The two main airports serving the Costa del Sol are Malaga on the mainland, and Gibraltar. The former is much larger and - though we hesitate to name specific airlines as certain of the budget carriers are likely no longer to be around by the time you read this - Malaga has excellent connections to UK airports. Flights come into Malaga from London Heathrow, Stansted, Gatwick and Luton, from Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds-Bradford, East Midlands, Dublin and Gatwick. From that list alone it's easy to see how popular and well-established the Costa del Sol is for Britons. Similarly, one or two airline closures aside, the links are now established long and deep - flights from the UK and Ireland to the Costa del Sol are NOT going away. Gibraltar has connections with Gatwick, Heathrow, Luton and Manchester. Even as British influence wanes on the Rock, the connections are likely to hold fast.
While flying into Malaga is easy enough, you do really need a car (or hire car) when you get here. Public transport is not great, though there are trains from Malaga to the holiday hotspots of Fuengirola, Torremolinos and Benalmedena, with a new line going in from Malaga to Nerja. You can get buses from the airport to both Malaga and Marbella, and there are Malaga-Melilla ferries. Trains from Malaga to Madrid now come in at under three hours (previously four) and the coastal toll motorway (the A7 Autopista del Sol) is a much more pleasant option on hot and busy summer days than the rammed N340 road. For travelling around the place you can do as many others, and get yourself a moped or motorbike. For most of the year there's no wet or warm weather gear required.
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