The south of Spain has long been a favourite of ours for winter sun escapes with (and even pre-) the kids. With cheap flights in and out of Malaga, and a host of towns to visit and beaches to enjoy within an hour either side of the airport, each time we go we discover and enjoy something different. Even in school holidays, if you book early enough you can get 4 flights with luggage for under £500.

We’ve been on the beach in both December and February (even in the sea!) so if you are lucky you will enjoy some half decent daytime weather hovering around 20/22 C in February, but don’t forget your jumper and jeans for the evenings – and from April to October you can guarantee a whole lot of sun and a low chance of rain.

The other thing we love about Spain is how family friendly it is. We usually stumble across some family event in the towns we are in, whether it is a procession for carnival, face painting, balloon modelling, or street entertainers and we are always welcomed to join in.

Here’s our favourite family favourite places to see and stay on the southern Spanish coast.

Nerja

Nerja has always been one of our favourite towns to both stay and visit. It is a beautiful place of narrow cobbled streets filled with local eateries, shops and bars around the old town, plenty of apartments to rent (we always opt for apartment over hotel in Nerja), one long beautiful beach and several smaller coves. Playa Burriana is the standout beach here. It is both long and wide and perfect for families with a gradual slope into the sea, playgrounds on the sand, and a promenade with shops and restaurants for takeaway pizzas, sandwiches, ice creams etc. And during the winter months it is not at all busy! The walk down to the beach is quite steep, mostly noticed when you try to push a pushchair back up at the end of the day, but there is also plenty of parking there is you choose to skip the walk. Burriana beach to the old town is a good 15 minute walk (including the hill) and the main feature of the town is the Balcon de Europa, a square that juts out over the sea giving amazing views of the coastline. From here there are shops and restaurants a plenty, including some very traditional tapas bars.

The main non-beach attraction of Nerja is the Cuevas de Nerja (the caves) which I would whole-heartedly recommend. I was a little sceptical before our visit, but we spent a full morning there and the caves are enormous, much bigger than my expectations. There are several main caverns to explore, and when you are finished inside, there is a lovely playground for picnics and a play. The photos do not do this place justice, it massively surpassed my expectations. Entry is around £15 or you can get a family group ticket for £50.

Nerja is an easy 45-60 minute drive from the airport and you’ll find plenty of reasonably priced apartments on air bnb or booking.com.

Frigiliana

Frigiliana is a town that lies about 15 minutes inland from Nerja and is a favourite of ours for a late afternoon mooch around and a cerveza. There is a bus from Nerja, or if your have a car then drive the windy road up high into the hills and park in the main square. Once again, there are several cafes and restaurants for refreshments, a park, a main square with some incredible views back down towards the coast, and even a little train that costs a couple of ££ for a little tour of this town.

Benalmadena

Back towards Malaga and to the West of the airport, beyond the manic tourist town of Torremolinos, is the port town of Benalmadena. This offers a good balance of quaintness, family friendly activities and a bit of tourist atmosphere. There town is built around the marina where boat spotting always goes down a treat and you can spend your evenings walking all around the marina with restaurants and shops lining the walkways. There is also a long beach, one either side of the marina, which again are gently sloping and perfect for young children whether it’s a calm sea day or with a bit of winter surf for wave jumping.

There are also several attractions here is the weather isn’t on your side which is part of the pull to this town in the winter months. There’s a sealife centre and a butterfly park for indoor wet days, and a beautiful parque de palomas with wild birds and a beast of a playground when it’s maybe not hot enough for the beach. Whilst there are more hotels here than in Nerja, we always opt for an apartment or villa rental, and stock up at the local supermarkets. Benalmadena is also only 15-20 minutes from Malaga airport.

There is also Benalmadena old town, set 10 minutes back from the coast which is definitely worth an explore and enjoy an evening meal at one of the beautiful restaurants here. You’ll find more traditional local food in the old town compared to the coastal ones.

There is a train line for easy non-car exploration and it stops at all the smaller towns along the coast on it’s way to Malaga which is another good city to explore if the weather isn’t delivering on the beach front.

Mijas

Mijas is a beautiful charming town, once again up in the hills and the drive to get there is stunning, if not windy. There is a bus from the coast, and driving is around 25 minutes from Benalmadena. Once you arrive there is plenty of mooching around to be down. You’ll have stunning views of the hills down to the sea again, and the streets are lined with ceramic tiles, colourful flowers and painted houses which brings a happy character to this place. Definitely enjoy a drink whilst taking in the views.

 Estepona

Moving further west towards Marbella is the small town of Estepona which is definitely our preference over the beach club scene of celeb Marbella. Again the beach is long and wide with restaurants and beach bars (chiringuitos) lining the coast, and play areas for the kids to enjoy.

Other places you can visit from this area if you have the time and the inclination are:

Marbella – 1 hour from Malaga Airport

Granada – 1.5 hours from Nerja

Gibraltar – 1.5 hours from Malaga Airport

Seville – 2 hours from Malaga Airport