Puerto Marina is the heart of Benalmadena Costa. It can accomodate more than 1000 moorings, and it is used on a daily by numerous boats, with all the services offered by a modern world class Yachting Marina. The port consists of leisure, commercial and residential facilities and is situated just 10km from Malaga´s international airport, which in turn is within 3 hours flying time from most european capital cities. Its been named the best Marina in the World, several times over the years and since 1987 has continually been awarded the European Blue Flag for its excellent services and clean waters.

Puerto Marina in Benalmadena has a special design which incorporates artificial islands giving this modern yachting harbour an avant-garde international flavour. Also with the blessed climate with an average annual temperature of 22º and around 320 days of sunshine and you have many people’s idea of utopia.

During the daytime you can visit the Sea Life Centre, hire a boat and endulge in a plethora of water sports activities, including; sailing, scuba diving, kayaking, and water skiing.

You can also wander through the streets of the busy port, with its many shops and boutiques, and choose from the huge array of restaurants and bars for lunch. For people who wish to try out Spanish ‘tapas’ there are many terrace bars to choose from, where you can sample many types of fish and other delicacies.

For people wishing to relax and take things at a more leisurly pace, Puerto Marina also has a fantastic beach with sunbeds and parasols for you to relax under and soak up the sun and the atmosphere of this special part of the mediterranean.

For the livelier and more energetic types, nightime is a must in Puerto Marina, you really are spoilt for choice in terms of evening entertainment. Start with drinks in anyone of the many classy and trendy bars. As the sunsets and the restaurants and bistro’s start to fill up, Puerto Marina caters for virtually any taste in dining. You will not be disappointed if you are fish lover, there are plenty of fish restaurants cooking the freshest catches of the day scattered all over the marina. You will also find fine Spanish, Italian, French, and Chinese dining experiences throughout the busy maze of streets.

Later into the night there are disco bars and nightclubs, for the young or young at heart to enjoy and dance the night away, that contribute to the electric atmosphere of this mediterranean port.

The harbour itself provides excellent services such as: Shipyard, Sailing school, Diving school and Nautical school. There exists a wide program of activities such as regattas, fishing and nautical competitions amongst others.

The Marina’s Centro Náutico was established to provide a place where sailing enthusiasts could meet up and arrange and enter sporting events. The centre also has social and formal meeting places, a restaurant and shops selling sailing and yachting equipment.

When you are visiting the Costa Del Sol region, Puerto Marina in Benalmadena is a must see and needs to be somewhere at the top of your “things to do” list.

Love it or hate it – Patong is Phuket’s playground. People flock to Patong for a variety of reasons. For some, it’s the beach – although the beach in Patong is definitely nothing to get excited about. For others, it’s the nightlife, which is definitely something worth getting excited about. Patong is overdeveloped, it’s noisy and it’s full of people, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a great time there.

Without wanting to make too many sweeping generalizations, Patong is the favored destination of single, Western males. Some travel alone while others might go with friends. Remember: Patong is a playground. The nightlife in Patong is about as interesting as you will find on the island. However, the scene is developing.

For a long time, if you mentioned nightlife in Patong to most people, they’d have immediately thought of go-go bars and bar girls. All of that still exists, but the nightlife scene in Patong is now a lot more diverse than it used to be.

Patong now has dance clubs and salsa bars, jazz clubs and trendy hangouts. There is, though, still no escaping the fact that Patong has far too many beer bars. If having Thai bar girls flaunt themselves in front of you is what you’re after then Soi Bangla will be like a little slice of heaven.

With regards to the beach in Patong, it may have been a scenic area before, but it’s now full of parasols and sun loungers and people trying to get you to rent jet-skis. Other annoyances include people selling ice creams, people offering massages and people trying to draw henna tattoos while you’re sunbathing.

If you’re a foodie then Patong will provide you with a few surprises. Although the food can be expensive, just take a walk along the street and you’ll see just how many great restaurants there are in the area. All tastes are catered to, although there are perhaps a few too many Italian restaurants.

One gripe about Patong is the tuk-tuk drivers. Half of them are honest folk just trying to make a living, but the other half are scoundrels who should be given a wide berth. There have been numerous cases of tuk-tuk drivers becoming very aggressive with people who park in “tuk-tuk zones”, which really don’t exist. The tuk-tuk drivers in Patong have a monopoly over public transport because every time the authorities try and do something about the situation, the tuk-tuk drivers block the streets with their vehicles.

Overall, Patong is a great party destination with an average beach and lots of beautiful Thai women. Heaven or hell? You decide.