For many expats relocating to Spain’s glorious Costa del Sol it’s not just a question of cheaper house prices and lower living costs that attracted them. Living a life that isn’t confined to four walls is for many families the deciding factor. With some 300+ days of sunshine per year and more outdoor sports facilities than an Olympic Village, towns like Estepona, Fuengirola and Marbella couldn’t be more tempting for outdoor enthusiasts.
Blessed with some 40+ golf courses, riding stables, several busy marinas such as Estepona’s and Marbella’s Puerto Banus, tennis courts, swimming pools (both indoor and outdoor) and stunning beaches, the Costa del Sol can also boast cycling and hiking paths further inland, where both the Sierra Blanca and Serrania de Ronda mountain ranges offer excellent hiking, cycling and climbing – not to mention fabulous traditional cuisine in village restaurants!
Marbella
Marbella has been a glamorous seaside resort since the 1950s, attracting many famous faces over the decades. Residents can even imbibe a little world-class culture on the way to the beach. Walk along the Avenida del Mar, which leads down to the centrally located Playa de Venus, and you can see several mad-cap sculptures by artist Salvador Dali, before enjoying water sports like sailing, windsurfing, swimming or hiring a boat and going fishing.
At Puerto Banus it’s more about seeing and being seen – but this can also be done by sitting outside, unlike the UK, where even in summer evenings can be far too cold to sit outside for long. Situated ca. 6 km west of Marbella city centre, Puerto Banus is a vibrant marina where super yachts line up on the quay-side and minor celebrities turn heads when Hollywood stars saunter by. Brimming with restaurants, tapas bars and designer boutiques, Puerto Banus makes for a good alternative to having a barbeque and al fresco meal at one’s own villa or townhouse – where the people-watching isn’t half as much fun.
Estepona
At neighbouring Estepona, a leisurely 30 minute drive from Puerto Banus, outdoor fans will find a stretch of 21 km coastline with golden beaches to die for, bathed in sunshine for more than 325 days a year. Still a working fishing port with a traditional daily fish auction, Estepona Port also boasts a marina, where one can hire a boat with or without skipper or join fishing tours.
Families love Estepona for its Selwo Safari Park as much as for its fine Blue Flag beaches, but the town also has a wide range of culinary delights to offer. Most restaurants can be found near the seafront and along the small plazas next to Calle Real. The town is not known for nightclubbing, firmly continuing to cater for the family market. There are plenty of opportunities to dine al fresco on sun terraces and at tapas bars serving outdoors.
Both tennis and cycling are popular leisure activity in Estepona, where several road races are being held each year. The town as three major tennis clubs and several golf courses, including Estepona Golf, El Paraiso Golf Club, Dona Julia Resort and Finca Cortesin, which hosted the VOLVO World Match Play Championship in 2009, 2010 and 2012.
Ronda
Just an hours’ drive north of the Costa del Sol, sitting on an inland plateau of the Serrania de Ronda, hikers and mountain biking fans alike will find ample opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors. At the heart of this mountainous region lies the town of Ronda, an ancient township with ca. 37,000 permanent residents. It is one of the best preserved pueblos blancos in Andalucía.
The white-washed houses clinging to steep hillsides and the gorgeous 18th century Casa del Rey Moro’s lovely cliff-top gardens are reason enough to come to Ronda. However, there’s also the path that leads past the old walled fortifications and down to the lovely horseshoe arches of the 13th and 14th century Arabic Baths, the best preserved in the whole Iberian Peninsula.
With house prices still considerably lower than in the UK, now is the time to dip a toe in the Spanish housing market, before prices start to rise again.