The lifestyle is 'ideal' and you can get out of it, what you put in. Golfers who wish to play on first class courses in dry, sunny weather will find all that they want on the Costa del Sol. There are in fact some of the best courses in the world. If sight-seeing is part of your agenda then this wonderful area has much to offer. Within a short distance are major cities worth seeing and on the other extreme are tiny white-washed villages clinging to the mountain sides. Not far from the crowded beaches are true Spanish villages such as Casares, Ronda, Manilva and Sabinillas, all locked in time. Along the coast, tourists of all nationalities are made welcome and there are few places that do not understand English.

The people of the Costa del Sol
The riches of the coastline have for centuries attracted people from every corner of the world and the first settlers here were the Phoenician and Greek colonisers. The Romans made their mark on the area by founding huge cities, traces of which are still evident everywhere. For several centuries Andalucia was under Moorish rule. In modern times, since the 1950's, the area has attracted an international community. Predominantly in the 50's, the visitors were mostly Spaniards although the English were just discovering this warm, peaceful corner of the Mediterranean. It was in the 1960's that the tourist boom first hit and millions of English holiday makers took up the 'package holiday'. The Spaniards in the area now depend heavily on tourism although they have retained their Spanish traditions, culture and lifestyle. One doesn't have to go far from the coast to discover true Spain and in these little havens you could easily forget that the sea and sand were just a few kilometres away.

Work on the Costa del Sol is largely related to the tourism industry and the services required by the large number of ex-pats who live here. Many of the current residents have already established their own companies; some succeed and some fail. You can purchase a great book on living in Spain here.

See video weather reports for the Costa del Sol here

The early 1950's attracted some big names to the coast such as Ava Gardner, Grace Kelly, Marlon Brando and members of Royal families and the future of the Costa del Sol was assured. In 1959 the famous pez Espada Hotel opened and more celebrities flooded in. Sean Connery, Frank Sinatra, Orson Wells and Julio Iglesias were just a few names. In 1960 the caves were discovered in Nerja and in 1962, four airlines launched regular services linking European cities. In 1965 the Paradores in Nerja and Malaga were opened and Marbella became the place to be. Marbella began to attract the rich and famous and the former little fishing village was a thing of the past.

The new control tower and terminal in Malaga were opened in 1968 and during that year, 100,000 passengers passed through the airport. The beach bars suddenly became posh restaurants and the fishermen began to swap their nets for knives and forks. The first language school opened in Malaga in 1971 with 400 students and 10 teachers. Since this time the Costa del Sol has grown at an alarming rate, and continues to do so.

Quick links to places on the Costa del Sol
Malaga | Marbella | Puerto Banus | Puerto de la Duquesa | Estepona | Casares | Torremolinos | Fuengirola
Sotogrande | Mijas | Nerja | Ronda | Manilva | Sabinillas| La Linea | Ceuta | Torrox | Frigiliana | Torre del Mar
San Pedro | Monda | Ojen | Coin | Istan | Setenil | Olvira | Gaucin