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Andalucia |
Useful ideas
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Other opinions
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The most touristy area of Spain, this province has some of the best Spanish gems (Seville, Granada and Cordoba do deserve a trip expressly to see them, but Málaga, Ronda, Cadiz, Jerez de la Frontera, Almeria, and Écija clearly justify a detour.
Challenging those typical and historical sites, the best beaches of Spain attract millions, with Marbella, Torremolinos and Fuengirola as leaders in mass tourism.
Even in winter, Sierra Nevada is a top destination for the youth, while the mild weather and the low prices drag senior people from all Europe to those and many other beaches.
That's it.
Andaluzia has everything!
Challenging those typical and historical sites, the best beaches of Spain attract millions, with Marbella, Torremolinos and Fuengirola as leaders in mass tourism.
Even in winter, Sierra Nevada is a top destination for the youth, while the mild weather and the low prices drag senior people from all Europe to those and many other beaches.
That's it.
Andaluzia has everything!
Aguadulce - Good beach
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I only made a quick stop in Aguadulce. It is not a top destination, but... almost. It is a nice beach, well secluded by the dry mountains, and... hot, hot, hot. |
Algeciras
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I've been three times in Algeciras, always waiting to cross to Ceuta.
Despite a quick ride by car in town, I saw not much more than the port, from Al-mar hotel. Right in front of the port, this hotel in Algeciras was the perfect solution for those who want to spend the night before or after crossing to Ceuta. It was "my" hotel, but, one day I was caught by overbooking. To respect my reserve, I was moved to Hotel Octavio, highly priced. I must confess that I found it worse than Al-mar, with a very soft and irregular bed. ...and now Al-mar is reported as definitively closed! |
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Desert I've been in Almeria twice: the first one I was impressed by the yellow dry look of its desert landscape. The second one it was still the yellow, but the plastic of the endless greenhouses. Anyway, Almeria is the most desert area of Spain, where agriculture is almost a miracle, and the coast tries to resist against the general spreading of touristy resorts. |
Well, there will be a third time - my next holidays will be in Roquetas de Mar, so "Almeria, I am coming..."
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Wild coast I passed in Almeria coast about thirty years ago, and was surprised by the wild look of its coast. I was there again 15 years later, and, though some new resorts the sensation was the same, only with the new look of thousands of green-houses. In my recent third look, things didn't change much, despite some controversial buildings here and there. |
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Texas Hollywood Many westerns were made in Spain, with a landscape similar to the USA and better weather. The remains are used as a theme park, allowing a break while crossing the wild area to Tabernas. Website: http://fortbravooficial.com/ |
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Beaches
Almeria is far from being the best beach area of southern Spain, but there is a good exception - Aguadulce, in my opinion the best beach around Almeria, where I would spend a week with pleasure. |
Antequera
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Having passed so many times by Antequera and never stopping, I decided to do it this time, however Fernanda was pushing me to hurry back home, and I only had a very quick glimpse. |
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Missed third visit... or not
I visited the caves of Aracena, for the first time, in 1963, where it was no more than a small and lost village by the Portuguese border. I did it again in 1979, and didn't notice too much difference. I did it again now, and couldn't recognize the city - developed, some modernity, prepared for tourism. We arrived late, and couldn't enter the caves, but I don't consider a failed visit, because that circumstance allowed us a deeper look of the city. Not bad! |
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Gruta de las Maravillas I visited several caves, and though the common beauty always relies on stalactites and stalagmites, a few details may give to each one a different personality. Furthermore, lighting adds volume and colour, changing everything the achieve the best performance. I couldn't enter this time, and my memories of previous visits are... 36 years old. I remember the surprise of the different formations and colors according the the diversity of minerals added to the |
water, and it was that image that I would like to confirm in this failed visit.
Discovered in 1850, the caves were opened to the public in 1914, and keep being visited by thousands, while promoted as "maybe" the most beautiful and well preserved in the world. Maybe!I have already a good comparison chart (Several in Portugal, China, India, Slovenia, Gibraltar, Mexico, Mallorca in a quick review) but... couldn't check.
Website: http://www.aracena.es/index.php/gruta-de-las-maravillas
Discovered in 1850, the caves were opened to the public in 1914, and keep being visited by thousands, while promoted as "maybe" the most beautiful and well preserved in the world. Maybe!I have already a good comparison chart (Several in Portugal, China, India, Slovenia, Gibraltar, Mexico, Mallorca in a quick review) but... couldn't check.
Website: http://www.aracena.es/index.php/gruta-de-las-maravillas
The castle
Museo del Jamon
Carmen church
Touristy train
The city
Ayamonte
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Just across the border Ayamonte is a temptation to all the Portuguese in holidays in Algarve. It's a short and easy trip, but the attractions are not outstanding, and the trips only use to last a couple of hours. However, it is a good chance to try different food, listening a different language... and filling the cars with cheaper fuel |
Cadiz
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My first visit to Cadiz, in... my God... 1963 left only tenuous memories of a city mixing well history and modernity.
The second visit was in a rush, and didn't add much to the first. After that, we heard people referring to town as a ugly place, reducing the interest to return, but two weeks spent nearby, in Puerto de Santa Maria, forced that visit. Well, it was a surprise - it is not ugly, and, if we had decided to do the visit in the first days and not in the last ones as we did, we would have done it more than the two times that we did. We will do it again - I lost my phone, with almost all the images |
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I passed a few times by this beach, dominated by a strange rock, with cliffs overlooking a shallow beach, all composing an appealing look. However, Fernanda says that it must have dusty sand, and for that reason we never approached the beach. A pity, I must say! |
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Beach
I was attracted by the wide beach backed by the steep hill, and decided that Calahonda could be my destination, if and when I decided to spend some days in a Spanish beach. It could be... but it wasn't, and this year I went to Marbella for the first time. The water was cold, and Fernanda found that in Calahonda it was two or three degrees warmer, so Calahonda reinforced its chances. Now it's true - next time... |
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Fishery
Spain is one of the biggest fish consumers and producers. Inland but also in the sea where it allows it, it's possible to see some fisheries, mainly in Galiza. In the southern coast I only saw these, in Calahonda. |
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There are many beaches in Andaluzia, some of the very popular, some other less known, but all of them with warm and calm water. Carboneras is not a top destination, as most beaches in Almeria area, but it has all the common conditions of Spanish beaches, without the confusion of the top destinations. Surrounded by a natural bark, in the most wild and desert area of Spain, it allows calm vacations. |
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San Andre castle In the centre of Carboneras there's a castle from the 16th century, that has been reconstructed and it is used to cultural events. I didn't enter it, but I think that the only remarkable detail it's the building itself. |
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Beach I had a good visual impression of Carboneras, but I must confess that it remains out of my priorities - it is far from Portugal, it is isolated, with no many touristy complements around, and, in the middle of the Spanish "oven", the weather may be too hot for my tastes. |
The wild coast near Carboneras
Cartaya
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My visit to Cartaya was to party in New Year's eve. I must confess that I almost skipped town, because the hotel was in El Rompido, and the following day was used in Seville. A nightly stop, and it was all. For now! |
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I only passed in Castel de Ferro in... 1977, I think! It will be funny to compare the picture one then to the actual image, after more than 40 years of touristy development. |
Chiclana de la Frontera
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Backing beaches Chiclana de la Frontera is a small city, east of Cadiz, backing a long stripe of sand from the old Sancti Petri to the new one, with the long La Barrosa beach between them. We've been there on Sunday, a "closed" day in Spain, with jammed roads connecting to the beaches, allowing us just a short glimpse of everything. Not bad, for a good vacation, it seems! |
Cordoba
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Yes, that's the cathedral, but much more. Cordoba is a city that you must not miss.
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Écija
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Just for lunch In our way back from the beach, I knew that we needed to make a stop for lunch, and that was a good opportunity to make a detour and have a glimpse of Écija. The team accepted, and we went!I was surprised by the beauty and historical richness of the city. In the brief hours that we had I couldn't see much, but I saw enough to desire a new visit. |
Estepa
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Surprise No, I never heard anything about Estepa. I didn't even know that it exists, until the day when, returning from the coast, I needed to make a stop for lunch and... Estepa was there. So, what cam I say? Well, just to describe my meal and the look of town around it. With pleasure! |
Fuengirola
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Fuengirola was the last of the top beaches in Costa del Sol that i visited, to discover that it doesn't loose in comparison with the big challengers Marbella and Torremolinos. I spent there two good weeks, without time to get bored or tired (well, the children at my side helped a lot... |
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I've been there more than 30 years ago, which means that now... i didn't recognize the place. However, my previous image was reinforced - this is not the place that I would choose to vacation - this time, the sea was bad (red flag), but that was not the strongest reason - uncharacteristic construction, ugly beaches, hot, hot, hot... |
Granada
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Alhambra is something no one should miss, but Granada is much more that that. The Muslim times are present everywhere in the old city, but all the province has lots of attractive motifs. Some beaches are very good, but you may choose well, because there are many rocky and pebble beach. One our distant from town, Sierra Nevada is a famous winter destination, and a cool summer spot. |
Jaén
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On the way to Roquetas de Mar, Jaén was a perfect place to stop and have lunch. Some more minutes to have a glimpse of the city, whose notes and pictures will appear in Jaén page as soon as possible. |
Málaga
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Málaga is a nice town, but I must confess that I always passed there towards the coast and the many and good beaches. Staying in Torremolinos, the visit of Málaga it's easy, and a temptation, but, being with some women, Málaga is only a very commercial city... if you know what I mean! In my first visit I hadn't developed yet the technique of using "El Corte Inglês" time to visit the city, but now I did. Yes, I could collect some details and build Málaga page. |
Marbella
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I've been in Marbella several times, always searching for... beach, of course.
I'ts a large touristy destination, everything planned to supply beach and entertainment to European tourists, with the known Spanish professionalism. The beaches are not outstanding, the water is generally mild (not in my last vacation there), and restaurants, bars and clubs appear everywhere as mushrooms. However, in this last visit, I noticed that TOO many shops were closed, evidencing the economic crises that remains in Europe. |
All my experiences in Marbella may be seen in my Marbella page (well... as soon as I finish writing them!)
Jerez de la Frontera
One, two, many times passing by Jerez de la Frontera always going elsewhere, always skipping the city. This time, spending two weeks in Puerto de Santa Maria, I decided to take a day to visit it. Interesting!
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At the edge of "Sahara" Hot, hot, hot, only the sea allowed a little relief. The white houses climbing the hills rival with Tarifa, in its Moroccan look. Nowhere else in Europe we felt so close to the Sahara. |
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Maghrebian Look White houses climbing the hills, compose an unspoilt image of Mediterranean architecture, with a taste of Maghreb. We were so "cooked" that, after a swim, we left quickly to a milder place. But, next time, with air conditioned in the car, we will stop and look around. We did! Nothing much to add, unless... apartments. many! |
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Beach It is not a nice beach, but... it's a beach. The sand is dusty and hard, the sea was rough when we were there (red flag), but the weather is hot, hot, hot. The heavy construction in the area shows that a lot of people loves it. |
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Dive, quickly!
A few minutes before arriving in Mojacar, passing in Sorbas, we were stopped by road works. We had no air conditioned, and the dust was so strong, that we had to keep the windows closed all the time. The temperature inside the car went over 60º C, for sure, during... I say almost ten minutes, Fernanda says... half an hour! Doesn't matter! |
We were so cooked, that seeing the ocean, we start undressing straight away in the car, stopped... anywhere and... jumped to the water. Only afterwards, looking behind, we noticed that it was a rough pebble beach, and the car... needed to be parked.
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I spent just one night in Motril, and I must confess that, thinking in the next places of the program, we didn't dedicate much attention to it. Next time we will do. |
Osuna
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Driving to the coast with kids, I had to plan a stop for lunch, and, having read that in Osuna there was an interesting thing to show to the kids, I planned to visit this city. Well, the quarry is really interesting, the lunch was reasonable, and, having much more to see, Osuna didn´t delay our trip and stopping there was a wise decision |
Puerto Banus
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First visit by night gave only a rough idea (and no photos). Staying in Marbella we made another visit with time, confirming that it is not better than Marbella unless you travel by boat or need to spend more money. The revenge of Puerto Banus against my negative impression was brutal, ans when I started making pictures everything was covered by a dense fog. |
Puerto de Santa Maria
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We spent two weeks in Puerto de Santa Maria, as a matter of fact "close" to the city, in a good villa by the sea. Driving and parking is not easy, and after a couple of attempts, the daily visit of town started to be made by bus, with a regular and cheap program. We enjoyed the vacation, and the city, not being outstanding, has some beauty, and a few interesting points |
Ronda
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Ronda is a very well promoted city in Spain, to feel the "spirit of Andaluzia". It is a interesting city, but, when I read people hesitating between one of the three "monsters" of Andalucia (Seville, Granada and Cordoba) and Ronda I get confused. There is no comparison - Ronda is a very interesting adding to a visit, a very good stop while travelling around, but it is not a real alternative to any one of the three local "must see". That's why I only visited Ronda after many visits to the province, repeating some of the other cities. |
Seville
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Seville is... the universal image of Spain, my favorite city in the country, as I confirm in its own page.
Do I need to say more? |
Torremolinos
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Andalucia, the most traditional region of Spain is also served by a large coast with mild water.
Many places suffered from heavy construction, with problems of landscape preserving and qualified structures. Torremolinos was one of the first big investments, and it is, today, a large city tourist orientated. Not far from Portuguese border it is one of the top destinations for us, and I've been there several times, since the first one in... 1963. The changes are so big that I always meet a different Torremolinos |