Casa Francia will be a destination the family won’t forget. This supremely stylish villa will score big with the kids thanks to its amazing pool terrace, swish en suite bedrooms and cool chillout areas, including a games room. And with those views, their phones will be full of photos and movies in no time.

Marbella makes a great base for exploring the best of Andalucía, and it’s brimming with great beach clubs and great shopping. You could spend the whole day at La Canada with its dozens of fashion stores, but for something truly original, take them to the Old Town’s one-offs. When you’re all shopped out, take a break in one of the beautiful city parks which are just a stone’s throw away.

There are plenty of ways to see the city, whether you hire bikes, scooters or a Segway, but it’s just as much fun on foot. Boat trips let you view the place from another angle, and with a coast this beautiful it’s well worth climbing aboard.

There are theme parks galore all over Andalucía, with the big water park in Torremolinos, Aqualand, one of the best known. Also worth the trip is Estepona’s Mundo Mania, where kids can enjoy sports, water slides, soft play and all sorts of other activities – it has something for every age and taste. In Benalmádena, Tivoli World offers traditional fairground rides like a ferris wheel and scarier ones like Free Fall. Outside, cable car rides are available too.

If real cars are their thing, they might get a kick out of go-karting around Estepona’s Kartfun track, or you could take the wheel yourself and show them how it’s done. Another good family choice is Aventura Amazonia – at 10km away, it’s conveniently close to Marbella and offers treetop adventure courses and zip-wires to zoom down.

Animal lovers will love the Eco Nature Reserve in Ojen where they can learn about conservation and see creatures in their natural habitat. Estepona’s large safari park, Selwo, and Fuengirola’s Bioparc also offer some wildlife adventures, or try the Sea Life aquarium in Benalmádena.

A longer drive away, to the north of Málaga, the intriguing El Torcal Nature Reserve offers tours of ancient rock formations, which are really worth seeing. You can take a guided or unguided tour, but if you go for the latter, be sure to stick to the designated trails. As long as you do, it’s a great experience and you’ll enjoy some amazing views along the way.

If you’re passing through Málaga, there’s plenty to stop for – in fact, you could spend the whole day there and only scratch the surface. Among the highlights are the contemporary art centre, Pompidou – related to the one in Paris, it often has activities for kids on the agenda. Málaga has many interesting museums, including the Maritime Museum, the Automobile Museum and an Interactive Music Museum – good fun for kids as they can play the instruments as much, and as well, as they like.