Estepona

Estepona is a seaside resort city of 67,000 people (2018) on the Costa del Sol in Spain. Remnants from prehistory have been excavated in Estepona. The Romans, Phoenicians and Moors left their mark on the city.

Understand

Estepona lies on the Mediterranean Sea with the Sierra Bermeja mountains over 1000 m high in the background. The beaches are 21 km long.

Estepona is one of the few coastal towns that has succeeded in maintaining its pueblo charm and character, despite the onslaught of tourism. Notwithstanding, all the tourist facilities are here, including hotels, restaurants, leisure and cultural activities, and shops.

The flip side is that the numerous street cafes and tapas bars still serve traditional Spanish delicacies and the steep, cobbled, narrow streets seem more suited to horses than cars. You'll also find unusual shops and bodegas in Estepona, where you'd least expect them, all very inviting, very friendly - and very cheap!

In addition to the old town of Estepona, a lot of urbanizations for vacationers were built in the fifteen years before the real estate bubble burst. Between the old town and the city limits of Marbella, the “New Golden Mile” was created along the Mediterranean Sea in competition with the “Golden Mile” of Marbella. The New Golden Mile includes the districts of Rio Padron, Villacana, Cancelada, El Saladillo, Benamara, Isdabe-Atalaya, El Paraiso. West of the old town towards Algeciras, the districts of Bahia Azul, Valle Romano and Buenas Noches emerged. Overall, the city now offers space for more than 100,000 residents.

• Oficina de Turismo Centro, Estepona Town Hall, Casa de las Tejerinas, Plaza de las Flores, ☏ +34 952 80 20 02. M-F 09:00-20:00, Sa Su 10:00-15:00. (updated Oct 2018)

Get in

By plane

The nearest airport is Malaga airport, more about flight arrival on the airport page. The journey time by car to Esepona is about an hour. From the UK, Estepona can also be easily reached via Gibraltar Airport.

By car

Estepona is on the A 7 and AP 7 motorways, which connect the provincial capital Málaga with the port city of Algeciras on the Strait of Gibraltar. The Autovia AP 7 is a toll route. You can drive 120 km/h. The A 7, the former N-340, can be used free of charge. In the summer months there are traffic jams caused by accidents on the A 7 almost every day. There is often only one connection between neighboring towns on the Costa del Sol, the A 7.

By train

Estepona has no rail connection. The nearest train station is in Algeciras.

By bus

From the bus station there are at least three daily connections from Algeciras to Madrid (9 hours) with Daibus and one night connection with Alsa on the coastal route to Barcelona (19 hours). There are direct buses from Malaga, Marbella and Algeciras. The bus station is between the marina and the town centre.

Regional lines serve Comes and Portillo.

Get around

There are three city ​​bus routes (2018: €1.10-1.40):

• 1 (minibuses) daily 07:30-21:30 every half hour: Urban. Beverly Hills (2 km west of the center) along the sea along Avenida del Carmen and Avenida de España to the American hamburger roaster at the motorway exit.
• 2 daily 07:00-22:00 every half hour: between Estepona Puerto (in front of Edificio PuertoSol or Plaza de Toros) and the Urb. Mar y Monte. Numerous hotels are along the way.
• 3 times a day all year round, more often in summer: Bus station to Bermuda Beach (Hotel Piedra de Paloma) along the Carrefour, Plaza Ortiz, Centro, Avenida Juan Carlos, Plaza de Toros, Kai Alde, Playa del Cristo, Segers, Beverly Hills, Valle Romano, Arena Beach, Don Pedro, Arroyo Vaquero, Bahia Dorada 2.

See

Noteworthy are historical buildings such as the clock tower, watchtowers, the fortress San Luis Castle, and the church Iglesia de los Remedios at Plaza San Francisco.

• In the bullring Plaza de Toros, you will find the small Museo Paleontológico, a rather curious exhibition (Tu-Su 09:00-16:00) with a dinosaur skeleton in the middle and bullfighting posters on the walls of the:
• Museo Taurino Antonio Ordóñez, C / Matias Prats (Plaza de Toros). In memory of famous bullfighters, founded in 1972.
• Museo de Imagen y Sonido. Tribute to the director Luis García Berlanga. In the Sala Edgar Neville apparatus from the first hundred years of cinema history. Price: all 3 free.
• Torre del Reloj (Bell tower). The remains of the first church built after the liberation from the Moors in 1473.
• 1 Castillo de San Luis. Remains of the fortress begun in 1457.  

Orquidario

• Parque Botánico Orquidario (Orchidanium; Jardines de Carmen Thyssen), C / Terraza 86, ☏ +34 951 51 70 74. greenhouse Tu-F 09:00-14:00, 15:00-18:00; Sa 10:00-14:00, 15:00-18:00, Su 10:00 to 14:00. Artistically designed park and botanical garden with a tropical greenhouse. Adult €3, child €1. (updated Nov 2020)

Do

Playa de la Rada

There is an uninterrupted, well-kept sandy beach between the harbour and Carrefour.

Festivals

• San Isidrio Labrador. On May 15, a festival of the farmers traditionally with procession.
• Quema de los Bigotes de San Juan. A traditional night celebration on 23–24 June.
• Fiestamayores Ferias. The festival takes place annually as a large folk festival in early July.
• Virgen del Carmen. The fishermen's festival on July 16.

Buy

• Carrefour shopping centre, Avenida de Litoral. Here you can find groceries, clothing, electronics, hardware stores, hi-fi and computers. Open: M-Sa 09:00-22:00.

Eat and drink

• La Rada. Very good restaurant for fish and seafood 
• Matryoska. Churraria with Russian dishes. 
• Estepona marina. Nice place for night life and restaurant 

Sleep

Budget

• Hostal Europait, Av. Littoral, 22, ☏ +34 952 79 55 79. Between the bus station and the motorway. Free WiFi. double €40, triple €56. (updated Nov 2018)

Mid-range

• Hotel Diana Park, on the A7 in the El Paraiso district. Tel .: +34 952884279
• Hotel Atalaya Park, Avenida de las Golondrinas in the Atalaya-Isdabe district. Tel .: +34 952889000

Splurge

• Hotel Iberostar Costa del Sol (formerly Playabella), near the A7 (exit Cancelada) in the El Saladillo district on the beach of Costalita. Tel .: +34 952880868 . The hotel is closed in winter.
• Hotel Crowne Plaza, on the A7 in the El Saladillo-Benamara district. Tel .: +34 951-055500
• Hotel Selenza, on the A7 (exit Cancelada) in the El Saladillo-Bel Air district, Camino de Brijan. Tel .: +34 952899499
• DDG Spa Retreat, La Albarrada, Finca Pavusena, Casa Daria s/n, Casares, ☏ +34 659-168-217. Luxury spa retreat set in 4 hectares of sub tropical gardens and located in Casares, some 10 km inland. 
• Hotel Kempinski. Tel .: +34 952809500 . on the A7 in the El Padron district at Playa El Padron
• Hotel Healthouse Las Dunas, on the A7 in the El Velerin district. Tel .: +34 952809400
• Hotel El Paraiso, on the A7 in the El Paraiso district, Avda. de la Gardenia. Tel .: +34 952 88 30 00