The Costa del Sol stretches along just over 150 km of Malaga province and is one of Spain's most popular tourist destinations. The area's mild climate is the root attraction that makes it possible to enjoy the beaches and a wide variety of outdoor activities year round.
The mild climate, infrequency of rainfall and the sea breeze make for semitropical vegetation in which palm and cypress trees, bougainvillaea, oleander and hibiscus are common. The proximity of such different landscapes -the mountain, the valleys blanketed in vegetable gardens and the sea- is, without a doubt, one of the greatest attractions of this coastline which combine all the appeal of the Mediterranean landscape and culture.
The eastern Costa del Sol is the 54 km stretch of coast to the east of Malaga city (the capital of Malaga province). Though highly developed from a property point of view, it is not anything like the property development on the western Costa del Sol.
From Malaga eastwards there are cliffs of up to 200 meters where the Sierra Almijara joins the sea. This section ends at a place called Mara, on a coastal plain. It has an urban landscape surrounded by traditional agriculture.
Nerja is the most important urban centre on this end of the coast and has grown rapidly. Much of the eastern Costa del Sol's accommodation for tourists is found in Nerja, which is surrounded by tourist pueblos. This town also has one of this area's main tourist attractions - the Nerja Caves, a spectacular find that is open to the public and that hosts an annual music and dance festival within its famous caverns. At the foot of Nerja town a winding footpath joins several coves and there are some nice beaches to be found in this area.
The western Costa del Sol is the 100 km of coastline that begins at Malaga city and stretches westward all the way to the border of Cádiz province. This part of the coast is highly developed in terms of both property and infrastructure and it attracts an important percentage of Spain's international tourism. Communications revolve around Malaga International Airport (8 km west of the city) and the N340 backbone coast highway. In the middle of the Costa the greatly improved district road from San Pedro de Alcantara inland to the historic town of Ronda is the most important inland connection.