hi all!
we will be in marbella august 22-sept.11. can anyone tell me what the weather may be like? do i need to bring a jacket or sweater for evenings? also, are there any town "fiestas" during that time? any recommendations as to restaurants or bars? wow, those are a lot of questions!! thanks for any information!!

Hi lamar. The weather will be hot during the day, sometimes reaching 100º, but more often than not late eighties, early nineties. Very pleasant, but watch the sun as it is quite strong! The evenings are a bit cooler and in September you may need a sweater or jacket, but only occasionally. It's summer

The old town is full of restaurants and tapas bars and bodegas and so on. Be careful of the ones around Orange Square, because although as they are in a lovely location, prices can be high. One of the best restaurants is round the corner from there and is called La Pesquera where the fish and seafood are great.

The paseo maritimo, or promenade, is also a nice place to stroll on an evening and there are some good places in the streets leading down to it from the main road. Just wander the streets and you will find a multitude of excellent places.

There aren't any fiestas as far as I am aware and the Marbella feria, or major fiesta, is always in early June. But the town hall are always putting on different events in summer and to see what is happening you should keep an eye on the www.surinenglish.com for news or in Spanish, the daily www.diariosur.es

Must sees in the area are places like Mijas, Puerto Banus - the flea market there on a Saturday is interesting and a good place for gifts (for anyone who likes fleas, that is ) Go to the village of Benahavis for a meal one evening if you have a car. It will take you about 25 minutes to drive there, but worth it. You'll love it - it's a great place!

I just came back from Marbella, and other areas. But I found it very chilly in Marbella, too chilly to even lay out. The water is very cold to swim in at the sea so hope your hotel has a pool. I found the area is much better suited for golfers or the over 35 year old crowd. We cut our two weeks there short and drove up to costa blanca. The people are not in as high an income bracket but the beaches have nice white sand and the water is warm.

I will put out my full report on my trip sometime this week...

Silvy

Where you in Marbella, Spain?? Or are you normally used to temperatures much higher than the nineties plus that we have had here for the last couple of months?

The water is cold though, I agree. We normally go to Tarifa, where it is warmer and the beaches just don't compare to the Costa del Sol.

There are thousands of young people who disagree that you think it is an "oldie and golfer's place" though. The night life is out there somewhere At least my aching head tells me so on a regular basis!

Anchovy (Who can't afford to play golf, as he is certainly not rich, nor a member of the jet-set )

Anchovy,

I was in Marbella, Spain.
I was hoping that at night I would be able to wear a tank top and miniskirt to go out but I had to take a long sleeve shirt along since in the evening it got chilly.

But I go to Vegas often and the 95F at night is the way I like it so I may have expected warmer temps. But in the Costa Blanca it was almost 80F at night and I liked it that way.

As far as young people not agreeing with me, they need to go see Benidrom to really see nightlife. I did like Olivia Volare very much though!!! That was the most beautifull nightclub I have seen in my life, but at $50 per person I could not go there every night. I still cant beleive I spent $200 on club entry fees during a weeklong stay.

Silvy

sylvie
i am curious to read your trip report as i am going to spend 3 weeks in marbella next month. i admit you've got me slightly worried about the weather as i have bought all summer clothes. is it really that boring? can you recommend any restaurants or bars? thanks!!

Hey Silvy, I'm in LA too, sounds like I need to be partying with you! Seriously though, I'm embarking on Spain trip in Fall and am interested in knowing other places you visited besides Marbella and any other details/insights you'd be able to share. Feel free to email me: bstark@webtaha.com. What part of LA are you in by the way? I'm in Venice. Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom and names of hot spots!

Hi Sylvy! I can see that Benidorm would suit you much better. Sorry if I sounded a bit defensive about my turf, but I couldn't see how you could be chilly and "bored". Olivia's is a great place, but expensive, I agree. It's the same if you go to Ibiza, which is the clubbing capital of Europe, as the saying goes. Maybe consider there, next time? Have a look at this link http://www.hispaniconline.com/lstyles/travel/spn.html

lamar, I'm sure there are others apart from me who don't find Marbella boring. As for temperatures, well most people are glad that it cools down a bit at night, but Silvy likes it 95º and sleeps (during the day
;)) in an oven Everyone is wearing short sleeves at night right now, although I STILL refuse to wear a mini skirt!

I can 100% vouch for AF's warm recommendation for visiting Marbella -
When I was there - too many months ago - he insisted that Marbella had changed and was well worth a visit. Based on my many-years ago recollections of Marbella - he really had some convincing to do.

Yes - Marbella still is jammed with a lot of "touristy" stuff - including the blocks and blocks of high-rise stores - BUT the Old Town is packed with charm and ambience; the beaches a lot cleaner and cared for - The key to experiencing the many positive aspects of Marbella is to get off the main drag and explore.

Have a greta trip!

[ 07-19-2001: Message edited by: Puna ]

I did not think you were defensive with your reply. Actually I should have researched more about what the area offered rather than expect it to fill my needs alone.

But Marbella is not ugly with high rises as much as Benidorm or some of the other overdeveloped places. In fact the old town is so charming I was there most of my time. I even checked on the price of some of the homes up in the old town area. If I lived there I'd be OK with the temps but it may have been a storm up north that brought breezy conditions in the evening.

I actually like the glitz and glamour the area has. Benidorm seems more like low budget travel packages. AF I envy you for living there and coming back to LA woke me up as to how ugly this place really is.

I was in Vegas this weekend and will be in North Carolina next week for work so my trip report may be a week late..sorry.

Some pictures of it are here though...

Some of the pictures may be a bit cheeky but my friend took them and stuck them all up there so if you don't care for them sorry. I will have my more touristy pictures up there soon though.

Silvy Silvy in Spain