Knowing the right answer to the following questions has always been considered a masterpiece of tourism: How do you give your region that little bit of extra appeal? How do you attract holidaymakers to your beach when the entire coast seems to be lined with sand? Especially if your hotel is a little further away from the beaten track than the competition? It's simple: with marketing!
The owners of the "Hotel Miramar" in Marbella thought so too. When they opened their establishment in 1933, they advertised the area as the Sunny Coast and Côte du Soleil - with a particular focus on wealthy guests from England and France.
The coast of the sun! The further development of tourism in southern Spain did not immediately take off at full speed; civil war, world war and dictatorship followed. But afterwards, people wanted to catch up on everything they had previously missed out on. Holidaymakers came in droves.
Costa del Sol: a name that says it all
Seaside resorts such as Benalmádena, Torremolinos and Estepona suddenly appeared in the windows of travel agencies in the rainy north of Europe. The "Spanish miracle" of the sixties caused an unprecedented boom in the holiday industry and in the seventies Marbella even became one of the hubs of the jet set for a while. The dazzling figure of local hero Alfonso zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg took centre stage. As a 31-year-old whose circle of friends included the Rothschilds and Thyssens, the prince caused a scandal not only in the circles of the high nobility when he married the then 15-year-old Princess Ira von Fürstenberg, a Fiat heiress. The marriage lasted five years. In the years that followed, film stars such as Ava Gardner and Kim Novak were frequently spotted in Marbella.
In the 1980s, retirees, especially from the UK, came in search of warmer climes for the best years of their lives, a trend that continues despite Brexit. In addition, millions of sun-seeking seasonal tourists populate the beaches from Málaga to Sotogrande every year.
And even if the neighbouring stretches of coastline now also boast a great name - the Costa Tropical to the east, the Costa de la Luz facing the Atlantic to the west - and there is plenty of sunshine elsewhere on the Iberian peninsula, only the coast in the far south has it in its name: Costa del Sol.
The area is also on every bucket list for yacht skippers and crews travelling on the classic Grand Tour around the Mediterranean. Just like Gibraltar, which is neither part of Spain nor the Costa del Sol, but borders them in an impressive way and at the same time heralds the transition to the Atlantic. We present the destination with its marinas and nautical service facilities from east to west. We start with Málaga.
Málaga: more than just a tourist hub
If you want to realise the tourist significance of this city of 580,000 inhabitants, you only have to take a look at its airport: it is the fourth largest in the country after Madrid, Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca. It is currently being expanded to a capacity of up to 30 million passengers a year.
Málaga is much more than just a hub for holidaymakers: it also has the largest port on the Costa del Sol (with a ferry connection to the exclave of Melilla on the African side of the Alborán Sea, which is surrounded by Moroccan territory), is a cruise destination and is also the second largest city in the Andalusia region after Seville.
The panorama around the harbour is dominated by the Moorish fortress above, which is illuminated at night, the Castillo de Gibralfaro, the bullring and the baroque façade of the Basílica de la Encarnación in the magnificent old town.
Not only is it a great place to shop and eat to your heart's content, it also boasts a number of exciting museums, including the Carmen Thyssen Art Museum, the OXO (video games) and the Museo Picasso - the famous painter and sculptor was born in Málaga in 1881 and spent his childhood in the city.
However, space for nautical guests is scarce. There are plans for 500 new berths in the commercial harbour. Until they become reality, only large yachts will be allowed to moor in the inner basin. Smaller yachts should moor at the Real Club Mediterráneo whose sheltered marina is located on the outside of the east pier (full service, VHF channel 09).
Marbella: the epitome of a beach holiday
The fact that Marbella is the epitome of beach holidays in southern Spain is not only due to those who used to come here to bathe in the sun instead of admiration during the day and to recover from the daily burdens of worldwide fame in the evening (at lavish parties, of course). The illustrious list is long: Brigitte Bardot and Gina Lollobrigida are on it, as are Richard Burton and Sean Connery - although the latter is said to have favoured the seclusion of his Finca Malibú.
You can still party in Marbella today. But at least as important are the 27 kilometres of beaches in the urban area, lined with golf courses, hotels and holiday resorts.
There are two marinas to choose from: Marbella itself with the Puerto Deportivo (400 berths up to 20 metres in length, of which around 100 are for guests), and the larger and classier Puerto Banús (around 900 berths up to a maximum length of 50 metres). Registration takes place via VHF channel 09 and full service is available. You don't have to look far for a bar for a drink after mooring in either harbour - although the "martini factor" in Puerto Banús is probably a little higher ...
Via Estepona and Sotogrande to Gibraltar
The next stop is Estepona. The holiday resort lies at the foot of the Sierra Bermeja, which is up to a thousand metres high and is popular for mountain hikes, which offer spectacular views over the coastal plain on a clear day. The beach, which is also bordered by piers to the south Estepona marina is located in the western part of the village, just west of the lighthouse at Punta Doncella.
Guest berths are allocated via VHF channel 09, and the harbour has a total of 450 berths for boats up to a maximum length of 35 metres. Services and a petrol station are available, and there are also numerous tapas bars right by the harbour. The route to the old town (with further restaurants) leads along the Paseo Marítimo, the waterfront promenade, or parallel via the local beach, Playa de la Rada, and is around one kilometre long.
Worth seeing: the Orquidario Estepona, a modern botanical garden specialising in orchids. You can admire 1300 species of all sizes, more than 100 of which are in bloom at any given time.
The last Spanish harbour - also for pleasure craft - before Gibraltar and therefore also the most westerly on the Costa del Sol, is the Marina Sotogrande . It is part of a holiday complex, which in turn is surrounded by fields and other holiday settlements. A total of almost 1400 berths (from 8 to 70 metres in length) are available, most of them in the front harbour basin. Guests are allocated by the harbour master's office in the striking tower right at the entrance (VHF channel 09). Full service facilities, petrol station, catering and restaurants on the premises.
The wide sandy beach of Torreguadiaro is directly adjacent to the north and has a wilder feel than the larger tourist resorts along the coast, and not just because of its size and the two beach bars. From the stone pier heads, the rock already seems within reach: The distance from here to the Rock of Gibraltar is around ten nautical miles.
The rock has served as the most important landmark in the Mediterranean since ancient times: the limestone rock rises 426 metres out of the Mediterranean. It forms its own peninsula - and to a large extent the very manageable territory of the British overseas territory of the same name: Gibraltar.
The Union Jack has been flying here since 1713, even if there is not much sign of Old England left in the cityscape. However, that doesn't mean that you can't get a decent portion of fish and chips in the Top Rock Café right at the top station of the cable car (under the envious gaze of the Barbary apes, who have to stay outside). On the contrary: it tastes almost as good as in Portsmouth.
You will find more information about Gibraltar here shortly.
