The Costa del Sol littoral, stretching from Nerja in the extreme eastern part of the province of Málaga to Manilva on the western border, has eleven leisure ports, with a total of almost five hundred berths, spaced along its more than 160 kilometres of coastline. This region’s enviable geographic setting, dominating the entrance to the Mediterranean from the Atlantic, and its proximity to the Strait of Gibraltar have made it an ideal place for all kinds of nautical tourism, all the more so for the quality and distinctiveness of the marinas and other facilities available at this tourist destination. 

The leisure ports on the Costa del Sol do not simply provide well-equipped docking areas for recreational craft owners arriving at or departing from the beautiful coastal localities of Málaga. They also present to local people and outsiders assorted options and a wide range of services relating to the maritime arts. The numerous businesses that conduct operations around these marinas offer all types of clients a varied portfolio of services, ranging from jet ski rental to contracting for short or medium length voyages and including the renting of equipment for the most thrilling nautical sports, that serve to diversify and augment those offered by the ports themselves and their clubs.

In addition to strictly maritime activities there others of a commercial, social or cultural nature that are handled by the entities and businesses located in the port facilities or their surroundings, making these incomparable enclaves true meeting points for people of all conditions and nationalities. All types of businesses, restaurants with the most diverse gastronomic specialties, cafés, bars and nightspots, among many other establishments, extend the busy daily activity of these installations beyond the wharves, sea walls and docks. The indisputable point of reference, however, never ceases to be the Mediterranean Sea. 

The Port of La Duquesa with its more than three hundred berths is in the municipality of Manilva, next to the province of Cádiz. It is the westernmost marina on the Costa del Sol. Its location within the boundaries of a remarkably beautiful municipality and its design, inspired by the distinctively Andalusian style of the housing estate that forms the setting for the port, make it a facility that is no less beautiful for its modest dimensions. Its proximity to Gibraltar is a factor that encourages the wintering of foreign-flagged vessels, while the restaurant establishments and businesses operating in it are responsible for the constant coming and going of visitors and residents practically the year round.

Leaving Manilva and travelling eastward along the Costa del Sol littoral the seafarer comes upon the locality of Estepona and its port of the same name. This installation has a twin function, serving the fishing industry and as a leisure port, but it is for the latter that it is best known. It boasts almost four hundred and fifty berths and a great variety of businesses that make the nightlife offer in this enclave especially alluring.