Guide to San Pedro de Alcantara

San Pedro de Alcantara is the perfect holiday destination for those who want easy access to a wealth of first class tourist facilities whilst still enjoying the flavour of a traditional Andalucian town.

It’s not as glitzy as nearby Marbella and Puerto Banus and certainly not as fast paced and Brit-orientated as some of the Costa del Sol’s livelier resorts such as Torremolinos.

But San Pedro de Alcantara offers an alluring combination of superb beaches, a charming Old Town, fascinating historic sites and some of the Costa’s best golf courses.

You can eat tasty Andalucian snacks in the traditional tapas bars which pepper the narrow streets of the town centre and watch the fishermen land their catch at dawn after a long night’s work at sea. But you can also enjoy a vast array of thoroughly modern sports, leisure and entertainment facilities which have transformed this former farming community into a major player in the Costa del Sol’s billion-dollar tourism industry.

The origins of San Pedro de Alcantara

The town was established as an agricultural colony back in 1860 when the Marques de Duero set about draining this fertile coastal plain and building a settlement for labourers working in the area’s lucrative cotton and sugar cane plantations. Agriculture was San Pedro’s biggest money spinner until the 1970s when tourism took flight here sparking the rapid development of the beachfront and the construction of numerous holiday complexes, many built around championship golf courses.

Things to do in San Pedro de Alcantara

Guests of the luxurious Guadalmina Golf and Country Club take their pick of the three courses which flank the hotel. High in the mountains behind San Pedro there’s the spectacular Monte Mayor Club at Benhavis which occupies one of the most breathtaking locations of any golf course in Spain. And within easy driving distance of the resort there are more than 10 top clubs including Atalaya, Los Arqueros, La Quinta, El Paraiso and the exclusive Marbella Club.

Besides being a magnet for golfers from all over the world, the resort attracts other sports enthusiasts with facilities which include a riding school, Cable Ski Marbella and a wealth of other water sports along its five-kilometre coastline.

There’s a plentiful supply of international restaurants along with traditional Andalucian eateries serving typical local fare such as the locally caught sardines which are freshly grilled at the beach bars known as chiringuitos.

Two important historic sites attract modern day visitors keen to gain an insight into the area’s colourful past. The local tourist office organises free guided visits to the remains of some third century Roman baths and a nearby basilica built in the 6th century by the Visigoths who controlled most of the Iberian Peninsula after the collapse of the Roman empire. A necropolis with 200 tombs has been unearthed by the basilica along with many ancient treasures now on display in the archaeological museums in Malaga and Marbella.
Developers and construction companies became the area’s new dominant force in the late 20th century as they competed to satisfy the demands of foreign tourists and property seekers. San Pedro has attracted a strong ex-patriate community in recent years and has proved to be a popular choice for buy to let investors.

« Back to our Spanish area guides page