Calahonda is located 40km from Malaga international airport and is situated between Fuengirola and Marbella in the municipal of Mijas Costa. Over the last 40 years Calahonda has grown to a small village in size and is a real favourite with families, couples, retirees, golfers and groups of younger holidaymakers. For the prospective homebuyer, Calahonda has just the right balance of Britishness and Spanishness with a wide choice of properties that are reasonably priced and close to Malaga airport
Calahonda has become one of the most popular holiday destinations on the Costa del Sol. The attraction lies in the areas mix of holiday villas, townhouses and apartments, numerous golf courses and many other leisure facilities, including the beach and nearby marina at Cabopino and the village of La Cala just a 5 minute drive away to the East.
The area is extremely popular with overseas visitors, mainly from the UK, offering a home from home sensation in the Spanish sunshine. Essentially self-sufficient, there is a wide choice of accommodation provided by both privately owned and time-share properties spanning from the hillside to the beach. Even though it is highly developed, one of Calahonda’s attractions is its access to green and rustic spaces, including golf courses, campsites and pine forests. Yet, it should be said, if you are looking for a more quite undeveloped area then Calahonda may not be where you should be looking to buy.
To attempt to define Calahonda is like trying to define the Costa del Sol itself. Blessed with beautiful weather, straddling the thin strip of land between rugged mountains and the silky shimmer of the Mediterranean and attracting plenty of tourists each year, Calahonda is a firm favourite with families, couples, retirees, golfers and groups of younger holidaymakers. For the prospective homebuyer, Calahonda has just the right balance of Britishness and Spanishness to make it worth investigating, with a wide choice of properties that are reasonably priced and close to Málaga airport.
The urbanisations, golf courses and private residences stretch for miles inland, over some of the region’s most gently undulating terrain. Its geographical makeup has helped Calahonda create a distinct community of expats, drawn from Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia and large parts of South America, yet it is the Brits who have stamped their culture most noticeably on the place.
If you are looking for a rental investment or just a home from home in the sun Calahonda Contains a large number of British and Irish bars, British supermarkets and every kind of British (or at least English-speaking) businesses including dentists, vets, builders, TV companies and hairdressers. For those looking to dip their toe into the water with a rental investment/holiday home then you won’t go too far wrong with this mature and well developed area of the Costa del Sol.
Calahonda is an ideal location for young families and the beaches can get crowded in the school summer holidays, so an early start is recommended for those hoping to spend a day catching some rays. Along the beach are plenty of well-priced eateries, serving everything from fresh fish and seafood to your more typical burgers, pizzas and pasta dishes. The few bars that front the promenade are extremely welcoming with a distinct European feel in most.
ATTRACTIONS
Eating
Over the main road via the pedestrian bridge there are several commercial centres and here you will find banks and plenty of stores, including a couple of large supermarkets like Lidl and Super Sol. You can also find an abundance of restaurants offering almost every type of food you could wish for.
Shopping
Calahonda has three main shopping areas; Calypso, El Zoco and Doña Lola, a large beachside complex with tennis, swimming, shops, a restaurant and a bar. Just a 5 minute walk to the east, you’ll find Calypso, which has a selection of useful shops including a tobacconist, internet café, restaurant, bank, hair salon, and a petrol station. El Zoco is probably the most well-known, of Calahonda’s commercial centres and it has the widest choice of the eateries, bars and shops, including Supersol and veterinary clinic and a taxi rank.
Sports and Outdoor Activities
As you would expect from a popular sunshine holiday destination, Calahonda offers a wide array of outdoor activities, including sailing, water sports, padel and tennis courts – the Klaus Hofsäss Tennis Academy – and of course golf. There is also a good selection of gyms, health clubs, classes and swimming pools.
Golf courses in Calahonda
- Miraflores Golf Club – 18-hole golf course designed by Falco Nardi, driving range, restaurant & bar La Siesta Golf: Designed by Enrique C Busquet, 9-hole, par 27
- La Cala Nova Golf – 18 holes, 72 par, 5 minutes from La Cala de Mijas
Beaches
- Artola / Cabo Pino beach: Although officially part of Marbella, this beach is extremely close to Calahonda. It is also a nudist beach, with plenty of facilities including sunbeds, umbrellas and spas.
- Calahonda beach: Located directly opposite the entrance to Sitio de Calahonda, it has ramp access, beach bars, popular with everyone from families to scuba divers and for fishing too.
- La Luna: A smaller more private beach with its own beach hut and shower facilities.
- Playa Artola: Widely known as the ‘punto ladrones’ due to the Torre Ladrones watch tower. It is the only beach not to be affiliated with an urbanisation, it is also one of the prettiest and the sand dunes are protected as a natural monument.
- Puerto Cabopino: Popular day and night; soft sand, lots of restaurants, plenty of parking, toilets, showers, sunbeds and shades.
FACTS AND FIGURES
How to get there
- A-7 motorway (toll road): Provides a high speed link with the rest of the Costa del Sol and Malaga Airport
- N-340 coast road: Links all of the towns running the entire length of the coast.
- Nearest airport Malaga 40km
The English International School (EIC)- Approximately 10 minutes by car, is one of the highly regarded and best known international schools on the Costa del Sol.
Las Chapas – Spanish school for girls
Ecos – Spanish school for boys.
Grupo Attendis – Catholic school
Calahonda International College (CIC) – English schools offer GCSE exams.
There is also the option of the state schools located in La Cala de Mijas which provides a free bus service from Calahonda.