Things to do in Marbella with kids

Benahavis 2017

When you think of visiting Marbella – or ‘Marbs’ as it’s often referred to – you perhaps don’t immediately think of it being particularly family friendly. Whilst there are the fair share of stag and hen dos, there’s also plenty to do in Marbella with kids. Here’s our roundup of things to do in Marbella with kids.

We’ve been visiting the Marbella area of the Costa Dol Sol for over five years now and one of the things that surprised me is that Marbella is actually quite a big area. Although there is an old town in Marbella, when people use the term ‘Marbella’, more often than not they are actually referring to Puerto Banus, which sits next to the old town area of Marbella.

For this post, we have included a range of activities that are all within a 15 minute drive of the Puerto Banus area.

The beach

Things to do with kids in MarbellaMost kids love the beach and in Marbella there are plenty to choose from. Two of our favourites are Pedro’s Beach, which is where a number of trendy beach clubs (Ocean Beach, La Sala by the Sea) are located; and Avenida de la Playa S/N, situated a 5-10 minute drive from Puerto Banus.

At Pedro’s Beach there is usually an inflatable area, which Oscar loves to go on. We also like to have drinks and lunch at La Sala by the Sea, which although attracts the young and trendy crowd, is very child-friendly and has some great lunch choices. It is on the pricey side though. Alternatively, you could take lunch with you, or grab lunch at one of the many restaurants in the town.

Avenida de la Playa  S/N, is a bit of a hideaway and is mainly occupied by Salduna Beach Club. I’m not a beach fan, but I love it here as it feels like a real treat (check out their website and you’ll see what I mean). It’s definitely worth paying the €20 for a sunbed for the day (book ahead if you can). You receive a towel to use and a complimentary bottle of water, plus you can use the toilets inside the restaurant.  Throughout the day you can order drinks, which are delivered to your lounger and you can also order food, which they’ll bring to you or you can eat in the beautiful restaurant. The food is on the pricey side, but when we’re on holiday I think it’s worth splurging on treats like these. A day at the beach has never gone so fast!

Benahavis

We always stay in Benahavis when we visit Marbella. You can read more about the village here.

Benahavis, things to do with kids in MarbellaBenahavis is a 10 minute drive away from Puerto Banus and has some fabulous rock pools, which our kids love exploring. Bigger kids might want to jump into the deeper rock pools, although we’ve not let ours do that yet. We normally take little fishing nets and see if we can catch anything.

There are also a couple of fantastic parks, which are great for the kids to play in. And if you visit late afternoon, make sure head into the village for a g&t and some tapas or dine at one of restaurants, they’re all very child-friendly.

Horse riding

Ranch Siesta Los Rubios is located between Puerto Banus and Estepona and offers private hacks into the surrounding countryside, lessons in the yard or pony experiences for younger kids. We were going to try it out during our last visit but it was just too hot. They owners, who I believe are english, were lovely to deal with though and I’ve heard lots of great things about it.

Things to do with kids in Marbella

Puerto Banus Marina

A stroll around Puerto Banus Marina, is always a great way to spend an afternoon. Our kids love looking at the big boats and cars, plus there’s plenty of ice cream shops! If you really wanted to push the boat out (no pun intended!), there’s also a McDonalds close by, which always goes down well with our three.

From the marina you can also catch a catamaran across the bay to Marbella old town. It’s about a 20 minute ride, each way. We did a couple of years ago and the kids loved it, although I didn’t at all as it was very rocky on the trip back!

Selwo Aventura/Zoo

We’ve never visited this place, in fact we didn’t even know it existed until our last visit. It’s located near Estepona and is apparently a mix between a zoo and a safari park. It sounds like there are lots of different animals to see, safari tours and meet the keeper sessions, all of which will be a winner with the kids. This place is definitely on our list to visit next year!

We hope you find this suggestions helpful. We’d love to hear your suggestions of things to do with kids in Marbella.

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