What's on in Costa Tropical hidden gem

Tucked between the Costa del Sol and the Costa de Almería, the short Granada coastline calls itself the Costa Tropical — and the name is earned. A microclimate sheltered by the Sierra Nevada lets mangoes, avocados and custard apples grow here, the beaches are backed by dramatic cliffs, and the two main towns, Almuñécar and Salobreña, keep an unhurried, distinctly Spanish feel that the bigger costas lost long ago.

It's a coast that suits travellers who want beach days and real fiestas but also the option of something more. The summer calendar includes Almuñécar's long-running Jazz en la Costa festival in the open-air Parque El Majuelo, the newer SexiFest with its line-up of Spanish stars, and the town's patron-saint celebrations in August, complete with a pyromusical fireworks display over the sea. Salobreña, crowned by its Moorish castle, holds its own lively fiestas through the season.

What really sets this stretch apart is what's just inland. Granada and the Alhambra — one of the finest sights in all of Spain — are little more than an hour's drive up into the hills, which makes the Costa Tropical a rare base where you can combine a proper beach holiday with one of Europe's great cultural day trips. Málaga airport is the usual arrival point, around an hour west, with Granada's own airport closer still.

A car is well worth having here, both for the coast road's coves and for that run up to Granada. This is your guide to what's on along the Costa Tropical while you're visiting.