Mediterranean · Málaga
Costa del Sol
Two different coasts under one name. The west (Marbella, Estepona) is the priciest south of Spain; the east, the Axarquía (Torre del Mar, Torrox), undercuts the Costa Blanca off the same airport.
14towns
in the base
3 395median
€/m²
14alive
in winter
3months
above 20 °C
10prices from the
official bulletin
What it costs
22nd cheapest coast of 26
21
cheaper
Costa Blanca
3 236€/m²
2 241–3 956 by town
22
this coast
Costa del Sol
3 395€/m²
1 581–4 477 by town
23
pricier
Mallorca
4 000€/m²
3 792–4 200 by town
Costa del Sol sea temperature by month
Average sea surface temperature, °C, off each town for 2015–2024. Next to each name: how many months a year the water is above 20 °C.
Alhaurín de la Torre4 mo above 20 °C
16
J
15
F
15
M
16
A
18
M
20
J
23
J
24
A
22
S
20
O
18
N
16
D
Benalmádena4 mo above 20 °C
16
J
15
F
15
M
16
A
18
M
20
J
23
J
24
A
22
S
20
O
18
N
16
D
Estepona3 mo above 20 °C
16
J
15
F
15
M
16
A
18
M
19
J
21
J
22
A
21
S
19
O
18
N
17
D
Fuengirola4 mo above 20 °C
16
J
16
F
16
M
17
A
18
M
20
J
22
J
23
A
22
S
20
O
18
N
17
D
Málaga4 mo above 20 °C
16
J
15
F
15
M
16
A
18
M
20
J
23
J
24
A
22
S
20
O
18
N
16
D
Manilva3 mo above 20 °C
16
J
15
F
15
M
16
A
18
M
19
J
21
J
22
A
21
S
19
O
18
N
17
D
Marbella3 mo above 20 °C
16
J
15
F
16
M
16
A
18
M
19
J
21
J
23
A
21
S
20
O
18
N
17
D
Mijas4 mo above 20 °C
16
J
15
F
15
M
16
A
18
M
20
J
23
J
24
A
22
S
20
O
18
N
16
D
Nerja5 mo above 20 °C
16
J
15
F
15
M
17
A
18
M
20
J
23
J
25
A
23
S
21
O
18
N
16
D
Rincón de la Victoria4 mo above 20 °C
16
J
15
F
15
M
16
A
18
M
20
J
23
J
24
A
22
S
20
O
18
N
16
D
Torre del Mar5 mo above 20 °C
16
J
15
F
15
M
17
A
18
M
20
J
23
J
25
A
23
S
20
O
18
N
16
D
Torremolinos4 mo above 20 °C
16
J
15
F
15
M
16
A
18
M
20
J
23
J
24
A
22
S
20
O
18
N
16
D
Torrox5 mo above 20 °C
16
J
15
F
15
M
17
A
18
M
20
J
23
J
25
A
23
S
21
O
18
N
16
D
Vélez-Málaga5 mo above 20 °C
16
J
15
F
15
M
17
A
18
M
20
J
23
J
25
A
23
S
20
O
18
N
16
D
NOAA OISST satellite series on a grid of about 25 km: it averages a bay or cold water off a cape with the open sea.
Where it is
Towns, cheapest first
sourced price for 10 of 14
200 m to sea1 sch.
Axarquía, Málaga
Torre del Mar
1 581€/m²asking
Winter4/5
Sea5 mo
Car-free4/5
No nómina3/5
Internet330
Nomad month1 210 €
300 m to sea
Axarquía, Málaga
Torrox
2 000€/m²asking
Winter4/5
Sea5 mo
Car-free3/5
No nómina5/5
Internet310
Nomad month1 268 €
200 m to sea1 sch.
Axarquía, Málaga
Nerja
2 450€/m²asking
Winter4/5
Sea5 mo
Car-free4/5
No nómina5/5
Internet300
Nomad month1 434 €
7.8 km to sea
Valle del Guadalhorce, Málaga
Alhaurín de la Torre
2 736€/m²appraised
Winter5/5
Sea4 mo
Car-free2/5
No nómina2/5
Internet480
Nomad month1 344 €
4.3 km to sea
Axarquía, Málaga
Vélez-Málaga
2 745€/m²appraised
Winter5/5
Sea5 mo
Car-free3/5
No nómina4/5
Internet400
Nomad month1 229 €
500 m to sea6 sch.
Málaga
Málaga
3 283€/m²appraised
Winter5/5
Sea4 mo
Car-free5/5
No nómina2/5
Internet600
Nomad month1 706 €
6.3 km to sea1 sch.
Costa del Sol Occidental, Málaga
Mijas
3 339€/m²appraised
Winter4/5
Sea4 mo
Car-free2/5
No nómina5/5
Internet450
Nomad month1 577 €
2.7 km to sea
Costa del Sol Occidental, Málaga
Manilva
3 450€/m²asking
Winter4/5
Sea3 mo
Car-free2/5
No nómina4/5
Internet350
Nomad month1 445 €
300 m to sea3 sch.
Costa del Sol
Estepona
3 453€/m²appraised
Winter5/5
Sea3 mo
Car-free3/5
No nómina4/5
Internet500
Nomad month1 978 €
200 m to sea1 sch.
Málaga
Rincón de la Victoria
3 498€/m²appraised
Winter5/5
Sea4 mo
Car-free4/5
No nómina2/5
Internet400
Nomad month1 464 €
200 m to sea4 sch.
Costa del Sol
Fuengirola
3 711€/m²appraised
Winter4/5
Sea4 mo
Car-free5/5
No nómina4/5
Internet520
Nomad month1 774 €
100 m to sea2 sch.
Costa del Sol, Málaga
Torremolinos
3 736€/m²appraised
Winter4/5
Sea4 mo
Car-free5/5
No nómina3/5
Internet550
Nomad month1 928 €
300 m to sea3 sch.
Costa del Sol
Benalmádena
3 779€/m²appraised
Winter4/5
Sea4 mo
Car-free4/5
No nómina4/5
Internet500
Nomad month1 765 €
400 m to sea9 sch.
Costa del Sol
Marbella
4 477€/m²appraised
Winter5/5
Sea3 mo
Car-free3/5
No nómina4/5
Internet550
Nomad month2 445 €
Month by month
Air, sea, how busy it gets and what stays open — for each month on its own.
Articles that include this coast
- Costa del Sol and Málaga beaches by water quality: from poor grades in 1990 to eight seasons of excellent everywhereGrades from the European register for every sampling point on the Málaga coast since 1990: how the count changed, the city of Málaga's beaches, Marbella's last slip, Torremolinos, fourteen municipalities, the sea at the east and west ends, and hotels in September.
- Andalusia's beaches by water quality: five provinces, the Bay of Algeciras and the sea from the Strait to MojácarGrades from the European register for every sampling point on Andalusia's coast since 1990: where the water was not excellent in 2025, Huelva's bad first year, the bay against the ocean in Cádiz, eight clean seasons in Málaga and Almería, and the sea on five coasts.
- Where Britons in Spain actually liveA hundred thousand Britons from the census, broken down by town. The places with the densest community and the places that live in winter are different lists.
- Best places to live in coastal Spain: five lists, not one rankingAlive in winter, longer swimming, no car needed, cheaper, with children — five sorts of the base by measured fields. A single ranking does not exist.
- Who already lives there — and why it is not about neighboursA headcount of compatriots and a doctor and lawyer who speak your language are different things. A move runs into the second.
- International schools: where a family has a choiceSchool decides the town more firmly than price. What is counted is the choice, not the quality — we have no honest ranking and cannot build one.
Median rather than mean: a single expensive spot skews the average for the whole coast. Airports: AGP.