Location:
Spain is the second most mountainous country in Europe. The villa is in the locality of Calahonda, Mijas-Costa, on the Costa Del Sol (southern Spain). The region is Andalucia, province of Malaga; areas steeped in history and with diverse and beautiful geography.
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For Google maps, please enter “Calle de Sevilla, Mijas, Spain”, and select “Sitio de Calahonda, Malaga”
Calahonda is a 30 minute drive from Malaga airport and midway between the popular tourist hot-spots of the jet-set friendly Marbella and Puerto Banus to the west, and lively Fuengirola with its numerous beaches and night spots to the east; these towns each being a 15 minute drive away, and both offer wonderful shopping and dining opportunities. The coastal resort of Benalmadena with its leisure port and many other holiday attractions is 20 minutes away, as is Torremolinos which boasts great fish restaurants, and the best water park on the coast. More than 60 golf courses nestle amongst the natural geography of the Costa Del Sol stretch of coast, so with all this in mind it is easy to consider Calahonda as the perfect holiday destination. The climate is sub-tropical Mediterranean with hot summers and warm winters. The sea-breeze makes the summer heat more maneagable; average daytime temperature is around 32 C in the summer and 10 C in winter.
The location of the villa is an idyllic setting, being in a quiet residential street, set back and invisible from the road, yet only a 5-10 minute walk from all necessary amenities; supermarkets, bank, bars, cafe, restaurants, gym, tobacco & souvenir shops, medical centre, chemist, taxi rank, and bus routes into Marbella or Fuengirola. The nearest beach “La Luna” is a short walk down the hill. There are a couple of lively touristy parts within Calahonda - one is "The Strip" which is a 5-10 minute walk from the house, and the other is "El Zoco" which is about 15-20 mins walk. Both offer a variety of pubs, bars, and clubs - a mix of both Spanish and English, plus a good choice of restaurants including Spanish, Italian, Indian, Mexican, Fish & Chips etc....basically, something for everyone.
Calahonda also offers a tennis, padel, squash and gym centre (Club Del Sol), plus a new gym and fitness centre (Oxygen) which is 5 minutes’ walk round the corner from the villa. There is a taxi rank at either end of the main street (Avenida Espana), and a public bus stop for the Marbella-Fuengirola route (M-220). There is a local Spanish market every Thursday, where you can find all sorts of fashion, ceramics, fruit and vegetables and other local goodies at very reasonable prices, and a flea market every Sunday. Golf is very prevalent along the coast (please see our Golf page for more information) but briefly, there is “La Siesta” 9-hole course within Calahonda, plus an 18-hole par 71 course next door at Cabopino.
The villa is also perfectly located to explore and enjoy the many attractions and the best of the Costa del Sol... Within an hour's drive to the east along the coast there is the historical and beautiful city of Malaga… A beautiful cathedral, wonderful shopping, open-top bus tours and a plethora of street cafes, bars and restaurants. Plus an international port where you can see massive cruise ships dock, and of course plentiful beaches.
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An hour's drive to the west along the coast from Calahonda will bring you to Gibraltar, also very historic and fascinating…….. A trip up “The Rock” to see the native monkeys is a must. Guided tours are the best way to see and hear about this historical strategic point, and are highly informative and evocative….particularly the World War II underground tunnels.
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An hour inland from Calahonda will take you into some beautiful scenic mountain villages, stunning lakes and walks. The lakes behind Malaga at Alora are vast and easily accessible. With barbeque facilities in the surrounding forests, pedalo hire, swimming, fishing and family picnics, they offer a wonderful alternative to the beaches on the coast.
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Further afield but within a 2 hour's drive you can visit Granada and the Moorish temple of the Alhambra, go skiing in Sierra Nevada, see Seville, or visit the oldest bullring in Spain at Ronda.
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There are numerous daytrips out to these places, all bookable through the tourist centre in The Strip.
Closer to home, the nearest typical Andalucian town is Mijas - half an hour inland up the mountain road will bring you to the white-washed walls and tiny streets of the typical Spanish "pueblo". The village nestles in the mountainside at 428 meters above sea level and has fantastic views down to the Mediterranean. Horse and carriage rides and donkey taxi's abound, as well as numerous ceramic and artisan shops plus a good selection of leather shops crammed full of bags and jackets at good prices. There are plentiful typical Andalucian shops and souvenirs, street cafes and restaurants, plus a free flamenco show every Wednesday at noon in the Plaza Virgen de la Pena (the town square)
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| “The smell of orange blossom, the lilt of a spanish guitar, the taste of dry sherry; memories of Andalucia stay with you like collected souvenirs, begging you to return” - Brendan Sainsbury, Lonely Planet writer |
Beaches:
All along the local coastline they are plentiful, clean and safe, with lifeguards on duty during the summer season. The local ones to Calahonda are smaller and less crowded than those towards Marbella and Fuengirola. Luna Beach is the closest to the villa and is a 5 minute walk away down the hill....10-15 minutes on the way back as it’s uphill! It has a bar-restaurant and an elevated "paseo" (boardwalk) that stretches 6km east to the town of La Cala (where there is a huge market on Wednesday and Saturday mornings). You can also walk 1km along the sand to the west of Luna Beach, and that will bring you to the beautiful little port of Cabopino, with more restaurants and bars, not to mention a lovely beach with watersports and the very popular "Andy's Bar & Restaurant" on the sand. This is the big sister bar to the one on Luna beach. There is also another wonderful beach bar restaurant at Royal Beach, which is also only a 10 minute walk away from the villa. All these beach bar restaurants are vibrant, friendly, not over expensive and all offer sunbeds and parasols as well as cocktails and good food. All within walking distance or a very short car ride from the villa.
Nearest beach bar/restaurant
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Cooking sardines to order
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Boardwalk looking east
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Boardwalk at Luna Beach
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Transport:
For those of you wishing to rent a car there are numerous companies based at the airport, and many of these have offers in conjunction with the airlines, so you may well find a good deal at the time of booking your flights. There is a car-rental office (Fetajo) in Calahonda, but to avoid disappointment we recommend you reserve your car hire before you travel, and/or book locally a couple of days in advance once arrived if you only want a car for some of your stay.The public transport system is excellent, and well worth considering if you only want to venture along the coast-line as far as Malaga or Marbella. It should also be considered, along with taxi’s, if you are wanting to have a drink with your evening meal; the legal blood alcohol limit is much lower in Spain than the UK (1.2mg/0.6ml), and the Guardia Civil (police) activate a strict control campaign over the holiday seasons. There is a taxi rank at the airport, and also two within Calahonda. The public transport system includes buses (5 minute walk from villa), trains (Fuengirola – Malaga) and a metro system underneath the city of Malaga.
COSTA DEL SOL PUBLIC TRANSPORT BUSES:
MARBELLA-FUENGIROLA (stops at Calahonda) M-220 Every half hour.
Prices from Calahonda to either Marbella or Fuengirola are under €5.
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TRAIN LINE:
FUENGIROLA-MÁLAGA
Every ten minutes and price depends on the length of the journey.
On the map below it is the blue line.
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MÁLAGA METRO:
There are two completed lines:
L1 (red) and L2 (blue).
Max waiting time is 10 minutes.
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