Benalmadena actually comes in three ‘flavours’: Benalmadena Costa, Arroyo de la Miel, and Benalmadena Pueblo. The first two merge together, although the Costa is where most of the tourist hotels are to be found, on the way to the beach, and the Arroyo is the business part, with shops and offices of all kinds, and the railway station. The Pueblo is a short bus-ride away uphill, and would be a fairly typical Andalusian village, apart from the high number of tourist apartments (and Brit bars) – although it could be argued that those are fairly typical of an Andalusian village nowadays.
Benalmadena has grown a lot since I first visited, but has never been – and is still not – my first choice of destination, because it’s basically a coastal resort (I don’t swim or sunbathe) with a large expat community (mostly, but not only, the sunshine-deprived British and Irish ) – possibly outbumbering the locals (even in wintertime) – and with facilities intended mainly for families with children. Having said that, despite the influx of foreigners – not just tourists, but semi-permanent residents, and street (and beach) vendors, mostly from North Africa (Morocco is really not far away) – even the beach resort (Benalmadena Costa) still has some Spanish ‘feeling’ about it, with tapas bars and restaurants featuring Spanish cuisine, to challenge the high concentration of ‘Brit bars’ and ‘Irish pubs’ from Arroyo de la Miel down to the coast.
However, Benalmadena is a good(-ish) base for travelling around, because of its proximity to the larger city of Malaga and the transport links from there: buses, trains, and even an airport. One warning though:
Benalmadena Costa
Arroyo de la Miel
Benalmadena Pueblo
Views from around the Pueblo church:
Beyond the pueblo, on the bus route, is a Tibetan-style stupa, where there are also interesting views.
One of the buses (from Torremolinos, and often full by the time it reaches Benalmadena or the Arroyo) continues on along the mountainside to Mijas, which is a real tourist trap, where there are a lot of shops selling the same stuff (much of it leather), most of the restaurants are tourist-oriented, with the usual Spanish delicacies of pizza, pasta, burgers, and a full English breakfast. Some people love it, but it’s not for me, despite the views, and the bits that are genuinely Spanish. Although it should be said that at some times of year, many of the tourists are Spanish too.
Mijas
Where I avoided taking pictures of the tourist shops.
Technically, Mijas is part of Fuengirola, and there are other buses going down to the bus-station there, which is an alternative to taking the train from the Arroyo or a bus along the coast from Benalmadena Costa.
Fuengirola
Fuengirola itself is very much like a larger version of Banalmadena, with the advantages and disadvantages that come with that: more varied shopping, restaurants, etc, but even more Brits getting drunk and sunburned. However, it is an important transport hub, with long-distance coaches, as well as local buses. The train station is the end of the line from Malaga.
Personal homesite 