Costa del Sol, Andalucía: 5-days Itinerary

Over 159 kilometres of coastline with the best climate in Spain, more than 125 beaches, a myriad of small towns and cities, beautiful corners and adventures!

The coast is home to authentic cities to visit: Malaga was the place of Birth of Pablo Picasso is one of the oldest city in the world, Nerja, Estepona, Torremolinos, Marbella, Frigiliana and Ronda. A trip with the Mediterranean spirit and the sun on your head!

Read my brain:

✿ Really worth doing!

✎ Not worth, unless you have time to spare!

Who to go with:

Definitely with friends! We did not have the best nightlife and clubbing experience (my friends and I), though the party & fun life there is very active! If that’s what you are looking for, Costa del Sol is the place for you!

Where to start for a 5-days trip:  

Book your stay in Malaga:

Unless you wish to book a different hotel / Airbnb in every city you will visit, you should book a place in Malaga and use it as a base. This is the main city in the area, and is right in the middle of Costa del Sol; hence it’s super convenient to visit a different place every day!

The best area to find a place is around Placa de La Merced, it’s farer from the crowd of tourists walking around the main streets, and it’s beautiful! Also, you will take 5 minutes by walk to reach the main areas.

Flight to Malaga:

The airport is only 15 minutes away from the city, and costs around 25€ by taxi!

How long:

I believe 5 days is the right amount, if you wish to stay longer, you will definitely find additional places to see and enjoy, but this is up to you! This article will only drive you through the perfect 5 days trip!

Rent a car in Malaga:

You will definitely need a car there, Malaga itself is not enough, and I strongly recommend anyone to rather see the entire coast and visit the various cities there! We used Amovens, a local app to rent cars from local inhabitants of the city, it’s easy to use and book; you will just need to go pick up the car at the preferred location of your renter!

Day 1: Malaga

If you wish to find my map pins and easily follow them, follow me on mapstr!

✿ Have breakfast at La Canasta

A local bakery with just-handmade croissant you have to try! I loved their croissant quality and I strongly recommend it. We used to go to the one in Calle Granada, but there are several around the city!

✿ Stroll around the Centro Històrico

It’s a one street walk that crosses Place de La Merced, Placa de La Constitucion, Calle Marqués de Larios, the Cathedral, Cattedrale de la Encarnacion...

✿ Taste local Bocadillos

Don’t forget you are in Spain, and bocadillos are the most popular easy-meal! In Calle Marques you find some good ones, though you can literally see bocadillos everywhere around the city so you can’t miss them!

✿ Looking for a fresh & healthy lunch? Try Avokate!

It doesn’t make local food, but definitely has fresh ingredients. We used to get bocadillos with avocado, jamòn ibérico and more, but they also have salads, veggie plates, and amazing centrifughe (try Carotene, definitely needed for the hot weather!).

✿ Visit and shop from locals at Mercado Central de Atarazanas

Definitely a great way to support locals and find great quality food, this market is the place you want to see if you really want to enjoy local life. The people there are so warm (probably the warmest persons we found in the city, we did not like the rest of the locals from Malaga we have had contact with...) and kind and really encompass the life of a small town inhabitants. They sell super sweet fruits, fresh fishes, spices and much more! I tasted all fruits they had, and still couldn’t have enough! There is one stand with exotic fruits of any kind you can take there and taste them right on the spot; there is another one making handmade fruits extracts you can drink right there...

 ✿ Taste local liquors at Antica Casa de Guardia

It is the oldest wine bar in Malaga founded in 1840, which still retains its original decor, customs and climate. It is a place where time has stopped, so that feel like in the old, traditional Spain. Local waiters will serve you homemade liquors, our favourite was Vermouth, but you can find of any kind! The bar has super iconic barrels you can choose to drink from, and you can taste all the options they have!

✿ Eat Dinner in Malaga

Pimpi is the most well-known local restaurant in town. It’s a very old-style restaurant inside, and you cannot reserve but rather need to queue there... though, it’s very local and typical so you might want to try it! Don’t expect a great location, but something different than what you are used to! Expect to eat local (that is with a lot of garlic!!).

Day 2: Malaga pt.2

✿ Visit Alcazaba & Castillo

Put your walking shoes! There is some hiking to do to get to the Castle, but the view is worth it! Right there, you will have a terrace with a small café on the terrace called Terrazita Gibralfaro to get refreshed and be ready to hit the next spot: the Alcazaba fortress from the Muslim era, built on a pre-existing fortress of Phoenician origin.

✿ Enjoy some Vitamin D at Playa Penon Del Cuervo!  

I think it’s going to be cool at sunset time too here, see the photo below!

Otherwise, to to La Malagueta beach, this place is not suggested by its inhabitants either, so i wouldn’t recommend it at all!

✿ Eat Italian food (ehm? Yes, you must, but only here at “Radici”).  

As a true italian, after one day I was already looking for italian food (lol!). We found this very authentic italian restaurant (managed by Italians of course!) with super healthy ingredients, and amazing recipes! Their pastas were great, almost as good as in Italy, especially the ones with gambas (shrimps!); but they also had fresh burrata, bruschettas and more. Strongly recommended is life me you have had enough of garlic, jamon and more...!

✎ Are you a Movie fan?

In the city center of Malaga you will find Sala Premier, a pub where the cinema becomes the main theme! You will find chairs dedicated to the most famour movie directors, and wall frames of your favourite movies scenes and actors!

✎ Are you a Cocktails fan?

Malaga offers the best cocktails at Chester & Punk! Liquors of any kind and a great cocktails menu!

✎ More dinners in Malaga!

I have some more spots for your dinners!

Lost Patios De Beatas is a city center restaurant that offers a local dishes menu and a beautiful antique location! They offer 100 local wine choices, with sweet white wine produced from moscatel & Pedro Ximenez grapes!

Casa Lola, very similar and close to Pimpi, an old location to find local food. I loved their green olives (Aloreña olives) here!

BUT, if you are rather looking for some fish along the sea, you MUST go to El Balneario: its terrace right above the sea and the frsh fish-means they offer is amazing! From here, you can enjoy the sunset too!

✿ Nightlife in Malaga

To be completely honest, I wish I was just unlucky with my Malaga nightlife experiences. I expected great spanish music, spanish people drinking in bars and dancing with you,a great vibe, amazing clubs... I did not find any of these!

What I can tell you is: DO NOT get dragged along in the “Pub Crawl tour”. It’s organized by a guy that lives in Malaga which I personally had the chance to meet, and it’s a total bummer! It’s a group of way-too-young English tourists who are looking for drinking bad alcohol at a super low price! You will only get dragged into the worst bars of the city, drink bad alcohol, not meet local people.. the only thing you want to do is escape to find other places to go to!

Our favourite one was Lio Padre, it was a bit too cold inside, and there wasn’t much people in, but it was a Thursday night... spanish people work the day after so you won’t expect lots of locals on that night! You want to go clubbing on Friday and Saturday!

We tried other clubs and bars in the city within which Pura Vida (a too-small pub with salsa and bachata)!

Day 3: Marbella & Estepona

✿ Stroll around Estepona:

Scholars have found traces of human settlement in the area of Estepona since prehistoric times. Throughout its history, Estepona has experienced various dominations, from Roman to Muslim.

The white houses, colourful vases and plants will make you fall in love of this little town! You can simply walk around and enjoy the atmosphere and architecture: my favourite street was Calle Antero, definitely the most iconic! You will see a lot of local elders strolling around the streets which make it also very unique!

✿ Eat local tapas at Tapas Diez

Probably not the most famous of the city or the coast, but a brand new little restaurant making tapas of a great quality (they were the best I ate over there!). As usual the prices of tapas are way way low, like 2€ per portion, so you can really go crazy and try them all! Don’t miss croquetas, patatas bravas, aguacate (avocado!) and pulpo!

✎ Drink and eat in Marbella at Playa Padre

Marbella is not soo beautiful as a town in itself, but its beaches are! We did not find a great sea-life in Costa del Sol, it’s definitely not the place you want to go to have crystalline waters and sandy beaches. But Marbella surely offers the finest sand beaches and some nightlife chiringuitos there. You can enjoy some tanning time, and then go have drinks at Playa Padre. It’s a super boho-chic chiringuito with drinks and food in a beautiful tribal-like location! It was probably the most beautiful bar we have been to, strongly recommended!

Day 4: Caminito del Rey, Chorro Lake & Sunset in Ronda!

✿ Trek in Caminito del Rey

Caminito del Rey is a 8-kilometre-long route offering the unique experience of walking on footbridges built over gorges more than 100 metres high. The views are stupendous.

It felt like being in a Avatar Movie, with those very high mountains reminding us of the Pandora world! You can either do the 2.5 hours route, or get a shortcut and only do half! The tour is in a cirle, and you can access it from two entrances (Acceso Norte or Acceso Sur). We entered from Acceso Norte as it’s close to the Chorro Lake (another stop of the day!), we trekked for 1.5 hours until midway at Acceso Sur (here you have some local stands with drinks and foods you need to go to refresh yourself!), and then got the bus M347 which drove us all the way back to the entrance where our car was! The track is suggestive, and if you have more time than we did, I definitely suggest to do it all! Bring a lot of water and some snacks (you can also find it at the entrance, or otherwise at the bar before getting in).

✿ Relax at Chorro Lake

After or before the Caminito del Rey you should get here, relax under the shades of the trees and take a bath in the cold lake water!

The lakes are surrounded by pine and oak tree , the colours are beautiful and the atmosphere is truly relaxing!

✿ Dinner & Sunset in Ronda

It’s at a 1 h drive from Caminito del Rey, if you are not tired you must go there! If you have more time, you can also do it in a different day. Getting there at sunset time is important, the view from is amazing and then walk down to this view spot on the bridge (it’s super instagrammable!).

Spanish people eat late, so even after the sunset 8which in summer it’s at 930 pm) you will still find a dinner spot! We loved Don Miguel restaurant because the location is amazing, right under the bridge! They offered us some local liquor here called Arunda (Licor de Hierbas)!

 If you rather want to have a restaurant on the top of a beautiful terrace in the historic center, you should try El Campillo! You can even just pass by it to see the view!

Day 5: Nerja & Frigiliana

✿ Kayak in Nerja

You can park in Nerja close to Playa Burriana, and rent a Kayak right there! There are two companies offering Kayaks, our favoured was the one offering 13€ for 1 hour per person. Get on your kayak and go to your left coast, you will find natural waterfalls, caves with crystalline waters, rocks to dive from and nice beach spots to stop in and enjoy a bath!

✿ Excursion to Rio Chillar & Nerja Caves

Whilst there, you can escape to a fresher environment in the river and caves of the area! There is a hiking trail there!

✿ Visit Frigiliana

It’s a 15 minutes drive from Nerja, so if Frigiliana is in your list, this is the right day to go in!

The village is home to steep and narrow streets with whitewashed houses, iron balconies filled with planters of geraniums. 

Day 6? Almeria!

If you have one spare day, and you love driving, then you cannot miss Almeria! The coast and sea are both beautiful!

More Restaurants & Bars in the area

✎ Vino Mio - Live flamenco (offering kangaroo & crocodile meats, a bit weird but if you are into these things you could go and try, I did not have the courage!)

✎ El mesón de cervantes - Argentinian & Spanish fusion

✎ Chiringuito Sicsu - Making Espeto de sardinas

✎ Quitapenas Puerto

✎ El Patio

✎ Las Merchanas (per cenare in centro) 

✎ Pepa y pepe

✎ La Tranca - Best tapas for locals

✎ Il romancero

✎ Chiringuito mediterraneo 

✎ Chiringuito la farola 

✎ Chiringuito la caleta

✎ Calycanto - Live Flamenco

✎ La Terraza de Valeria - Drinks and a View on the city

Food & Drinks you want to try in Costa Del Sol

✿ Pescaito frito - Espetos (grilled sardines)

✎ Gambas al Pil-pil

✎ Paella

Albondigas and salsa de almendros

Rabo de Toro

Carne en salsa (tomatoe)

Porra Antequerana (tomatoe soup)