Benalmadena Costa – one of the most popular areas on the Costa Del Sol

Benalmádena Costa

Possibly the most family-friendly area on the Costa del Sol. Benalmádena Costa has a lot to offer for families with children and for those who just want a good location in a charming town close to the airport. Let’s mention it right away – Benalmádena Costa is 20 minutes from Málaga Airport and for the same reason is very popular with part-time residents of the Costa del Sol. They are the ones who have a second home in Benalmádena, and who therefore want to be able to get back and forth quickly to the airport during the frequent visits.

Paradise for the kids
When we say that Benalmádena Costa is particularly family friendly, it is because within 5 minutes you can visit:

• Parque de la Paloma
• Tivoli World
• The cable car
• Selwo Park

Parque de Paloma is an adorable little park in the middle of the city. Here you will find lakes, local and exotic plants as well as a children’s zoo with birds and rabbits. In fact, the rabbits move more or less freely throughout the park. It is a really nice and well-kept park that both children and adults enjoy visiting. Right next to the Parque de la Paloma is Selwo Park, where you can swim with dolphins and sea lions as well as feed penguins.

If you are more into birdlife, you can take the cable car up the mountainside to the top of Mount Calamorro, where there are impressive birds of prey shows. The sports types take the cable car up and the mountain bike down! Tivoli World is the Costa del Sol theme park, where children of all ages can fire it up on the slides or take a ride in the carousels. The park is a guarantee of a good and fun day that gives tired and satisfied kids.

Puerto Marina – life enjoyment and shopping for the adults

A beautiful and wide promenade connects the rest of Benalmádena Costa with the attractive Puerto Marina, which is Benalmádena’s marina. Side by side with the dinghies are millionaire yachts and floating hotels.

When you walk around the marina in Benalmádena you see boats from many different countries, English, German, Swedish, Danish – in addition to a number of Spanish boats of course. This mix of nationalities reflects very well how the inhabitants of the municipality are distributed. It is in every way a quite internationally oriented municipality, which probably has something to do with the fact that Benalmádena was the first area in the 60s to accommodate the growing tourism that came in with the charter flights from, among others, Scandinavia.

Especially for this port, the shopping and restaurant offerings are quite extensive. It can probably best be compared to a medium-sized shopping center. Puerto Marina Shopping, as the ‘center’ is called, even has its own web with information on opening hours, shops, restaurants, and more. When darkness falls, the harbor also has a quite sensible nightlife.

In the immediate vicinity of the port, you will find Sea Life Benalmádena, an aquarium that offers many activities and beautiful surroundings. Most peculiar is probably the ‘petting zoo’ that lets you feed and ‘cuddle’ the rays. There is a lot to save on buying tickets for Sea Life Benalmádena online.

Benálmadena Pueblo – The white village located in the mountains

Slightly pulled back from the coast and well up the mountainside we find the Benalmádena Pueblo. This pueblo is reminiscent of most other Spanish villages in the sense that the houses are painted white and the streets are winding and charming. It is a cozy little village that stands out from the crowd by having a very mixed population base. There are many different nationalities here, but you especially hear English being spoken around in the city’s cafes. Montebello, North Zealand’s department for rehabilitation, is located in Benalmádena Pueblo and patients of course enjoy the city’s offerings as well as the ubiquitous stunning views of the Mediterranean.

Lots of culture – not so much golf
Seafood festival, film festival, Saint Patrick’s Day, Arab festival, tourist day – these are just some of the many festivals and anniversaries celebrated throughout the year in Benálmadena, which is a very inclusive municipality. Many art exhibitions and lectures take place at Castillo Bil Bil, which is a very charismatic Arabic-style building located on the beach of the same name. Castillo Bil Bil can be seen from the main road N-340. Likewise, the stupa (the 33 meter high white and gold-colored building that can be seen from most of the coast) is the focal point of a lot of meditation events by Buddhists as well as non-Buddhists.

Unlike many other areas on the Costa del Sol, Benálmadena is not a golf-heavy area. There is Torrequebrada Golf and the somewhat smaller Benalmádena Golf, but it is not golfers’ paradise. However, it is not far to the huge selection of phenomenal golf courses that the Sun Coast has to offer. If proximity to golf courses is important to you, we recommend that you take a look at the Mijas Costa area. For example, watch our video from Calanova Gran Golf.

Does a home on Benalmádena Costa sound like something for you? So take a look at the properties for sale in Benalmadena that Mojo Estates has on offer right now. Contact us for a demonstration – virtual demonstrations are also possible.

11 Oct 2020

Per Moensted