Where in Costa del Sol for February holiday?

[traceyal]

We're hoping to have a dry sunny week somewhere in Costa del Sol with my husband and 2yr old and 6yr old daughters. We recognise that swimming in sea and sunbathing will be out of the question. We just want to escape the dull drizzle.

We've not been to the area before so looking for recommendations of an area and possibly a hotel.

We want a 4 or 5 hotel on a B&B basis. We enjoy eating evening meals on the beach/promenade. We know February will be quiet but don't want to stay somewhere that is dead/closed down. . .. . but nor do we want any of the cheesey tourist tack that the area has historically been known for.

All recommendations appreciated! Thanks

This is handy for the airport and the resort will be open in feb

www.amaragua.com/en/

We went to the Costa Del Sol in February and had a week of showers & drizzle. It isn't guaranteed to be either warm or dry, so it's a bit risky at that time of year.

Málaga would be alright - it's got quite a few museums and galleries and Roman remains and so on, so there's lots to do even if it's raining. Haven't been there earlier than April, though.

Have you looked at Tarifa. We go there regularly as we live part of the year near Gibraltar. There is a fabulous beach, sunbathing possible on a good day in Feb. Lots in the area to see, and Tarifa itself lovely with some good cafes and restaurants and boutique shops. If you hire a car for the week, about 100e, there is Jerez about an hour away with the andalucian horse show, Gibraltar about 45 min with the monkeys and an English cinema and ice rink, a ferry trip across to Ceuta on the African coast, although under Spanish rule. Canada near Marbella for shopping or old Marbella and orange square for shopping too, about 1hr and 10min away. You can fly into gibraltar and pick up a car at the airport. Flights from 30 pound. British airways or easy jet. There is also Cadiz and Seville within 2 hours. Have stayed at meson de sancho but probably not great for you as about 5km outside tarifa. Might also be able to try kite surfing as popular there.

Marbella - beach, promenade, Old Town - is lovely. No guarantees for weather, but average rain for Feb is only 5 days. We had 2 weeks in mid-April once; average for April is 4 days, but we only had 1, and the sand was too hot to walk on sometimes! It’s called Costa del Sol for a reason

www.andalucia.com/marbella/home.htm

You could also consider Nerja. It’s not Costa del Sol as such - it’s east of Malaga, on the Costa Tropical.

www.andalucia.com/nerja/home.htm

From Nerja you could easily have a day trip to Granada, which is boiling in the summer but should be mild & pleasant in Feb. It’s only about an hour, mostly good motorway.

Also there’s a ski resort near Granada in the Sierra Nevada, if you fancy a bit of snowballing

For either place Malaga is really the best airport - loads of cheap flights - & good cheap car rentals too. We usually use www.malagacar.com
Local company, good prices, & well-sited at the edge of the airport near the motorway so easy to get in & out (they take you in a minibus from the terminal)

(We always do self-catering so can’t help with hotels)

Malaga city is great, but don't rule out the larger resorts like fuengirola and benalmadena, as they are completely different in low season. We've been to all 3 in Easter and had lovely holidays.