Puerto Banus-Marbella Spain Costa del Sol
52
Cruises availables
At departure or passage at this port
Explora Journeys (3 Cruises)
Seabourn Cruise Line (6 Cruises)
Star Clippers (9 Cruises)
Frequently Asked Questions
Only small ships can berth in the marina; the rest anchor offshore and tenders land passengers right inside the basin. The setting registers the moment you step off.
No, and that is the surprise. What looks like a white village weathered by centuries was built in 1970 to the plans of developer José Banús. The illusion works, but the marina is under sixty years old.
A full walk out and back along the main quay, then the trip into old Marbella for the Plaza de los Naranjos and the casco antiguo. That is the real content of the day: the marina takes an hour to look at, the old town rewards time.
Hulls tens of metres long, crews polishing decks from early morning, exceptional cars parked as if on display, and boutiques from the big fashion names. The marina holds some 900 berths and remains, technically, a working pleasure port.
A paseo marítimo links the two along roughly eight kilometres of beaches and gardens. Taxis and buses cover the whole distance in about fifteen minutes; walkers can do as much of it as they feel like.
The old quarter, a tangle of whitewashed lanes spilling with bougainvillea. Plaza de los Naranjos is its heart: rows of orange trees, a Renaissance town hall, an old chapel and terraces where time slows. It is the perfect counterweight to the chrome on the pontoons.
Yes. Avenida del Mar, at the entrance to the old centre, displays a series of Salvador Dalí bronzes in the open air. Further on, the Museum of Contemporary Spanish Engraving, in a sixteenth-century palace, holds works by Picasso, Miró and Dalí.
Yes. Sand beaches run either side of the basin, equipped with chiringuitos, sun loungers, showers and playgrounds. It is one of the easiest calls on this coast for a beach day.
The espeto, a sardine skewer cooked over flames in sand-filled boats full of embers, or pescaíto frito, Andalusian fried fish served in a paper cone. The beach chiringuitos make a speciality of both, and a cold white finishes the picture.
Yes, above all on the beach side. The marina holds children's attention for only a few minutes, whereas the sand, the playgrounds and the beach shacks fill an afternoon effortlessly. The tender operation does ask for some patience with small children.
