We first visited Estepona in 2023. On that occasion our hotel was situated about eight miles out of town which meant a bus ride in for us before we could start exploring. I wanted to return but stay in the town or close to it. So with that in mind we booked a H10 hotel located on the edge of town and within easy walking distance of the town centre.

It was our first experience of the new immigration biometric checks UK visitors now have to complete when travelling in Europe. I’d heard reports of long delays in some airports but we went through Malaga airport really quickly. If you’ve ever travelled to the USA the checks are exactly the same as you would complete at their border control, minus a pre completed Esta form.

Quite by chance we arrived in Estepona just as their fiesta week was starting. The fiesta itself centered around a large festival site on the edge of town but within walking distance of the town centre. We wandered up to the festival site on our first night and it was quite an assault on all the senses.

The site was big and crammed with loud, bright, fairground stalls and rides. There were also food outlets, several bars, sound stages and a few merchandising tents. Lots of the locals, young and old, dress up in traditional Spanish costume for the Feria as it’s known locally. It all made for a real buzz and we spent two whole evenings in the site.

We spent our days walking into old and new Estepona towns in the morning. It was a 35 minute walk into the old town, from our hotel, via a nice coastal path or along the flower lined main road. We passed through the new marina to get there and that was always a good excuse to pop into the old port and see what was happening. It’s a small working fishing port and there’s always someone cleaning equipment or mending a net. We found the fishermen working there really friendly and they were always happy for me to photograph them.

The old and new towns are really nice to walk around during the day. Estepona doesn’t seem to be as busy with tourists as some of the other Costa Del Sol resorts and it’s all the better for it. Most of the cafes and bars were busy with locals, passing the time of day, which was nice. The flower displays were in the process of being re-planted. Everything still looked really pretty but I’d imagine everything with be looking fabulous in a months time.

Our afternoons were reserved for chill time on the sunbeds back at the hotel but we walked back into town every evening. The long promenade at the back of the beach was always busy with people just enjoying the cooler evening temperatures and browsing some of the market stalls pitched up there. We enjoyed taking in the general vibe and walking the streets of the old town before stopping for a coffee and ice cream and then heading back to the hotel.

I really, really like Estepona. I was excited about this holiday and it didn’t disappoint. I’d usually choose a Greek island to visit rather than holiday in Spain but this is our third holiday in Andalucía and I’ve really enjoyed all of them. We’re already plotting our return but I’m seriously thinking of booking an Air BnB and hiring a car for our next trip out here. There’s a few more images from our week in the gallery, below my photography notes.

Photography notes: Just before our holiday I’d written a blog on how some of my vintage lenses work better on my crop sensor Fujifilm X-T5 camera as opposed to my full frame Sony A7. That blog is here – Vintage Lenses – Lens/Camera Combinations

I decided to try out my theory on this holiday so I took both cameras with me and an assortment of vintage lenses. It meant carrying a lot of weight and for that reason I’m not sure it’s something I’ll repeat!

Once we were in Estepona I decided I would use my A7 with my collection of vintage Nikon lenses and use the X-T5 with everything else non Nikon. I also decided that I would use the A7 with my modern Sony 24-105mm zoom for all my evening shots. The full frame sensor on the A7 deals with low light photography better and I thought (quite rightly) that the zoom would be better suited for snatched shots in the festival site.

It’s pleasing to report that everything worked out well. The Nikons worked great with the A7 and there are some examples marked in the main article. I used the X-T5 with my Auto Takumar 35mm f2.3 and Carl Zeiss Flektogon 35mm f2.4. Both performed really well producing excellent results.

The Flektogon had been a big disappointment on the A7 on a previous holiday but I really enjoyed using it in Estepona. It’s a great close focusing lens and I really like that feature. It has a long focus throw but I got by ok with Peak focusing and the magnify mode on the X-T5. I would say that the manual focusing aids on the A7 are superior to those on the X-T5. Having said that, I think I enjoy using my old lenses on my X-T5 more. I don’t know why this is – I just do.

Finally, everyone I approached and asked if I could photograph them said yes. Sometimes that works against you as they think you want them to pose when really what I want is them doing what they were doing. However, that’s my stock photographer head talking but things have changed in relation to my relationship with stock. That’s for another, soon to be written, blog!

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All images: ©Stephen Hyde 2007-2026 – All rights reserved.