Pablo de Ronda wrote recently about the Costa del Sol west of Málaga City. In this article he turns to the eastern side, which includes La Costa Tropical and La Costa de Almeria.
Pablo de Ronda lives out of choice up in the mountains of the Serranía de Ronda, yet he has ventured from time to time to the coastal resorts to the east of Málaga.
I have passed through many of the coastal resorts to the east of the regional capital and stayed in quite a few, including Nerja and nearby Frigiliana, Almuñecar, and Mojácar.
Of the places I’ve only passed through I like Rincón de la Victoria, Benajarafe, Torre del Mar, El Morche and Torrox Costa. On the Costa Tropical I am familiar with all the main resorts, eg . La Herradura, Salobreña and Motril. Further east I only know Almeria and Mojácar.
Rincón de la Victoria is much bigger than I expected but has a genuine Spanish feel, which I liked.
Benajarafe we sort of stumbled across one late afternoon in October 2022. The weather was lovely and we found a busy chiringuito open right on the beach. We sat there for a couple of hours and enjoyed a late lunch of splendid fresh seafood.
Torre del Mar is a super place. The local council has promoted the resort well. The beach is huge and clean. Smokers have to use a portable ashtray and deposit it in a dedicated container when they leave the beach. I had to use a public toilet in a hut on the beach and it was as clean as ours at home. Full marks. No wonder a montejaqueña friend of mine chooses to live there.
Although El Morche blends into Torrox Costa it is different. We enjoyed a nice breakfast there recently opposite the beach. Car parking is free of charge even in high season.
We visited Torrox Costa twice last year. Despite a whole area near the beach being a German “ghetto” (my German wife hated it) I liked the splendid esplanade and the beach. We had an excellent seafood lunch there on the second day.
Apparently, Torrox enjoys the best climate in the whole of Spain.
We viewed some properties for sale out of interest. At one viewing of a house owned by Italian restaurateurs, they insisted we had lunch with them and sold us a case of wine at a huge discount. Serendipity or what?!
The resorts of the so-called Costa Tropical are all different but charming and not over-run by foreigners. La Herradura is small but beautiful, Salobreña is quite modern but has a great beach and excellent restaurants and Motril is famous for its wholesale fish market which you can visit and watch that morning’s catch being auctioned off.
Almeria capital I visited with my young family back in 1989, so the memory is hazy, but I recall a bustling Spanish city with great atmosphere.
As for places we have stayed, outstanding is Frigiliana, 15 minutes inland from Nerja. Old, beautiful, super location, fantastic views, excellent restaurants. Touristy, true, but not in a horrible way.
Its more famous near neighbour, Nerja, has to be one of the better resorts on the whole costa. We’ve stayed there a couple of times over the years. We like the Balcón de Europa, Burriana beach, Las Cuevas (caves), breakfast at the Parador (on my birthday in 2021) and the free tapa that comes with every drink in most bars. We’ll be going there again.
We stayed in Almuñecar in 2010 when I took part in a Press “freebie”. We enjoyed it a lot, and not just because everything (hotel, meals, transport) was free. This whole area is a micro-climate, hence the name of this part of the coast (Costa Tropical), which has allowed the development of a thriving industry cultivating tropical fruits such as avocadoes, kiwis, kakis, chirimoyas and many more I’d never heard of.
The only other place on the Costa de Almeria that I have stayed was Mojácar, back in 1989 when it was still small and undeveloped. I hear it has since been over-developed and in an unsympathetic manner. Shame.
Back then the beach below the village, which is perched atop a cliff, was quiet even in August. We discovered the delights of skinny-dipping during our two-week holiday. I think it was illegal back then, whereas nowadays there are playas nudistas all over Spain.
On that point, my review of the resorts to the east of Málaga is complete. I hope you found it interesting.
Places I would return to are, in alphabetical order, Almuñecar, Benajarafe, Frigiliana, La Herradura, Mojácar, Nerja, Salobreña and Torre del Mar. Slightly inland, do not miss out on Cómpeta and Torrox.
To read my review of the western end of the Coast of Sunshine, click here.