Según la guía, la capital de esa provincia está cerca de la costa, pero los pueblos del interior son más tranquilos.

Según means according to.

So Según la guía = According to the guide / guidebook.

It is commonly used to introduce a source of information:

• Según el profesor... = According to the teacher...
• Según el periódico... = According to the newspaper...
• Según dicen... = According to what they say...

In this sentence, it tells you that the information comes from the guide.

Because la guía usually means the guidebook or guide/manual.

By contrast:

• el guía = the male tour guide
• la guía = the female tour guide
• la guía = the guidebook/manual

So here, según la guía most naturally means according to the guidebook.

Esa means that.

Spanish has different demonstratives:

• esta = this
• esa = that
• aquella = that over there / that more distant one

So esa provincia = that province.

The speaker is referring to a province that is not right here, but is already known in the conversation or context.

Also, provincia is feminine, so the demonstrative must be feminine too:

• ese pueblo = that town
• esa provincia = that province

Here la capital means the capital city of the province.

In Spanish, capital is a feminine noun:

• la capital de España
• la capital de esa provincia

So the sentence is talking about the main administrative city of that province.

Because cerca de is used with estar, not ser, when talking about location.

• Está cerca de la costa = It is near the coast.
• Está lejos de Madrid = It is far from Madrid.

Use estar for location.
Use ser for identity, origin, time, and more essential descriptions.

So:

• La capital está cerca de la costa = location
• La capital es importante = characteristic

Because cerca is normally followed by de.

So you say:

• cerca de la playa = near the beach
• cerca de Madrid = near Madrid
• cerca de la costa = near the coast

This is just the standard pattern in Spanish: cerca de + noun/place.

La costa means the coast or coastline.

It refers to the coastal area in general, not specifically the beach.

Compare:

• la costa = the coast
• la playa = the beach

So cerca de la costa means near the coast, not necessarily right on the beach.

Pero means but.

It connects two contrasting ideas:

• the capital is near the coast
• but the inland towns are quieter

So it marks a contrast between the capital and the inland towns.

It means the inland towns/villages.

Breakdown:

• los pueblos = the towns / villages
• del interior = of the interior / inland

In natural English, pueblos del interior is usually best translated as:

• inland towns
• towns in the interior

A note on pueblo: it can mean village, small town, or sometimes local community, depending on context.

Because de + el contracts to del.

So:

• de + el = del
• a + el = al

Examples:

• los pueblos del interior
• vengo del mercado
• voy al centro

This contraction is required unless el is part of a proper name.

Here son is used because the sentence is describing a general characteristic of those towns.

• son más tranquilos = they are quieter / more peaceful in general

If you used están, it would sound more temporary or situational:

• están más tranquilos hoy = they are quieter today

So in this sentence, ser is the natural choice because it describes what those inland towns are generally like.

Because tranquilos agrees with los pueblos, which is masculine plural.

Agreement in Spanish means the adjective must match the noun:

• el pueblo tranquilo = the quiet town
• los pueblos tranquilos = the quiet towns
• la ciudad tranquila = the quiet city
• las ciudades tranquilas = the quiet cities

So más tranquilos matches los pueblos.

It means quieter or more peaceful/calm.

Más + adjective is the normal way to form the comparative:

• más grande = bigger
• más bonito = prettier / nicer
• más tranquilo = quieter / calmer

So:

• los pueblos del interior son más tranquilos = the inland towns are quieter

The comparison is often understood from context. Here, they are probably being compared with the capital or with coastal places.

Because Según la guía is an introductory phrase.

Spanish often uses a comma after this kind of opening element:

• Según el informe, ...
• En mi opinión, ...
• Por suerte, ...

The comma helps separate the source phrase from the main statement.

Yes, Spanish word order is somewhat flexible.

The original sentence is very natural:

• Según la guía, la capital de esa provincia está cerca de la costa, pero los pueblos del interior son más tranquilos.

You could also say:

• La capital de esa provincia está cerca de la costa, según la guía...

But that changes the emphasis slightly. Putting Según la guía at the beginning makes the source clear right away.

Usually yes, but you should remember that administrative divisions do not always match perfectly from country to country.

In Spain, a provincia is an official administrative region. So translating it as province is correct.

Examples in Spain:

• la provincia de Sevilla
• la provincia de Valencia

So in this sentence, esa provincia simply means that province.

Because in Spanish, common nouns are not capitalized just because they are important.

So you write:

• la capital
• la provincia
• la costa

You only capitalize proper names:

• España
• Madrid
• Andalucía

This is similar to English when you say the capital city, not the Capital City.