El Faro, Mijas

Has anyone any knowledge of this area,

We are hoping to be able to spend some extended time there soon (let 2 buy) and really dont know the area. We once viewed a small villa there 10 years ago and bought elsewhere and apart from driving past it on the coast road just dont know this end of Fuengirola/ Mijas costa. We have only been to the Mirmar? centre once.

Is it a tourist area of mixed tourist / full timers?  The community pool looks quite good and the fees are low so just woundered what the place it generally kept like? Can you walk along a prom the whole way to Fuengirola once you have crossed the foot bridge. Places to eat and drink? Whats the small beach area like?

Any info a great help

I live in El Faro and think you must be thinking of the wrong place if you think it's mostly Spanish.

El Faro itself is a mixture of British, Irish, Scandinavians, Germans and Spanish. In other words everyone.

There are some good bars and restraunts with plenty of choice on Playa Marina.

Let me know if you need any info.

Neil.

Sorry I perhaps didnt make it clear enough but the comments shown in italics were from a "private message" i got about this subject shortly after posting. Thanks for the update on the mix.

Is there a good element of full timers in El Faro?  and how busy does it get at the height of the season?

What is the walk like across the footbridge and along the prom to fuengirola ? Is playa marina the small beach area near the footbridge?

Any info you can give is appreciatted as I say apart from driving past i really dont know it.

I dont see the big thing about walking along a daul carriagway when you are behind a barrier and on a concrete type path with another barrier between you and the sea forming a path.

Have they now installed footbridges and paths behind barriers on the M1? i seem to remember that the coast road along the Benalmadena stretch is daul lane with footpaths all the way and NO barriers

I can see from google earth there is a path , bus stops and many people walking along ( behind the barriers ) towards Fuengirola but simply wanted to know if it was a complete path / prom and what sort of walk it was, whether it was illuminated at night  etc,

Wierd how all those people get to the beach and bars along there, you obviously dont.

Thanks for your input

John,

I don't think you know the area that well as there is a beach bar / restaurant at at Calaburras which you get to by going under a tunnel.
It's not cheap but the food and location is one of the best I've been to.

There is also a good beach which gets very busy in summer.

There are also another 2 beach bars before you get to the castle near the Biatriz Palce Hotel.

Also there is the El Faro de Calaburra Fish Restaurant at the El Faro turn off.

.El Faro is a quiet are (Although it does have it's moments!) with a large number of permanent residents.

Neil.

John,

I was simply asking for advice on the area from people that know it

I can google and search the net but there is nothing better than people's constructive comments and advice that live close by to give you a head start on the area,

Are you stating that " Villa Tropicana "  Beach Restaurant has closed or been knocked down?

36°30'37.90" N   4°38'09.39" W

Thanks Neil for the info, pleased to hear there are a large number of permanent residents and we will search the beach bars out, have you tried the restaurant / bars actually on the community / pool area

Are there any good tapas served locally? waking distance and what sort of braodband speeds should we get in the area?

Hi Manyarna,

I've just driven past Villa Tropicana and there were people sat outside.

The restaurants in El Faro near the community pool are:-

Dona Maria - Good Spanish bar for food and drink and cheap!

El Patio - Posh German Restaurant.

Carlton - Briish Bar.

Also there is a Spupermarket which sells all British / German / Scandanavian Produce.

There are many more bars and restaurants on Playa Marina which is a 10 minute walk.

I've lived in El Faro for 8 years so I know the place well.

Neil

P.S Dona Maria is my local.

I lived in La Cala de Mijas so not too far away from El Faro, but I know one of my neighbours had many friends that lived there. Every year there was, not sure if still is a big charity do there. Many times we have walked up the dual carriageway path, and although nervious when we first did it, there is nothing to feel scared about.

There is also a local bus from Fuengirola that goes to El Faro, as well as the normal Fuengirola to Marbella bus.  Karen

Thanks Neil,  I wish i was sat outside there right now!  just the info I wanted to know about the places to eat though .    Is Dona Maria open all year round?  I have pm'd you about broadband.

Thanks Karen, I am getting the impression its quite a nice area with a good permanent element.     I can imagine it takes some getting used to walking along the path with traffic rumbling by but as John said hopefully the new 80kph may take effect once the Gaurdia start to generate extra revenue.  Its not something we will do every day but it is nice to be able to walk places now and again.

Yeah I know how you feel, we are waiting to move back to La Cala, just a few things to sort out here first

 We walked for miles over there and in fact one day got the train to Carvajal and walked right back to Fuengirola, stopped for lunch in between.

Also if you intend to use buses you can get a travel card from tobacconist. It costs about €3 and you put money on it, it reduces the cost from when we were there normal fare was €1.10 and card cost was 77 cents. Any number of people can use the card and they return your €3 if you give it back. It also lets you know the balance on your ticket so you know when to top up again. 

Travel is so cheap in Spain that we didn't feel the need to have a car.   Karen