what's Fuengirola like?

richardw

melb wrote: »

as you've gathered eating simple spanish food with spanish people is No 1 criterion when we're looking for where to stay

not sure where that is on the Costa Del Sol.

PolishBigSpender

richardw wrote: »

not sure where that is on the Costa Del Sol.

The Costa Del Luz is what you want.

tiamaria

We went in September and overall we liked it. You won't really need a car if you stay there, train and bus links to all surrounding resorts with cheap fares (Benalmadena, Torremolinos, Mijas, Gibraltar, Marbella etc.

Lovely long beach, the town was a lot bigger than we were expecting.

Very little evening entertainment in the bars, seems to have been hit hard by the recession as many of them were closed or empty, but inundated with restaurants so you won't struggle for places to eat.

melb

is costa de Luz round towards Gibraltar? I'll have a look on a map.

brodev

I would recommend Estepona or San Pedro de Alcantarra. Both are Spanish with mostly residential tourism. I have had a house in Estepona for 15 years and I love it (I don't rent it out). I have never seen a lager lout and the natives are friendly. There are not a lot of hotels so nightlife is not great but there is always a buzz at the port. Gibralter is 20 mins away and Malaga 1 hour.

olbas_oil

We (couple in 50's - quiet) loved fuegirola. Stayed twice, once at Los Boliches (July) and once opposite the harbour (Sept). Late at night the streets were bustling, but not lager-loutish. Lots of north african street traders who don't hassle.

Transport links are excellent, with train along coast to Malaga, and local bus to Mijas/Ronda etc. We did one organised excusrsion to Alhambra.

My concern for you is that Fuengirola in April will be very very quiet. That could be quite depressing if lots of businesses aren't open. We'll be going back in April, but will stay in Malaga as a base.

judy2357

My partner and I stayed in Fuengirola at the Hotel Yaramar in July 2009, it was great with a beautiful view/location etc and I would say by far the best hotel - take a look its lovely, having said that if you are a family with children maybe not so suitable. Nearby there were some nice restaurants, shops and pubs.

We hired a car with difficulty, apparently the car hire companies were in financial difficulty and the loan companies had repossessed a lot of the cars so there was a shortage. Therefore perhaps you should book your hire car in advance if poss. Parking was a bit of a pain, but having said that it was July so peak season and very busy. There is a railway line that runs through the town where you can just jump on and be in Benamadena in minutes, when I say jump I mean the doors shut very quickly so beware.

Have fun whatever you decide to do.

melb

thanks for all your replies so far - it seems to polarise people into hate it or love it! We've been looking at mijas pueblo - probably a bit twee but it seems to have a good selection of spanish local type restaurants. Does anyone think it might feel a bit cut-off - we would be hiring a car and I was thinking it might be nice to visit down at the coast and walk along the prom etc and lunch at one of the beach bars but then in the evening nip into Mijas for a nice meal? OH has just suggested the area near benhavis but it might be a bit far out. Will keep on looking - oh by the way we're after self-catering rather than a hotel as we like to have the room and sort ourselves our food-wise.

Miss_J

Are you Flying into Malaga? We did a city break in Malaga a few years back, 4 nights in total and it's a beautiful city to stay in. Very Spanish and not touristy as the area reserves it's touristy areas for the resorts further along the coast. There are also many beaches so you could also combine the beach element if wanted and it would be a good base for visiting the local area.

mixerone

You'll like it if you like Benidorm.