how touristy is marbella??
Apr 1st, 2002, 11:54 AM
#1
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how touristy is marbella??
We are spending a week at a timeshare (interval). We can choose Marbella, Estepona, Mijas or Nerja for one week. We want to see the quaint little villages (white villages?) so which would be the best location to do this. Is a week in one place in this area too much? Save our timeshare for another time?
Apr 1st, 2002, 12:18 PM
#4
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We must've missed the quaint, older part of Marbella because what we saw were condos everywhere you looked and the shops/restaurants at Puerto Banus. We thought it was really touristy -- like any beach town with fancy shops next to t-shirt shops and some real tourist trap restaurants (we didn't eat at any memorable ones, but I assume they might exist).<BR><BR>Instead, we stayed in Estepona at a great resort -- Las Dunas. The food was great (2 different restaurants), the service was great, the poolside area beautiful, they have a full spa, etc. We loved it and if we had to do it all over again, would skip Marbella entirely.
Apr 1st, 2002, 12:40 PM
#6
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Another vote for Marbella.<BR>Yes, it is touristy but that are all the other places as well. Marbella is centrally located and a good base to visit the white villages. The old town of Marbella, around Plaza de los Naranjos, is really very charming with many narrow streets and flowers everywhere. <BR>There are timeshares near this old city centre, and others closer to Puerto Banus (the marina) which is approx. 8 km or so. No problem if you have a car.
Apr 2nd, 2002, 12:52 AM
#11
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Reply to Spanish; the Hotel Fuerte (4*) is right on the seafront and just across the road from the old part of Marbella. It's ok.<BR>For what it's worth, Marbella and Mijas are good starting points for visiting the white village area. Marbella is a more upmarket holiday town on the coast with a small old centre, Mijas is an expanded village a few miles inland in the hills. Estepona is a fairly average holiday resort and Nerja is the other way from Malaga, (ie East) and not on the Costa del Sol. About fifteen years ago it was an unspoiled Spanish holiday town, but now.... However, it doesn't suffer from high rise blocks. I'd go for Mijas for the easy access to the hills.
Apr 2nd, 2002, 05:12 AM
#13
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If you want to see the white villages, I would definitely not bother staying on the coast, personally I found the whole stretch from Malaga to Algeciras way too built up and touristy. Instead I would stay in or near the villages themselves. We spent a couple of months there last year checking out small special hotels and cottages to rent in the area - you can read detailed reviews of our favourites on www.i-escape.com click on Spain: andalucia on the homepage.
Apr 2nd, 2002, 05:34 AM
#14
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Nikkit..would love to check out the site you refer to - i-escapes but it keeps bombing when I pull it up. When I am able to get it, the page is all screwy. Is there something wrong with this website? I would love to stay in the white villages but can't find any info on accommodations.
Apr 2nd, 2002, 07:28 AM
#15
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Hubbyhates -- you are correct that Las Dunas is pretty pricey, but hey, it was our honeymoon.<BR><BR>As for your question about Estepona, I didn't see any real town to speak of. Maybe we missed it. It seemed to me to be more self-contained resorts (like Las Dunas) and condos/timeshares, often around golf courses. If you husband truly hates crowds, it might be a good option for you. We felt like we were far from the madding crowd.
