I am off to the costa del sol in feb. Hiring a bike to help me get some training in for the tour divide.

I am stopping in benalmadena can’t decide between a gravel bike or a road bike. I want to hire a gravel bike but can’t find any info on suitable routes.

There appears to be a lot of dirt roads in the hills near Malaga but hard to tell if these will require a mountain bike.

Any advice on the best option?

If your in Benalmadina you need to be on full suss mountain bike. The riding around there and Mijas is epic

Hardtail 29er would be my choice. Something with skinny, fast rolling tyres. As you say there are lots of tracks to be explored. I’ve ridden around Ronda quite a lot and you can go for hours. It would certainly be ideal “training” for you. I hired from folk out there.

http://hikeandbikeholidays.com/holidays-spain/mtb-cycling-hiking-holidays-and-tours

I just checked the gravel map and there doesn’t seem to be anything recorded in the Costa del Sol (although that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist).

FWIW I went on an MTB holiday near Benidorm/Alicante (yes I know, it’s around the corner from Costa del Sol) a few years ago and it was very mountainous and rocky and challenging, not really gravel type rides although there are undoubtedly suitable trails out there.

I’m just down the road in San Pedro de Alcántara. There will definitely be gravel options but there’s not much info out there in terms of formal routes. Basically you have the coast road (A7) then typically roads up into mountain passes or villages. There are circular routes inland from Málaga and this area is a bit more undulating. Quite often the proper roads deteriate into gravel (Camino Rural) and link up with other towns, for example the popular Istán road is tarmac up to the town then becomes gravel between Tolox and Monda. There’s some of the routes I’ve done here, let me know if you want any more pointers…

https://strava.app.link/RtnLmBRPE2