A Beach Apartment Near Estepona
Estepona has one of the prettiest old towns on the Costa del Sol, but you don't have to pay Estepona prices to enjoy it. Our apartment is 15 minutes down the coast in San Luis de Sabinillas: first line to the beach, quieter, and just as well placed for Estepona, the La Duquesa marina and Marbella. Here's how to use it as your base.
Why base yourself in Sabinillas, not Estepona
Estepona has filled up over the last ten years, and the prices near the old town show it. Sabinillas, 15 minutes west, has kept its feet on the ground: a Blue Flag beach that doesn't pack out even in August, chiringuitos rather than chain cafés, and rents well below the Estepona seafront. You give up nothing in reach — everything Estepona has is a short drive or bus away — and you get a calmer town where the sand is 30 seconds from the door.
Getting to Estepona from Sabinillas
By car it's about 15 minutes along the A-7, with paid parking near the marina and the edge of the old town. If you'd rather leave the car behind, the coastal bus runs between the two through the day; it takes a bit longer but drops you near the centre. A taxi is roughly 15 to 20 euros. Most guests drive over for the afternoon and evening and are back in time for a last drink on our own promenade.
What to do in Estepona
Start in the old town. The council has spent years turning it into an open-air gallery: whitewashed lanes hung with painted flowerpots, a couple of dozen huge murals, and a marked route to walk between them. The Orchidarium, under its glass domes, is a good hour out of the sun and a hit with kids. The marina and the Playa de la Rada seafront are lined with places to eat, and the Selwo safari park sits just outside town. Half a day covers it, or a full one if you take your time over lunch.
La Duquesa marina — five minutes on foot
Halfway between us and Estepona is Puerto de la Duquesa, a small marina you can reach on foot from the apartment in about five minutes along the seafront. It's the easy choice for an evening out: a horseshoe of restaurants around the boats, a few bars that stay open late, and boat trips and water sports leaving from the quay. When nobody feels like driving, this is where you end up.
Marbella, Gibraltar and the rest
Marbella and Puerto Banús are about 30 minutes east for a day at the flashier end of the coast. Gibraltar is a similar drive the other way, with the Rock, the apes and duty-free shops. Ronda and the white villages are around an hour inland. From Sabinillas you sit more or less in the middle of all of it, which is the point of basing yourself here instead of tying yourself to one busy town.
Your base: a first-line beach apartment
The apartment is 96 m², three bedrooms and two bathrooms, sleeping six, with a sea-view balcony and a shared pool and garden. It's on the first line to the beach in Sabinillas, five minutes' walk from the La Duquesa marina and 15 from Estepona. Book direct and you pay less than on Airbnb or Booking.com, with a private garage available and the keys handed to you in person.