BENAVISTA

Benavista has been home to British expats since the early 1960´s. You have everything from your British butchers, bakers, bars and candlestick makers (well maybe not those), as well as the more traditional "Tiendas", and it houses a sizeable community of well established clubs and associations.

Benavista or "Little England" (as it is known by the expats in the area), is an area located between San Pedro and Estepona which encompasses the neighbourhoods of Benamara, El Paraiso, Bel Air and Cancelada.

It is more of a district than a town but there is a lot of life here for those holiday-makers who like the Spanish weather but still enjoy the comforts of home.

It is located on the N-340 coast road about 65km from Malaga and only 20km from Marbella so is easy to get to either by car, taxi or bus. There are lots of lovely apartments and urbanisations around this area so plenty of choice for private rentals.

There are hotels ranging from the 3 star Diana Park Hotel to the 5 star Crown Plaza, enough to suit anybody’s budget. This is also the location of one of Marriott Hotel’s luxurious vacation club resorts.

The stretch of beach that runs alongside this area is very unspoilt and even in the height of summer is not overcrowded by any stretch of the imagination. For those needing refreshment during the hot summer days there are a number of great chringuito or beach bar restaurants to choose from serving wonderfully fresh fish.

The focal point for Benavista itself is the Centro Commercial or shopping centre which offers an array of bars and restaurants, although it does have to be said that it does cater very much for the British holiday-maker.

Restaurants serving everything from your full on English breakfast through to your fish and chips take away can be found here, as well as Chinese, Indian, Thai, African and of course Spanish to name but a few. Quite an eclectic mix!!

There are also sports bars here so no need to miss out on any sporting events that may be happening whilst you are away and other bars giving you the chance to have a go at karaoke! It’s not all go, go, go though….there are many bars here that will appeal to couples and families, that’s what is so appealing about this area.

For those on a self catering break….or those who just like to keep a bottle of something cold in their room, there are supermarkets here too with a lot of them selling English food, so not too far to go for anything really!!

El Paraiso also has a great 18-hole golf course and Country Club with the impressive golf club of Los Flamingo’s in Cancelada just up the road where the Senior PGA has been played for the last few years.

Having played both of these courses near Benavista, I can safely say that they cater for beginners and experienced alike.