What you can see on the Sabinillas webcam
The live camera looks over the seafront gardens and the promenade, with its large SABINILLAS letters, to the beach and the Mediterranean, framed by tall palms. The same view is also shown as a time-lapse of the last 24 hours. It answers the simple questions: is the sun out, is there anyone on the sand, and is the sea calm enough for a swim?
Sabinillas beach webcam, Manilva
From a first-line holiday flat in Sabinillas, this live camera looks over the seafront gardens and the promenade, with its big SABINILLAS letters, to the beach and the Mediterranean. Tall palms frame the picture on both sides.
The view faces east-south-east, so on clear mornings the sun rises almost straight ahead over the sea and the first hours are bright and silvery; afternoons are evenly lit. The owners also keep a weather station at the flat, and their own page shows its readings next to the stream. It is the simplest way to see whether there are people on the sand and how calm the sea is at this quiet western end of the Costa del Sol.
The far west of the Costa del Sol
This end of the coast feels the closeness of the Strait of Gibraltar. The winds that funnel through the strait, the Levante from the east and the Poniente from the west, can change the sea here within hours, from flat calm to choppy. On clear days the Rock of Gibraltar is visible from the shore to the south-west, and the mountains of North Africa can sometimes be made out across the water.
When to watch Sabinillas
Sabinillas is on Spanish time, one hour ahead of the UK and Ireland. The camera faces east-south-east, so it looks into the sunrise: in midwinter the sun comes up at about 8:30 local time, almost straight ahead over the sea. Afternoons are evenly lit, which is the best time to judge the colour of the water and how busy the beach is.
Around Sabinillas
The Puerto de la Duquesa marina is just along the coast, with restaurants around its quays. Inland, the hill village of Casares looks down over the coast, and Estepona lies about 11 miles (18 km) to the north-east.
Visiting Sabinillas
Gibraltar's airport is the closest, about 17 miles away, though it means crossing the border; Málaga airport is roughly an hour by motorway. The beach is wide and sandy, with sunbeds and beach bars along the promenade in the main season.
