Fuengirola

Fuengirola is just twenty minutes from Malaga airport, while the local train station provides easy access to such popular nearby resorts as Torreblanca, Arroyo de la Miel and Torremolinos.

Fuengirola is probably most famous for its five miles of sandy beaches, flanked by high-rise hotels and residential blocks of apartments with magnificent views of the Mediterranean and sweeping coastline. A recent landscaping drive by the local municipality has resulted in a wider promenade and plenty of palm trees, interspersed with colourful flower beds and additional seating.The beaches known as Boliches - Gaviotas and Torreblanca hold a European blue flag.

Fuengirola is particularly popular with Spanish nationals, many of whom own summer apartments here. There are also a considerable percentage of British and other nationalities with the result being an impressively wide variety of entertainment and restaurant choice, ranging from the Andalusian traditional tapas (bar snacks) and shellfish dishes to the British bangers and beans standard, together with Guinness on tap.

The advantage of staying here is that it is a compact seaside resort and town which has an excellent selection of supermarkets and competitively priced shops, as opposed to being restricted to the typical gift shop strip with its imported shells and t-shirts.

Follow the shopping baskets on Tuesdays and you will find yourself at the largest and liveliest street market on the coast. There is also a Saturday boot sale here with the predictably intriguing selection of items on sale.

There is certainly no shortage of things to do for holidaymakers in Fuengirola, ranging from such family fun activities as aqua park, a trip to the zoo and a host of sea sports to a leisurely sight seeing tour on a horse-drawn carriage, or by foot, particularly recommended for Fuengirola's neighbour, Los Boliches which still reflects the ambience of a bygone era with narrow streets, neighbourhood shops and traditional white washed houses which once belonged to the local fishermen.

Annual fiestas here include the feast of the Virgin del Carmen in July when local fisherman carry an effigy of the Virgin out to sea, while the colourful feria takes place in October and is the time when the town really comes to life with flamenco, fino ... (dry sherry) and fun which carries on from dawn to dusk for a week.