Costa Del Sol By The Golf Planet Holidays Team · Golf-travel specialists since 1981 · Published 2 June 2026 At a glance Where are the best golf holiday destinations in Europe for 2026/27? For 2026/27 the standout regions are Portugal’s Algarve (Vilamoura, Carvoeiro, Portimao and Tavira), Spain’s Costa del Sol around Alcaidesa and Sotogrande, the […]
Europe is the most rewarding continent in the world for a golf holiday, and not simply for the quality of the courses. Within a short flight of the UK you can move from the pine-and-lake fairways of the Algarve to the cliff-top drama of the Portuguese Atlantic, the championship links-land of the Costa del Sol, or the eternal spring of Madeira and Gran Canaria. The question for 2026/27 is rarely whether to go, but where, and how to build a trip that plays to your group’s tastes.
This guide draws on more than four decades of arranging golf travel to set out the destinations worth your time, the courses worth your green fees, and the resorts worth waking up in. Every itinerary we create is tailor-made and ground-only, so the golf, the stay and the transfers are shaped entirely around you, with flights added as an ATOL-protected option.
The Algarve: Europe's most complete golf coast
If you are choosing a single destination for a first or a fiftieth golf holiday, the Algarve makes the strongest case in Europe. Its golf is unusually concentrated and unusually varied, from the storied championship turf of the Penina Golf Course at Portimao, Henry Cotton’s enduring masterpiece, to the resort-town buzz of Vilamoura, where Vila Gale Ampalius places you within easy reach of several celebrated layouts. For something quieter, Tivoli Carvoeiro commands one of the prettiest stretches of the western Algarve coast, while the AP Cabanas Beach & Nature Hotel near Tavira opens up the unhurried, lagoon-fringed eastern golf that many regulars consider the region’s best-kept secret. A week here can comfortably blend three or four contrasting courses without ever feeling like a march.
Spain's Costa del Sol and Sotogrande: golf with genuine polish
The stretch of Andalucian coast around Alcaidesa and Sotogrande is where serious golf meets serious hospitality. Fairmont La Hacienda Costa del Sol gives you two highly regarded courses on the doorstep and the kind of effortless service that turns a golf trip into a proper holiday, while SO/ Sotogrande Spa & Golf Resort is one of the most stylish bases in southern Europe, set among rolling cork-oak country a short drive from the region’s most famous fairways. This is the part of the Mediterranean to choose when the group wants its golf taken seriously and its evenings taken slowly, with the spa, the dining and the Andalucian light doing as much work as the courses themselves.
Where our specialists would stay in Costa Del Sol
The Lisbon coast and the Atlantic islands: drama and year-round warmth
Just west of Lisbon, Cascais offers two of Europe’s most photogenic rounds. Oitavos Dunes Golf Club is a windswept, cliff-and-pine links routinely ranked among the continent’s finest, and Quinta da Marinha sits handsomely beside it, with Vila Gale Cascais a refined and well-placed base for both alongside the city’s restaurants and beaches. When the mainland cools, the Atlantic islands come into their own: Pestana Casino Park in Funchal pairs Madeira’s mild, evergreen climate and Oscar Niemeyer architecture with the island’s dramatic mountain golf, while Kumara Serenoa at Maspalomas delivers reliable Gran Canaria warmth and easy fairways through the depths of the European winter. For a northern French alternative, the belle-epoque elegance of Hotel Barriere Le Westminster at Le Touquet is a summer pleasure all its own.
Why a tailor-made trip beats a package
The difference between a packaged golf holiday and a tailor-made one is the difference between fitting yourself to an itinerary and having one built around you. Rather than a fixed bundle of nights and tee times, we shape the whole trip to your group: the courses you most want to play, the room category that suits each traveller, the pace of golf against leisure, and the transfers between hotel and first tee handled so you never think about them. It means the foursome who want championship golf every morning and the partners who would rather have a spa afternoon are both looked after on the same trip. With more than forty years of relationships across these resorts, we secure the tee times and the rooms that genuinely matter, and price the holiday from
Our specialists’ favourite stays in Costa Del Sol
What our golfers say
4.997 reviews
Thanks Martin, glad you enjoyed your golf around Fuengirola
Hi David, glad you had another great golf trip at La Cala and the sun shone! Have ordered the same for next September…;)
Party of 16 to El Rompido- superb organisation- the best personal attention to detail of any company I have dealt with. Now into our 3rd year using their excellent rep- Simon Crawley
Frequently asked questions
Is my money protected when I book a golf holiday with you?
Yes. Golf Planet Holidays has arranged golf travel since 1981, and your money is held securely in trust through PTS until you return home, so your booking is financially protected throughout. Because we operate ground-only, flights are arranged as a separate ATOL-protected add-on when you would like us to include them, giving you full protection on the air element too.
How far in advance should I book for 2026 or 2027?
For the prime spring and autumn windows on the Algarve, Costa del Sol and Cascais coast, we recommend booking three to six months ahead to secure the best tee times and room categories at sought-after resorts such as Penina, SO/ Sotogrande and Oitavos Dunes. Winter golf in Madeira and Gran Canaria is in steady demand from October onwards, so earlier is better there too. That said, our relationships across these resorts mean we can often arrange a memorable trip at shorter notice.
Can you arrange golf for mixed-ability groups?
Absolutely, and it is one of the things tailor-made travel does best. We can pair championship courses such as the Penina Golf Course or Oitavos Dunes with gentler, more forgiving layouts so every handicap enjoys the week, and build in spa, dining or sightseeing for non-golfers. Resorts like Tivoli Carvoeiro, Fairmont La Hacienda and Pestana Casino Park lend themselves particularly well to groups with a range of interests.
What is included in the price, and what does ground-only mean?
Ground-only means we arrange everything on the ground, your hotel, your green fees and your transfers, as a complete tailor-made itinerary from
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Wherever you're travelling from, you're welcome on a Golf Planet hosted tour — a small group, a host with you from the first tee to the last, and every round, transfer and dinner taken care of. You just bring the clubs.








