The Costa del Sol is situated on the south of the Iberian Peninsula and makes up the 161 kilometres of Malaga coastline, also extending without established limits into the provinces of Granada and Cádiz at both ends.

Malaga is more or less in the centre of the province’s coastline, dividing it into the Eastern Costa del Sol and the Western Costa del Sol, the two areas that make up the whole. Malaga City is also the communications hub of the province.

Heading eastward from Malaga City takes one into the Eastern Costa del Sol, whose first urban centre at 12 kilometres along the way is Rincón de la Victoria, a popular holiday destination for many people from the city. Next is Vélez Malaga and its coastal urban area, Torre de mar, at 35 kilometres from Malaga City. This is also a popular tourism resort for Spaniards. Torrox is 46 kilometres from the city, and has become a second home to many German visitors to the Costa del Sol. And Nerja, at 50 kilometres from Malaga, is the best-known resort in the region and home of the world famous Nerja Cave.

The Western Costa del Sol is more widely known internationally than the eastern part, and the first town one comes to heading west from the city is Torremolinos, 15 kilometres away. In the following order, one reaches Benalmádena, at 22 kilometres; Fuengirola, at 27 kilometres; Mijas, at 31 kilometres; Marbella, at 58 kilometres; Estepona, at 85 kilometres and Manilva, at 97 kilometres from Malaga City.

The Autovía del Mediterráneo runs the length of the coast from Nerja to Manilva, and we also have the toll road, the AP-7, that veers off at Fuengirola to link all the urban centres as far as the province of Cádiz. Motorists should know that the toll road actually begins beyond Malaga Airport and is free of charge until Fuengirola, where drivers must turn off it if they wish to continue on the old N-340 towards Marbella.

The province of Malaga, 7,276 square kilometres in surface area, is the smallest most mountainous province in Andalusia, and the second most mountainous after Teruel. This does not, however, adversely affect its road communications, with easy access to all parts of the province, even in the more mountainous interior.

The relatively level land near the coast and its more moderate climate makes this the most populous part of the province, and subsequently, the best developed. Malaga City has a population of 550,000 people, making it the sixth biggest city in Spain, although taking into account the greater metropolitan are of the city, we reach a figure of 800,000 people.

The province of Málaga is made up of 101 municipalities distributed among nine regions. The Málaga region is limited to the actual municipal boundaries of the capital and lies on the broad mouth of the River Guadalhorce, occupying what is practically the geographic centre of the province’s seacoast. It has an area of 385 square kilometres and a population of close to 600,000, making the capital of Málaga the sixth largest city in Spain.