Living in Benahavís: the Costa del Sol seen from the sierra
Benahavís is a small mountain village set among the sierras, a few kilometres inland from the coast. Narrow streets and slopes, and real quiet even in August, which around here is close to a luxury. Living in Benahavís means living a different Costa del Sol.
Who lives in the village
Lifelong residents, and a good number of foreign residents who went looking inland rather than on the coast. Few people passing through: whoever lives here came on purpose.
What daily life is like
A mountain village, with what that brings of both the good and the inconvenient. Quiet all year, and hills.
Shops
The basics are covered in the village, with small shops and a supermarket. For a big shop you drive down to San Pedro or Estepona, a few minutes away.
Schools
There is a school in the village for the early years. After that the usual thing is to go down to the coast, and that is worth factoring in if you have older children: it is a trip you make every day.
The sierra
It is surrounded by mountain, with walking trails and the river. Green space here is not a park: it is the whole sierra.
Getting around, and parking
A car is essential. You drop down to San Pedro on a winding road in ten to fifteen minutes, and from there anywhere. At night you always have to count on that drive.
There are parking areas in the village, but the streets in the centre are narrow and on busy restaurant days it gets complicated.
Eating in Benahavís
The village is known for its restaurants and people come from all over the coast to eat here. Beyond that, the nightlife is what it is: quiet.
The best and the worst of it
The best: quiet, mountain and good food, with the beach a quarter of an hour away.
The worst: you depend on the car for everything, and the winding road down gets long if you do it several times a day. In winter the village goes very quiet, and for some people that is too much. Come up on a Tuesday in January before deciding anything.
