs about 20 Euros. The taxis can take four people so if you?re are arranging your own transfers don?t bother booking since there are always plenty of taxi?s waiting and this works out alot cheaper. Benalmadena is a now well developed and spread out resort with the best location nearest the marina end. If you booking and have never been here before my advice is to get as close to the marina as possible and may be even consider Monte-Mar which is sandwiched between Torremolinos and Benalmadena just the other side of the marina. However, if your are looking for peace & quite book a hotel near to the Torrquebrada end which is fringed by golf courses and therefore more tranquil. The beaches are cleaned daily and fairly well cared for and are of soft light brown sand. My favourite beach is by the Paseo Maritimo and is like a bay with the edge of the marina to left. The beach has its own life guards toilets and bar / restaurant. The promenade from which it?s possible to walk to Torremolinos is also backed by a line of shops, bars and restaurants in addition to those in an around the marina. Sun beds and parasols are available for hire from 6 euros a day. The beach can be busy at times especially weekends when there are more Spanish locals around however we have always easily found a spot. The is so much to here to do apart from the beach there are 2 Aqua parks with the one in Torremolinos being only a short taxi ride away. There are boat trips from the marina and fishing, sailing & water sports in addition to which there is also a variety of day trips available by coach to mountainous region of the Ronda in the Andalucia area with stunning mountain views, lakes and Spanish architecture. Also you can go to Gibraltar to see the rock & the monkeys and do some real duty free shopping. The weather here is also great it seems to have its own micro climate being backed by the mountains and close to Morocco which you can just make out across the sea on a clear day. While eating out you are spoilt for choice with every taste and budget catered for with beach lined with chiringuito?s (charcoal grill restaurants) serving freshly caught fish through to Italian, Moroccan, traditional Spanish and English. There is even a MacDonald?s and Burger King as well as various take-away outlets. In fact price wise the area has the best value for eating out compared to any Spanish resort I?ve ever been to. Maybe that?s due in part to the amount of competition around. We normally go self catering here and eat out every night at a different location. There is also great choice of evening entertainment in the bigger bars especially around the Bonanza Square area which is a little way in land up a very steep hill. Also for the young at heart there is 24 hour square with a range of discos and music bars in a very lively area. The resort extends up a step hill called heart attack hill by the local ex pats and not without good reason! If you are staying in the area up from or around Bonanza square or Arroyo you do need to be fairly fit to negotiate this hill. That said though taxis are cheap and plenty full costing about 4 Euros to come up from the beach. This is really a great place to go but don?t stay stuck in your hotel if you visit this area. Be prepared to get out and about as this place has got everything. It goes from the almost Blackpool garish to very picture