Bahia Dorada - Estepona districts
by Sinéad Mangan-Mc Hale
The Bahía Dorada urbanisation is located to the west of Arroyo Vaquero, and to the east of the Buenas Noches district. It is one single large urbanisation built on both sides of the A-7 coast road, giving either coastal or mountain views depending on the location.
The urbanisation was designed in the 1970s by renowned locally based South African architect Aubrey David, to represent a classical Mediterranean holiday village. In addition to designing Bahía Dorada, David also designed Bahía de Casares in the Casares Costa district of Casares municipality and Villas Andaluzas, east of Estepona centre. The ethos behind his designs for these communities was to build homes with open green spaces and community facilities, allowing visitors and residents to enjoy a peaceful coastline retreat away from life in a busy city. His design has become an architectural model for similar urbanisations in the area. Bahía Dorada's urbanisation comprises six phases covering a total area of 240,130 square metres, with an estimated population density that does not exceed 70 inhabitants per hectare. In keeping with his ethos of creating a peaceful coastal village vibe, access to the houses is only by foot, with separate parking lots within the phases. Bahía Dorada encompasses various house styles reflecting a combination of classical Mediterranean and contemporary architectural designs. The urbanisation has six community swimming pools, two tennis courts, and three private parking green areas.
The International Club of Estepona (ICE), a social and cultural club for English-speaking people, is based in Bahía Dorada. The club was established in 1988 and was previously located in Puerto de Estepona but moved in 2001 to a permanent location in Bahia Dorada.
Bahía Dorada is located on both coastal and mountain sides, so its visitors have the choice of two beautiful views. Looking towards the coast across the Mediterranean Sea, there are views of the Rock of Gibraltar and, on a clear day, the silhouette of North Africa. While on the mountain side of Bahía Dorada, the views of Los Reales de Sierra Bermeja (Bermeja mountain range) are beautiful at the best of times, but at sunset, the red-hued mountain is worth seeing.
Beaches
Bahía Dorada Playa (beach) is a narrow beach measuring just 10 metres wide with dark sand and pebbles. Like its neighbouring beach, Playa de la Galera, the rocky seabed makes the beach attractive to those who enjoy scuba diving and fishing. Typically, this beach has a medium to low occupancy.
Watchtowers
Visitors interested in historical sites may like to visit the Torre Arroyo Vaquero (watchtower), built in 1575 to act as a defence system against invaders across the Mediterranean Sea. This tower, one of seven along the Estepona coastline, is 200 metres from the Arroyo Vaquero (Vaquero stream) and can be reached by a public footpath from Calle Moreno Torroba within the urbanisation. With its conical shape, the tower measures 11 metres and was renovated in 1987.
Costa del sol Railway
On of the only remaining relics of the in fated 1894 “Malaga and Gibraltar Railway Company” is the remarkable 400 m tunnel between Estepona and Manilva, that can still be seen today in Bahia Dorada urbanisation. Detailed plans also exist for a bridge over the Arroyo Vaquero river but there is no visible eveidence today of an works which would have been just to the sea side of the present A-7 road bridge. More >
Transport
One significant advantage of Bahia Dorada is that it is just on the outskirts of Estepona Town, making it convenient to the many restaurants, shops, and bars in the town. Being close to the A-7 coastal road, the town is easily accessible by car, taxi, and public transport. And with the Senda Litoral, it is easy to take a scenic walk along the coast directly into Puerto Estepona (Estepona Port).
In addition to hiring a car in Estepona or Malaga Airport or Gibraltar airport, Estepona taxis, and several firms offer minibus car or limousine private transfers to and from the airport and the surrounding areas. The Bolt and Uber Apps also work within the district.
There is an Estepona microbus service operating along A-7 stopping at the entrance to many of the Estepona western districts. E-1 Bus service operates along the A-7 coast road from Buenas Noches, passing Bahia Dorada, Arroyo Vaquero, Arena Beach, Valle Romano and Guadalabón on its way to Estepona town centre and terminating at Avenida Juan Carlos I.
There is also an Avanza-Portillo M-240 service from Estepona to La Linea which can be used to or from Sabinillas, Duquesa, Torrequadiaro, Sotogrande, San Roque and La Linea (for Gibraltar). This M-240 bus is not permitted to issue tickets to passengers for journeys entirely within the Estepona municipal district.More details.
For those who want to enjoy more of the sights of Andalucía, the district is close to the A-7 Coastal highway so visitors can easily access destinations on either side of Estepona. Along the coast to the west these include Sotogrande, Gibraltar, Tarifa and the golden sand beaches of Costa de la Luz. Along the coast to the east these include Marbella, and Malaga. They can also explore inland villages of Casares, Gaucin on the road to towards Ronda. Not forgetting the magnificent cities of Seville, Cordoba or Granada.
Neighbouring Districts
The neighbouring district to the west is Buenos Noches
The neighbouring district to the east is Arroyo Vaquero.
