Absolute Estepona

Mornings are uncomplicated here. A golf academy sits 126 metres from the gate and Estepona Golf is four minutes by car, so a round before lunch is a decision rather than an expedition. The sand is a short walk, roughly 550 metres and Playa de la Galera runs beneath the old Torre de la Sal watchtower, broad and quiet outside high August.

The practical side holds up. There is a supermarket 500 metres away, Mercadona and Aldi within four minutes, a pharmacy three minutes off and the Hospital de Alta Resolución de Estepona at the same distance. Restaurante La Casona is 600 metres from the entrance for evenings when nobody wants to cook, with more choice again along the front.

Estepona port and the old town are nine minutes east, all whitewashed lanes and hanging flowerpots. Puerto de la Duquesa is eleven minutes the other way. Gibraltar sits around 30 km down the coast for short-haul flights and Málaga airport is roughly 70 km in the opposite direction. Average highs of 22.1°C and lows of 15.6°C mean the terraces and gardens are used for most of the year, not just July.