11 Marbella Tours & Experiences You’ll Never Forget
‘Tour’. Just the mention of the word might conjure up visions of a guide with an umbrella droning on to a large group of disinterested tourists as they traipse round a series of overcrowded…
The Costa del Sol is aptly named. ‘Sol’ because there are +300 days of the shiny stuff, and ‘Costa’ because like gin and tonic, Fred & Ginger and all other great double acts, you couldn’t very well have sunshine if you don’t also have a nice stretch of beach to bask on.
At the heart of this sun-soaked strip of sea and sand sits Marbella. While the province of Malaga isn’t short of a decent beach or two (as covered in a previous post of ours) there are more than 20 beaches in Marbella alone. So move over overcrowding – there’s always space to enjoy your own corner of the Med on one of this selection of best Marbella beaches.
Beaches to the East of Marbella
Pool Scene – Nikki Beach Club, Marbella
Playa Alicate
This beach to the east side of Marbella next to Los Monteros is great for families, as its shallow waters are ideal for children to splash around in. The beach itself a large, open affair, pebbly towards the edge of the sea. Sunbeds and wooden parasols can be rented. It has several great chiringuitos (beach bars or restaurants), where snacks, full meals and cocktails are served throughout the day. One of our favourite places to grab a bite to eat is Los Sardinales (Lossardinales.com) which serves a fantastic fish soup and catch of the day, or go upmarket to the swish La Cabane beach club, run by the hotel Los Monteros.
Playa Hermosa Marbella
Further down from Playa Alicate is Playa Hermosa and it lives up to its name as low-rise coastline building make it an attractively low-key place to sit back and relax. Karma Beach (Karmabeachmarbella.com) is a very agreeable restaurant and bar beach-side that adds a touch of comfort to a post-swim bite of lunch. The food is international, the cocktails are well mixed and the Champagne is on ice. The only way to truly enjoy this beach, though, is to hire a cabana bed with floaty curtains and soft cushions. And… relax.
Cabopino Beach
Sun Loungers on Cabopino Beach
This very popular beach is to the far east of Marbella. Its stellar reputation means that during July and August it can be difficult to park, but in our opinion it’s still well worth perserving with. Why? Let us count the ways: for starters, there are beautiful sand dunes (Las Dunas de Artola) to find a secluded spot and a smattering of large palms providing natural shade. But there are also great amenities: there are chiringuitos with sun loungers, parasols, showers and toilet facilities as well as pedalos, kayaks, jet-skis for hire and even dolphin-watching tours. For families, the restaurants on the beach are very child-friendly with microwave facilities and children’s menus. A true all-rounder.
Beaches to the West of Marbella
Playa Nagueles
Typical Beach Bar in Marbella
Its location (near The Marbella Club Hotel and Hotel Puente Romano) means that this beach is often home to the rich and famous in the area. There’s a choice of chiringuitos and restaurants on the beach (including Trocadero Playa Restaurant) so bring your best cover-up ensemble – designer sunnies, hat, the Melissa Odabash works. The backdrop is green, with palms and pine trees leading down to sand that’s golden and coarse (normal for this corner of the Med) and a picturesque wooden pier – it’s pretty as a picture.
El Faro Beach
El Faro Beach is a great option if you’re staying near the centre of Marbella and want to twin a spot of beach chillin’ with some shopping or sightseeing in the Old Town. There’s a full complement of amenities: toilets, showers, restaurants, bars, sunbeds and even a children’s play area. It’s a small beach with shallow waters – as it’s cocooned in by breakwaters – and because of this it gets busy during the summer. There are some great fish places with an authentic, local feel to dine in over siesta. The last word in elegant fine dining it ain’t, but we like it all the same.
Puerto Banus Beaches
Loungers at La Sala Beach Club
Playa Nueva Andalucia, Playa de Levante and Playa del Rio Verde are the three beaches in Puerto Banus. These wide, clean beaches are just a very short saunter from the port of Puerto Banus. Here, if the fancy takes you (and we highly suggest it does), you can hire a yacht or go on a boat ride easily (chat to our concierge for ideas). There’s nothing like sunbathing, lunching or travelling to a beach club on a luxury yacht.
To the west of Puerto Banus, Playa Nueva Andalucia is an LVC favourite as there are a couple of beach clubs very nearby – Ocean Beach Club (Oceanclub.es) and La Sala Beach Club (Lasalabythesea.com). It’s not all ultra-glamorous beach clubs, though: if you’re an adrenaline junky or travelling with teenagers, Playa Nueva Andalucia is also home to Costa Waterpark which is basically an assault course on the sea. It’s great fun, if perhaps more than a little exhausting for anyone whose age extends into double digits.
We could go on and on, to be honest. The best way to find the right beach for you is to hire a bike (there are various locations to choose from in Puerto Banus or Marbella), take a ride along the promenade and judge for yourself.
Happy hunting.
Quite liking the sound of stretching out on one of these Marbella beaches this summer? Make sure you’ve got the accommodation to match – check out our collection of nearby luxury villas.
Lindsay Gregory
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[post_content] => ‘Tour’. Just the mention of the word might conjure up visions of a guide with an umbrella droning on to a large group of disinterested tourists as they traipse round a series of overcrowded sights.
It’s time to leave those preconceptions behind, though. Because tours have changed.
In southern Spain, at least, tours these days tend to be unique experiences that take you deep under the skin of a place; inspiring, enlightening and helping you to make indelible holiday memories.
We’ve worked hard to find the most enthusiastic, knowledgeable and fun tour guides to give you an access-all-areas insight to Spain. Here are a few of our favourite Marbella tours…
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Tapas Tour of Marbella
We can all go wandering around a town or city and trust in a mix of travel guides, social media and (gulp) TripAdvisor to help us find the best places to eat. But it can be hit and miss.
The beauty of a tapas tour is that you only get taken to the best, most authentic places, know exactly what to order in each bar and also have someone on hand to give you an insight into Spanish food, too.
More information: Tomaandcoe.com
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Off-road Buggy Tours
Leave city life behind and get into a motor powered (500cc) buggy: four wheels, low to the ground, a roll cage and the countryside to explore – this is a whole lot of fun.
Your guide will take you on a tour where you get to splash through rivers, skid round dusty corners, zoom through valleys and up mountains.
More information: Buggyfunmarbella.com
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Marbella Helicopter Tour
Something a whole lot less exhausting but just as exhilarating is seeing the countryside surrounding Marbella from the air – by helicopter, to be exact.
There are lots of tours to choose from. A couple of our favourites are: flying over Ronda (seeing the town and its magnificent bridge perched on the gorge from the air is something else!); taking the helicopter for a romantic countryside lunch; or a tour of Marbella’s ultra-exclusive Golden Mile.
More information: Heliairmarbella.com
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Spirit of Jerez Tour
A day trip from Marbella to Jerez is a must for wine-lovers. The home of Sherry, you can forget everything you think you know about classic Spanish vinos and be swept away by the history and culture of one of Spain’s greatest wine towns.
Aside from a guided tour with tastings of the centuries-old Sherry wineries, you get to visit the Royal Equestrian School for which Jerez is also famous. Here you can visit the stables as well as seeing an exhibition of spectacular horsemanship.
Afterwards, there’s even time for a tapas lunch sampling platters of regional specialities. Washed down with a glass or two of Sherry, of course.
More information: Tomaandcoe.com
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A Day at an Olive Farm
Spend the day in a beautiful farmhouse (just a short drive from Marbella) learning about organic olive farming. Disconnect and reconnect with nature among fields of olives.
You’ll learn what the different olives taste and look like, and what the difference is between EVVO and lower quality oil.
You’ll also see how traditional methods are still used to harvest this golden oil which is so important to the Mediterranean diet – past, present and future.
After the tour you stay at the farmhouse for an al fresco rustic lunch of local produce, giving new meaning to ‘farm to fork’. There’s even a visit to a 15th-century chapel with its very own mosque.
More information: Tomaandcoe.com
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Malaga Cooking Tour
Here at LVC we’ve always thought that there’s no better way to get to know a culture than exploring it through its food. And it’s with this firmly in mind that we’ve chosen this Malaga cooking day tour.
Malaga city centre is only 50mins drive from the centre of Marbella so a easy day trip. Starting the day in a fresh food market in Malaga city you’ll be guided around the meat, vegetables, spices and fish to select what dishes are going to be made for lunch.
Once you’ve stocked up on supplies, you leave the big city behind and are driven out into the countryside north of Malaga to an 18th-century farmhouse.
Here you’re guided through various Spanish staple dishes, before settling down to eat them for yourself in a setting that couldn’t be more quintessentially Andalucian.
More information: Tomaandcoe.com
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Morocco Day Tour
One of the great things about visiting this part of the world is that you can easily add another continent to your travel log and nip across to Africa for the day.
This day tour allows you to get under the skin of Morocco’s rich cultural heritage, meander around the Kasbah, the Medina and food markets and be shielded from tourist traps and haggling. Lunch is in keeping with a sensory tour of Tangier keeping your taste buds tickled.
More information: Tomaandcoe.com
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Uber-Luxe Moroccan Overnight Trip
For something a little bit special, you don’t get much more VIP than this overnight tour of Tangier.
You’re driven over from Marbella to Tarifa from where you can hop across the Straits, take in the sights, do some shopping, and then settle down to dinner in a private house/mansion that belonged to a Sheikh.
Contact: Tomaandcoe.com
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Tour of Gibraltar’s Tunnels
Gibraltar is just over an hour by car from Marbella old town. The little slice of Britain in southern Spain is certainly a curious place… plus, well, it’s got monkeys. So it’s hardly surprising that it so often makes visitors’ to-do lists of things to do when visiting Marbella.
Gibraltar is very small – so why do you need a tour we hear you ask? Well, it’s simply because the interesting part of this British territory is its history.
The Rock is riddled with military tunnels with long and colourful pasts, and the best way to see and learn about them is to go with a guide who can bring it all to life for you.
More information: Gibraltar-sightseeing.com
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Moorish Malaga City Tour
With its Pablo Picasso art heritage, shopping, diehard foodie credentials and lovely history-studded old centre, the city of Malaga offers a jam-packed day of sightseeing.
Rather than doing a whole city tour and trying to take it all on in a day, we’ve chosen a specific tour of just the Alcazaba.
Exploring this palace-fort with a guide gives you a unique insight into Moorish Malaga and a bit of general background into the captivating history of Al-Andalus – not to mention some beautiful views of the city.
This tour is only just over an hour long, so you’ve got plenty of time to see at least some of the rest of Malaga. Our top lunch tip is La Terraza de la Aduana: the views are wonderful; the service is excellent and the food’s delicious.
More information: Malagaadventures.com
11. Historic Ronda
Ronda is a inland town, just an hour from Marbella. It has a wealth of historic sights to see from bull rings to palaces. It's setting is spectacular sitting on a gorge and the old town is charming.
The tour visits all the sights in Ronda with a guide explaining the relevance of each as well as a boutique winery in a ancient monastery.
More information: Tomaandcoe.com
Why Hire a Tour Guide Rather than Going Solo?
A guide takes the pain away from doing the research. They’ll take you to the best places, order the best food and drink and impart as much knowledge as you choose to absorb.
You’ll also get the opportunity to ask any burning questions you have about Marbella, or just Spain generally, with no stone left unturned.
A lot of tours can be private or in small groups so there’s no limitations as to where you can visit and what you can see because of group size. There’s no better way to experience the real Spain than through a local who really knows their stuff.
If this has spiked interest and you want to see the best places to stay in Marbella then our collection of luxury villas are here. And for more reading on things to do while on holiday to Southern Spain then there are lots of fun self-guided day trips to do from Marbella too.
Happy discovering!
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[post_content] => From the misty green inlets of the north-west to the dusty south, via the rolling plains of the centre, Spain is nothing if not incredibly varied in terrain and temperature. Which is precisely what makes the range of Spanish wines produced so diverse, lively and interesting.
Here’s our 101 guide to some of the top Spanish wine regions to help you explore this fabulous country through one of its very finest assets: its grapes.
Spanish Red Wines
Rioja
Rioja is without a doubt, Spain’s best known red. Stretching away across three valleys – the Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Oriental – to the south of the Cantabrian Mountains, it’s a relatively small area that nevertheless packs quite a punch when it comes to global wine production.
Some numbers, then: it’s Spain’s oldest wine (with written records dating back to the 9th century); there are more than 600 wineries and nearly 15,000 grape growers spread across 65,000 hectares of vineyards.
Made from a variety of grapes it comes in three age classifications: Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva. All are full-bodied and generally best served with food. One thing to look out for is whether the Rioja was aged in American oak, French oak or a mixture of both barrels, with each having their distinct tastes.
A Rioja winery you must visit: Bodegas López de Heredia - in the town of Haro, it's one of the older wineries in La Rioja. By appointment only. More information: Lopezdeheredia.com.
Ribera del Duero
The ‘other’ great Spanish wine beginning with R. Only the best Tempranillo grapes are used to make polished Ribera del Duero wines, and there are many in Spain (and outside) who prefer the, frequently, softer more delicate taste, than that of their cousins from Rioja.
Wines from Ribera del Duero are usually 100% Tempranillo and are mostly aged in French oak; they have the same age classification as Rioja (Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva).
A Ribera del Duero winery you must visit: Matarromera - in the town of Valbuena del Duero, a trip to this winery can also include a visit to their museum, the EMINA Wine Museum. More information: Matarromera.es.
Priorat
Priorat is probably Spanish wine’s greatest secret. With a wine growing history dating back to the 12th century, this southern Catalonian region these days produces some of the finest and fullest bodied reds in Spain… of which most people outside of Spain have never even heard.
The terrain here is tough (even by Spanish wine region standards), so the vines are forced to search for water in the soil, making yield low - and prices high. The most common grape varieties used are: Garnacha, Cariñena with Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah.
A Priorat winery you must visit: Alvaro Palacios - the name that practically singlehandedly spearheaded Priorat's ascent to the summit of Spanish wines back in the 1980s is still one of the leading wineries in the region. More information: Aseuniv.com.
Spanish White Wines
Rias Baixas
On the border of Portugal in the north-west of Spain, the Rias Baixas region of Galicia is cool, green and crisp – not unlike its white wine. The crowning glory of this wine-growing region is Albariño, which is clean, with occasional floral notes, and is absolutely ideal paired with the sublime local seafood.
A Rias Baixas winery you must visit: Far from the largest, it's the setting of this family business - in the grand, fortified country house of Finca La Moreira - that makes it one the more atmospheric wineries in Spain. More information: Marquesdevizhoja.com.
Cava
From the northeast of Spain above Barcelona, Cava is Spain’s most famous sparkling wine. Labelled with brut (dry) or semi-seco (semi sweet), Cavas can be white or rosé, and are usually made from Macabeo, Parellada and Xarel-lo grapes.
A Cava winery you must visit: Dating back to the Middle Ages, this Empordà winery certainly doesn't lack for provenance - and it's got the grand castellated headquarters to prove it. More information: Perelada.com.
Sherry
Sherry is made from grapes grown within Cadiz's ‘Sherry Triangle’ between Jerez de la Frontera, Sanlucar de Barrameda, and El Puerto de Santa Maria in Andalucia.
It comes in sweet and dry varieties. Dry Sherries like Fino or Manzanilla are crisp and acidic, and make for the perfect accompaniment to fish and seafood; Oloroso is caramel-like and nutty and goes well with meat, while medium-dry Amontillado is perfectly paired with chicken or game birds.
A Sherry bodega you must visit: Bodegas Tradición is not the oldest bodega in the Sherry Triangle by a long chalk (that honour goes to Domecq), but it is one of the most insistent on traditional techniques. More information: Bodegastradicion.es.
Rioja
White Rioja is made with Viura; sometimes on its own, other times blending with Chardonnay or Garnacha Blanca amongst others. Most white Riojas are young but are still full-bodied to taste.
Malaga Wine
Malaga has a long and distinguished wine-making history, with wines having been made in the region since the Phoenicians were in southern Spain, before the Romans picked up the baton. British wine merchants were sending Malaga wines back to sweet-toothed Victorians in the 19th-century.
These days, made from Moscatel or Pedro Ximenez grapes, vinos de Malaga are fortified and naturally sweet. Coming in both red and white, they’re at their best served with a ripe local goats’ cheese.
A Malaga winery you must visit: Bodega F. Schatz - it's entirely in keeping with the international past of the Spanish wine industry that one of the best wineries in Malaga should have been founded by a German. More information: F-schatz.com.
Rueda
The most commonly drunk white wine in Spain can be just a little disappointing to a new world white wine drinker.
The Rueda region is in Castilla y Leon and its wines are usually made with Verdejo grapes. It produces very aromatic wines, often with tropical fruit and fresh grass hints, that’s fresh with just a hint of bitterness.
Things to Look Out For with Spanish Wine
There are several wine classifications in Spain, each holding specific criteria. The ones to look out for are Denominacion de Origen (DO), Denominacion de Origen Calificada (DOCa, DOC or DOQ) and DO Pago (only for single winery estates).
On the bottle you’ll see the words Joven, Crianza (aged at least 2 years and 12 months in oak barrels), Reserva (aged at least three years with at least 12 months in oak barrels), or Gran Reserva (aged for a minimum of two years in oak barrels, and more than three years bottled before they’re sold).
Like the sound of these wine regions in Spain and want to experience some of the very best wines they produce?
Stay with The Luxury Villa Collection and you can order the finest Spanish wines direct to your villa, or arrange a tasting or tour through our concierge.
[post_title] => A Brief Introduction to Spanish Wines
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A Brief Introduction to Spanish Wines
From the misty green inlets of the north-west to the dusty south, via the rolling plains of the centre, Spain is nothing if not incredibly varied in terrain and temperature. Which is precisely what…