Is Malaga Worth a Trip? Here’s How We Spent a Week on Spain’s Costa del Sol
We recently heard people say Spain’s Costa del Sol is a tourist trap. We totally understand where they’re coming from, since you’ll run into way more vacationers than locals. But we fell in love with Málaga and Benalmadena – and you may fall in love with southern Spain, too. We spent a week primarily focused on having a relaxing beach vacation but also blending in some Andalusian culture and tourism. Here’s why we loved it and what we recommend doing when you’re in the region.
🌴 Start with 3 Nights in Málaga’s Centro Historico
While we stayed the whole time in a beach town, we spent too much time and money on rides into Málaga’s old town, which was a lot of fun to explore. As one of the oldest cities in Europe, it’s teeming with history. So, we’d recommend spending your first three nights in this area to get your cultural experiences in, and then relocating to the beach.
💃 Arrival Night: Flamenco & Dinner
If you only do one touristy thing in Málaga, make it a flamenco show. We booked this one through Viator (Dinner and Show at Alegria Flamenco and Restaurant) and while the optional dinner beforehand (served in a separate dining room) was okay, the show itself was fantastic and way more intense than we imagined (this is one of those places we suggest sitting farther from the stage). If we had to do it over, we’d skip the dinner and grab tapas elsewhere. But the show is a must!
🥘 Taste Local Flavors with a Food Tour
We kicked off our first full day with a Withlocals food tour. Our guide, Renáta, was fantastic and gave us such a great overview of Málaga’s history and sights. Note that while we usually sample dishes from many vendors on a food tour, this one offered all the dishes and drinks on one place, and we did a walking tour before and after. This actually worked out great – the food was delicious and gave us a good introduction to the staples in the region.
🚂 Take a Day Trip to Cordoba
If you haven’t visited Cordoba, you should definitely take the 1-hour train ride from Málaga to spend a day here. We visited on a prior trip, but it’s easy to do from Málaga.
There’s so much beauty in Cordoba. You’ll feel like you’ve stepped back in time: The Mezquita with its candy cane arches, the deep history, traditional patios, and the blend of Roman, Moorish, and Spanish architecture. You should also visit nearby Sevilla, but we think this city deserves 3 nights of its own because it’s one of the best spots to visit in all of Spain.
🏖 Unwind with 4 Nights in Benalmádena
After Málaga, shift gears and head to the beach town of Benalmádena. You won’t find Caribbean-style white sand beaches here, but you will find a mellow and totally relaxing spot to unwind. We got into vacation mode quickly by renting a palapa and a pair of lounge chairs (at very reasonable prices). You’ll see vendors and loungers all up and down the beach, so finding a spot is easy.
There are two promenades that each had a different vibe but were perfect for strolling, people-watching, and grabbing a cocktail or a bite to eat.
🍔 At the marina, we had excellent burgers and chicken sandwiches at Kaliedo.
🦞 We had delicious fresh seafood at El Mero Los Mellizos (none of these places have the best reviews but we loved them. Sometimes you just have to pop in and give it a try.).
This place was expensive but the seafood platter was divine and the restaurant had great ambience.
🍹 We found the best pina coladas at Almarina Beach.
🍣 We also went off the beaten path for surprisingly fantastic sushi at Akeyo.
🛥️ The best part was booking a private boat ride in Benalmádena through Viator (2-hour Private Boat Rental). We loved getting out onto the water and just enjoying a few hours at sea for sunset.
The boat was the highlight of our trip, in addition to our apartment itself, which we reserved through Booking.com.
Our gorgeous apartment in Benalmádena, which overlooked Puerto Marina, was spacious and offered stunning views.
If you decide to book this place, note that getting in was difficult (we had to call the property manager to unlock the doors remotely), but 30 minutes of hassle were worth it for the 5-star stay.
We loved ending the nights with a glass of wine from the supermarket downstairs, sitting on the balcony, and looking at the shimmering marina.
While we understand why people think the Costa del Sol is too touristy, sometimes we love a good vacation vibe. If we lived closer, we would definitely go back to Malaga and Benalmádena soon, but we’ll stick to the Caribbean as our go-to beach spot since it’s so much closer.
Have you been to the Costa del Sol? Are you thinking about going? Let us know in the comments.
Read our top tips for a London layover here.
I hadn’t heard of Cordoba… so good to know! Girl that seafood platter looks amazing and I want to do that boat ride 🤩awesome blog again.
It was one of the best seafood platters I’ve had in a long time. Soooo good!