Scouting Costa Blanca & Costa del Sol

First things first - the train only goes as far as Fuengirola once past Malaga going west.
I lived on a boat for 12 years just the other side of Estepona, so my experience is that side of Malaga.
There is a fair amount of coastal development, but it is not high rise or spreading too far inland.
Estepona is charming and largely unspoilt.
There are white towns inland from there that have a creative expat community eg Gaucin.
Going back eastwards , from Marbella all the way towards Malaga it is high rise tourism.
From my point of view, most unattractive.
The possible exception is Mijas Pueblo (not Costa).
Older houses have thick walls and small windows to keep out the heat.
Modern places and apartments have (largely) individual ac.
Power supplies are pretty good (except for last week!).
Properties inland can be quite good value, as older people are moving down to the coast for modern houses and access to hospitals!
The British expat community has shrunk a bit post Brexit.
You will obviously be doing your homework about residency and taxes.
This forum may help: https://www.costadelsolforum.com/
Or this:https://www.expatforum.com/forums/

We spent five nights in Denia last November and I imagine that small city would be a lovely place to live.

Thank you both for your replies! Duly noted and will report back once we've explored!!

We stayed in Denia for a few days and that area in general seemed very pleasant. In particular in Denia there's building going on - smart apartment blocks but not high rise. Here's some information on places we saw in that area:
https://slowtravelitalyspain.blogspot.com/2025/04/denia-calp-altea-or-javea.html?m=1
Further south Almuñécar where we spent a week one November had a very cosmopolitan feel although a lot of high rise

Hi Christine- your posting sounds like what my husband and I want to do in Feb,2026. Can you share the itineraryu you used, and any recommendations? Thanks!

I can highly recommend POSADA DEL MAR in Denia; historic building across the street from the beach and marina from where the ferries depart to Ibiza.

Two excellent, but very different restaurants in Denia:

EL BARET DE MIGUEL (book well in advance)

PEIX E BRASES (more formal but wonderful; maybe have a Michelin star but it's not at all formal or stuffy)

We spend three nights in Fuengirola and were not very impressed.

knaertsmith, it was a great trip! Adored Barcelona- especially views from Park Guell and seeing the Palau de Musica- got an impromptu pipe organ performance the afternoon we went probably b/c school kids were on a tour :) spent three days there. Everyone was friendly- no tourist hate at all.
As mentioned we trained it everywhere and it was straightforward. Next stop was Valencia- interesting city but not for our purposes. I will say for the infrastructure that Spain has, no public toilets (or very few) came as a surprise. It seems like such an easy fix for a country that has brilliant social and safety nets. 2 days in Valencia. I'd skip and go straight to Alicante which was a charming, walkable city. We stumbled onto a celebration of some saint outside of a church and the music, dancers and banners were amazing! It was one of the highlights of the trip. Of course we went to all the main food markets- loved the one in Alicante and sat down for lunch at a stall with incredible little sandwiches- all fantastic. Only spent 2 days in Alicante when at least a third was warranted.
Next we trained to Malaga and loved it as well- just walking around, grazing and enjoying this gem of a beachside city. The beach itself wasn't anything to shout about but the vibe here was lovely! The Alcazaba and Museo Carmen Thyssen were intriguing visits.
We took a bus to Estepona and wish we had budgeted more time for that- it was just an overnight but absolutely loved Estepona! For the record, they understood the assignment when it came to public toilets as they had them on the beach and it wasn't even summer. Beautiful town, good food and the best shrimp fritters at Chiringuito Paco right on the beach.
took a bus back to Malaga for an overnight stay before training it up to Madrid for another overnight before flying back to the US. It was a great vacation and helped us decide that while Spain is a gorgeous country with so much to recommend it, it is no longer on our short list for places to settle in the EU. Hope this helps!

We took a bus to Estepona and wish we had budgeted more time for that- it was just an overnight but absolutely loved Estepona!

I'm glad you loved Estepona. We've just returned from a week there (we visit annually) and it was as pleasant as always. As usual we enjoyed excellent food at Casa Doña Jerónima located in the gorgeous Plaza de las Flores.

For anyone whose experience of the Costa Del Sol is of high rise hotels and golf courses I suggest giving Estepona a visit as it's a world away from the over developed tourist spots and instead retains all the beauty of traditional Andalusia.

I understand people disliking the stretch of tourist towns heading west from Málaga, but I absolutely love Torremolinos. Just find the somewhat raucous and cheesy character of the place to be charming. Plus it's easy to get a full English breakfast.