After the Maratón de Estepona: Marbella

The Route: Estepona → Marbella → Estepona Logistics: Avanza coastal bus, about 45 minutes each way. Flat walking on the seafront, gentle slopes in the old town. Marathon Month: October Duration: Day trip

Estepona bus station ──(about 45 mins Avanza)──> Marbella ──(about 45 mins)──> Estepona bus station

The Maratón de Estepona is run almost entirely along the sea, and the day after the race, the flattest outing within reach is more of the same. Marathon legs do not need new terrain. Marbella, the next large town east along the Costa del Sol, has a long level promenade and a compact old town that can be walked in an hour.

October in Marbella is still warm, usually in the low to mid-twenties in the afternoon, and the beaches are open with far fewer people than in summer. Sea temperatures are at their autumn best, warm enough for a short swim for anyone whose legs want cold water. Rain is possible but short-lived.

Avanza buses run along the coast from Estepona's bus station to Marbella through the day, taking about 45 minutes and costing a few euros. Tickets are sold at the station or on board. Get off at the stop for the town centre on Avenida Ricardo Soriano. Marbella's main bus station is on the hill above town, a long walk from the old quarter.

The old town

Marbella's Casco Antiguo sits a few streets back from the sea. Its centre is the Plaza de los Naranjos, a square planted with orange trees and laid out after the Christian conquest at the end of the fifteenth century, with the town hall and a small chapel on its sides. The lanes around it are narrow and whitewashed, hung with flower pots, and slope gently. The Church of the Incarnation, a short walk away, is the largest building in the old quarter.

It is a place to sit in a café in the square. An hour covers it comfortably.

The seafront

From the old town, walk down Avenida del Mar, a pedestrian street lined with bronze sculptures by Salvador Dalí, to the Paseo Marítimo. The seafront promenade runs for several kilometres in both directions, level and paved, with benches, beach bars and the sea on one side. Walk east towards the marina or west as far as the legs agree, and turn back when they complain. Taxis are easy to find along the front.

Lunch and the return

Fried fish, espetos of sardines grilled on skewers over an open fire on the beach, and cold soups are the staples of the Costa del Sol in autumn. The beach bars along the promenade and the restaurants in the old town are open through October. Buses back to Estepona run until the evening; check the last departure before a long lunch.