THE GAY FRIENDLIEST COUNTRY
And that was even the theme of papers of sociologists. There are gay organisations that agree, there are others that do not, but one thing is for sure and that is that Spain is great for gay people.
Having lived in the shadow for so long, and under 5 decades of Franco, have turned Spain into a freedom loving country unlike any other. Take that ferry to Tarifa or Algeciras!
From Tarifa to Torremolinos
True, arriving from Tangier you do not immediately spot any difference (apart from the fact that Tarifa is such a lovely town and even the Epicentre of the young and beautiful surf crowd in summer).
But you are in a country where the majority of people could care less about personal orientations or what you exactly do to celebrate life (as long as you celebrate it). So you can start breathing. You do not have to rush to Torremolinos.
Make sure you enjoy Tarifa and its region, the beaches of the Costa de la Luz (the Atlantic coast). The most beautiful and natural beaches of southern Europe, hands down.
Peace and quiet, but with its backpackers, surfers, Tarifa's own clothing labels such as El Nino or Sons of the Desert and even its own typical Tarifa lounge music, you are a long way from the shopping centres and urbanisations for pensioners at the Costa del Sol.
And still it is only a 1,5 hour drive to what is becoming Spain's 4td largest metropolitan area... the string Marbella-Fuengirola-Benalmadena-Torremolinos.
You will find Torremolinos at a 2 hour drive by either bus or car, more or less on the runway of Malaga Airport. This is the Sidges of the south. And if it bores you... Malaga is just half an hour away with the small coastal train.
The beach of Cabopino is right between Marbella and Fuengirola and is a terribly relaxed place, especially in summer.
In Málaga, head for the Plaza de la Merced, which is a nice square with some gay friendly bars, such as La Calle de Bruselas. But with a Torremolinos in the neighborhoud, few people find the enthusiasm to open any gay bar in any other town... the LGBT crowd heads for Torremolinos anyway.
Marbella and Puerto Banus
Trendy and lavish in the 1950's. Now the party is over for Marbella. Nice for a stroll but nothing else.
OK, Puerto Banus is Marbella too, but this time at its most Marbella, up to a point that it almost becomes art.
Welcome to the Highly Stylish Resort for the Highly Unstylish!
Nowadays old aristocracy or modern fashion designers would rather die than to be seen here, but... a must! Yachts that make your eyes pop out, shop for your ensemble of Versace until 2 AM in the morning, or try to spot C-movie stars acting like you have heard from them.
The highest number of facelifts per square meter this side of the Atlantic. Not to be missed!
Transportation
If you can not rent a car, take the bus from Tarifa to Algeciras, and from Algeciras to Marbella.
In Algeciras you will find the bus station at a 10 minute walk from the Ferry Port. The bus to Marbella bus station takes one hour.
In Marbella you can take the bus to Fuengirola. And from Fuengirola you can go anywhere with the coastal train that runs every 40 minutes between Fuengirola-Benalmadena-Torremolinos-Airport-Malaga.
As long as you remain on this part of the costa del sol, you never need any other transport than just this train.
"Malo, malo, malo eres
no se daña que se quiere no.
Tonto, tonto, tonto eres
No te piensas mejor que las mujeres"
MALO, from Bebe.
