Senda Litoral de Malaga
Senda Litoral de Malag - Fuengirola to Marbella
Andalucía, Southern Spain
We have previously walked between Fuengirola and Nerja, along the Senda Litoral. We decided to try to complete the final couple of sections of the Litoral from Fuengirola to Punta Chullera via Marbella and Estepona. We planned a 3 to 4-day trip, and had packed our rucksacks accordingly. We did not book accommodation in advance, but decided to see how far we walked each day. We then booked that night’s stay on bookings.com at about 4pm. We had checked in advance just to make sure that some hotels were open. We have previously visited Mijas costa, Marbella and Estepona, but were interested to experience the walk between them. It was a fine January day, when we caught the bus from where we were staying in Torremolinos to Fuengirola bus station. We then headed down to the sea (9am), following the promenade past the marina, arriving at the castle at 9.20am, where we had finished the previous stage. The castle (Sohail) is well worth visiting with great views all around, it also overlooks recently excavated Roman ruins. It was a quiet day, with a chilly wind blowing. We continued, passing old fishing boats filled with coals/sand which can be rented and used as a bar-b-que (a great use). Ten minutes later (9.30am) the prom ended, there is a bridge over the main road A7 to a BP garage with a cafe. We continued along the left-hand side of the A7 road. Not the best walking but at least we were behind a crash barrier and good progress could be made. At 10am we reached El faro lighthouse with an old watch tower behind it. There are information boards about birds, whales and dolphins who frequent these parts and a bird hide. The toilet was open on Playa del Charcon (10.15am). At 10.45am we were very pleased to be able to leave the main road, arriving in Playa de Mijas. We went to breakfast at Ellas beach club and for a change we had toast with salmon and avocado and a fruit salad, good value at €5.90. It was lovely to be back walking by the sea, away from the road. Cala de Mijas is a lovely place, with an old tower, outdoor gym, pétanque court and a yoga class in the sunshine. Definitely worth the 2-hour walk, to reach here.
The board walk now starts, passing beautiful villas overlooking the sea, round a cliff face, (6 miles) with great views back to Mount Cerro behind Benalmadena with communication towers on top. We continued past Lakala beach club, and toilets, arriving in Playa de Calahonda at 12pm (9 miles). (We walked behind the town, but felt sure we could have walked along the beach). We stopped at Andy's bar on the beach for toast and coffee €5.80. (9.8 miles), leaving at 1.15pm, following the board walk past Torre Ladrones across Dunes de Artola-with lots of pretty pine trees. After 15 minutes we returned to the beach for the next few miles, passing Sinbad the sailor bar, and more old watchtowers. The weather had at first been really warm, but now we stopped to shelter from the rain (2.45pm). It was quite hard walking along the beach.
We stopped at a beach cafe for coffee at 4pm (15 miles), then followed the board walk once more, passing beach clubs, arriving at Cable beach at 4.30pm (16.5 miles). There are interesting information boards about the iron ore that used to arrive by cable car, and was loaded onto ships moored out at sea. Arriving in Marbella port at 4.45pm (17 miles) and the busy harbour at 5pm (18 miles), we turned inland, popping into Carrefour, before arriving at today's destination of Marbella Inn. It was great value at €60 for a large double room, with a balcony, kitchenette and delicious buffet breakfast. We have visited Marbella a couple of times, the old town, old castle walls and Orange Square are very beautiful. There are numerous shops, bars, tapas bars and restaurants. We ate at La Santa sharing a pizza and salad.
We had had a lovely day, even with the 1.5 hours of walking along a road. The beach/board walking more than made up for it with great views all around. We were looking forward to the following day. https://turismo.fuengirola.es/que-ver/patrimonio-historico/ Castle in Fuengirola https://www.marbellainn.com/en/ We would really recommend this hotel especially for the price we paid € 60, maybe it was cheap as it was January.
Distance 18.6 miles (30 km)
Duration of Walk 8 Hours 2 mins including breaks
Elevation Gained 577 feet (176m)
Pace 25.5 min a mile
Senda Litoral de Malag - Marbella to Estepona
Andalucía, Southern Spain
Today’s walk follows the sea from Marbella to Estepona a distance of 19 miles, it forms part of the Senda Litoral which runs from Nerja to Punta. It is a relatively easy walk following the sea, with fabulous views up and down the coast and over the sea to Morocco.
After a delicious buffet breakfast at the Marbella Inn where we were staying, we left at 8.30am. We walked down to the marina to be greeted by a fabulous sunrise. There were plenty of people out running and walking, as well as council workers cleaning the prom. We headed towards Estepona with the sea on our left, passing many restaurants, before strolling down Marbella beach club pier. We were not too sure if we were allowed on the pier, but it was early, and gave us fabulous views to the Conche-Mountain behind Marbella. Continuing we arrived in Puerto Banus at 10am (4 miles). We took our time to stroll round, before leaving at 10.30am. We would really recommend visiting the sky lounge in Hotel Benabola, with fantastic views, unfortunately we were too early, as in winter it opens at 12pm (5.4 miles, 2 hours). Continuing past more restaurants and beach clubs we stopped at Largos bar (10.55am 6.5 miles) €6.60 for toast and coffee for 2, with great views to Gibraltar and Africa. We left at 11.25am walking along the lovely stone-built prom passing San Pedro. After 7 miles the prom ended, (11.45am) with a track through a car park, then across a stony beach. We passed another watch tower and the Roman remains of thermae of Las Bovedas-which we would have visited but unfortunately it was closed. It was a tough walk along the beach, warm too, passing large houses, and noting where the sea was gradually eroding the back wall of the gardens. At 1.45pm (12 miles) we stopped at Bistro Enrique, Playa del sol Villacana. It was a very welcome stop in the shade, eating nice tuna and tomato toasties. We left at 2.30pm along the soft sand, but we were very pleased when 10 minutes later a prom appeared-which continues all the way to Estepona and is lined with lots of apartment complexes. Eventually Estepona came into view (17 miles), the prom was shut for works, so we detoured, then back along the prom into the town (4.30pm). There was a lovely big beach with lots of people and restaurants. We went to carrefour express then checked into our destination of The Mare Hotel at 5pm.
Later we walked round the beautiful old town, with houses decorated with plant pots on the walls. The newer parts were very busy. We ate at El Pit Stop restaurant on the prom, which was convenient at the time-if not very authentic. We had had a lovely day, walking in the sunshine with fabulous views. Miles of walking on soft sand or rocks do make the beach walking tough. We could not decide whether it is easier to walk right by the sea, where the sand may be wet and solid, or right at the back of the beach which may be rocky. Either way it is hard work.
We now have Garmin watches. These link to our phones, they can record the walk, and give readings of distance walked, metres climbed, heart rate etc. We are loving them, and are very popular with our Friday walking club! https://benabola.com/sky-lounge/ We usually stop for coffee, but it was shut when we passed. https://marehoteles.es/en/hotel-mare-estepona-en/ Hotel where we stayed, good location, great buffet breakfast.
Distance 19 miles (30.5km)
Duration of Walk 8 Hours 17 mins including breaks
Elevation Gained 416 feet (127m)
Pace 25 min a mile
Senda Litoral de Malaga - Estepona to Punta Chullera
Andalusia Southern Spain
This is the last day of our walk along the Senda Litoral, it is always nice to reach the end, and then start planning our next walk. We left Hotel Mare, Estepona, after our buffet breakfast, in the dark at 8.05am. There were promenade improvements in progress so we took the road behind the prom for a couple of blocks. The prom will be lovely when it is finished, if the previous renovations are anything to go by. Unfortunately, we could not visit the lighthouse of Punta Doncella on the headland as it is now sadly behind fences. The sun came up over the marina at 8.30am. Estepona seems to be more of a working port and town than others we have been to, especially along this coast. We continued across a scrub car park, Havana beach, then along a path to reach a lovely promontory with an information board about fish and the sea bed. (9am, 2.2 miles).
We continued along the prom, passing Elba Spa 5-star hotel, before the prom ended and for the next few miles it is mostly beach walking, with some new prom being worked on, for the next 3.5 miles. We reached the tower of Torre de la Sal, with an information board, and great views. Arriving in Sabillanas, it was all very quiet, we passed numerous empty apartment blocks, and closed cafes. Fortunately, we found one open on the corner of Ten del Carmen, at 11am, 6.3 miles completed. Next to a statue of fishermen, there is the first map of the Senda del Mediterraneo that we have seen, it gives 2 hours or 6.8km to the end of the Senda Litoral. We contined along the prom, admired some boats in De la Duquesa marina (11.45am, 7.5 miles), then stopped to visit the old fort of Duquesa (duchess), built in 1767 and free to enter. Climbing up to the top floor there are great views over the sea and inland over numerous housing developments. The fort also had a big display of judo equipment, as people train here-a fabulous authentic location. The developments along the path finish and a rough path passes through an ecological area. We stopped at restaurant Merendero Tubalites on the beach at 1pm, (10.5 miles), having more coffee and toast. The path passes between some houses, then along the cliff or the beach. However, we opted to walk along the side of the main road protected from the oncoming traffic by a crash barrier. We reached a sign for our destination of Punta Chullera at 2pm, (5.5 hours, 12 miles), walking down the path to the beach, happy to finish our walk on the border between Malaga province and Cadiz. Our walk ended here, but there are signs to Sotogrande, and beyond. We had no idea that we could have continued, but it was unfortunately too late to change our plans. We will have to return to this spot and continue the walk another time. It was very worthwhile completing the last 3 days of the Senda Litoral/GR 92, from Fuengirola to the Malaga/Cadiz border at La Chullera. We had looked at transport options back to Malaga in advance, but had nothing booked. We walked back along the main road to the Seaside bar and grill. (13 miles, 6 hours). We then phoned a taxi (Uber) which arrived 15 mins later and dropped us off at the bus station in Estepona (€22.00 for a 15-mile journey).
We caught the 3.20pm express bus number 605 from Estepona to Malaga airport (€8.70, 75mins, 80km), then we caught the local train back to where we were staying in Torremolinos.
https://www.andalucia.com/estepona/punto-doncela-lighthouse.htm Estepona Lighthouse
Distance 13 miles (21km)
Duration of Walk 6 Hours 5 mins including breaks
Elevation Gained 600 feet (182m)
Pace 28 min a mile
Information/Advice
We would really recommend this walk, being relatively flat and easy, with fabulous views. Public transport, hotels, and restaurants are easy to find along the way. It can be done on separate days or as one continuous walk.
It may appear strange for a walk which for a fair part was along a concrete promenade, to wear walking boots. But we have found previously that long stretches along a rocky shore-line and beach can be hard work, either in bare feet or in trainers. We always wear boots, on this occasion I wore Salomon, which have good ankle support, but are slightly breathable. A walking pole may be useful too.
It can be tougher to walk along the beach than you may imagine. It depends whether the sand is hard or soft, whether to walk along the wet sand by the sea, or there is sometimes compacted sand along the back of the beach. Sometimes we remove our boots, but found that faster progress can be made with them on.
Sometimes we found ourselves in a tight space between a cliff face and the sea- take care, and don’t fall in. If the sea was stormy, these cut-throughs may have been impassable, making the walk longer.
Take a phone and battery chargers, so the apps can be used. Take sun hats, and sun tan lotion. We always take food and water, but found every few miles a café would appear-but in winter not always open.
We have an Uber taxi app on the phone. We have found uber taxis in Spain easy to book, frequent and good value for money.
Of course, the walk can be undertaken in either direction. Sometimes it is easier walking with the sun on your back instead of in your eyes!!
Senda Litoral de Malaga/GR92
The Senda Litoral de Malaga (Malaga Coastal Path) is a projected 160 km path following the entire coast of Malaga province from Manilva to Nerja, and is expected to be a major tourist attraction for the Costa del Sol. It is being created by linking all the existing seafront town promenades; building new paved paths - for many years
every newly-built beachfront development must construct its section of path, including wooden boardwalks if necessary.
The path reference is GR92 with its own logo and website (www.sendalitoral.es). The Km 0 is in Nerja and the finish was Castillo de la Duquesa in Manilva, but has been extended to Punta Chullera, the provincial border with Cadiz. It is due to be extended to Sotogrande Marina.
The Senda Litoral website could be consulted before leaving to find out which parts are open or closed. (Some sections which were open in Benalmadena have suffered from landslides.) We found no problem in finding alternative routes, but occasionally these were alongside a main road. The path is 85 per cent finished, with some sections being worked on, some of it is signed, but basically you just follow the sea.
The sections of the Senda Litoral we walked: -
Nerja to El Morche via Torrox Costa 7 miles/12 km
El Morche to Benagalbon 22 miles/35km
Benagalbon to Malaga 15 miles/24km
Malaga to Torremolinos 12 miles/19km
Torremolinos to Fuengirola 10 miles/16km
Fuengirola to Marbella 18.5 miles/29.5km
Marbella to Estepona 19 miles/30km
Estepona to Punta Chullera (the end of Malaga province) 13 miles/21km
The stages from Nerja to Malaga are also part of the GR249. Check out our youtube or Hiking With Dave and Barbara site to see these walks listed under the GR249.
Websites used
https://www.mapmywalk.com/ https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather https://www.sendalitoral.es/en
https://www.sendalitoral.es/en/6240/what-coastal-path https://www.andalucia.com/walking/senda-litoral-malaga.htm https://www.andalucia.org/en/routes-la-senda-litoral-gr92-e12 https://www.facebook.com/seaside.restaurante/ We caught a taxi back to Estepona from here, but it does look like a fantastic location for lunch.
Resources used
We now have Garmin watches. These link to our phones, they can record the walk, and give readings of distance walked, metres climbed, heart rate etc, during the walk and then are stored afterwards. We are loving them, and are very popular with our Friday walking club!
Happy walking!!