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We traveled to Nerja by way of the mountain road from Granada and it's certainly an impressive way to arrive. Descending through spectacular rocky crags with only tantalising glimpses of the azure expanse of the Med whets the appetite suitably. Nerja is at the eastern extremity of Malaga ... Read review
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Advantages: Pleasant beach resort Disadvantages: Too many 'British' pubs
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We traveled to Nerja by way of the mountain road from Granada and it's certainly an impressive way to arrive. Descending through spectacular rocky crags with only tantalising glimpses of the azure expanse of the Med whets the appetite suitably. Nerja is at the eastern extremity of Malaga province, 1-2 hours drive from Granada and 50km from Malaga airport.
Nerja is, by Spanish costa standards, relatively unspoilt and under-developed. ... ...the west of the town. Nerja doesn't boast a long sweeping beach as such, but a collection of several beaches and coves dotted amongst a rugged, rocky coast. Playa del Playazo is probably the longest expanse of sand, but it's not very wide. However, it's fairly sedate and secluded and is ideal for some peace and quiet. It's still an easy stroll to the town centre, although that can be an adventure! There's a promenade leading from that beach but don't ... more
After a somewhat gruelling 10/11 days touring the cites and towns of Andalucia, what better way to unwind and prepare for the return to 'real' life than a few days at the beach. With this in mind, we chose to stay in NERJA, a more sedate resort than some of the brasher options on the Costa del Sol, further to the west.
We traveled to Nerja by way of the mountain road from Granada and it's certainly an impressive way to arrive. Descending through spectacular rocky crags with only tantalising glimpses of the azure expanse of the Med whets the appetite suitably. Nerja is at the eastern extremity of Malaga province, 1-2 hours drive from Granada and 50km from Malaga airport.
Nerja is, by Spanish costa standards, relatively unspoilt and under-developed. No huge monolithic temples to the concrete God here - not yet, at least. It still has the feel of a real Spanish town...so much for first impressions. The trouble is, it's very popular with Brits and therefore most of the bars and restaurants etc cater for that market. This is great if you're hankering for the full English breakfast, or perhaps a Sunday Roast washed down with a pint of Tetleys, but that's not my idea of Spanish living.
We stayed at the Hotel Perla Marina, on the Playa del Playazo to the west of the town. Nerja doesn't boast a long sweeping beach as such, but a collection of several beaches and coves dotted amongst a rugged, rocky coast. Playa del Playazo is probably the longest expanse of sand, but it's not very wide. However, it's fairly sedate and secluded and is ideal for some peace and quiet. It's still an easy stroll to the town centre, although that can be an adventure! There's a promenade leading from that beach but don't expect to make it all the way to the town centre on it. For some reason, it ends abruptly in a brick wall which is conveniently hidden around a corner so you don't notice till you arrive at a sudden dead-end. What's that about? A quick back-track and then through the maze of streets towards the Balcon de Europa - the jewel in Nerja's crown.
The Balcon de Europa is the heart of the town. It's a palm and plane tree-lined promenade that leads from the 17th century Church of El Salvador to a semi-circular viewpoint on the cliff-top. There are hotels and bars on one side, but any building on the other side is limited to some decorative arches - there are some spectacular sunsets from here and it can get quite busy around that time of day. Up until 1812 there used to be a fort here and that is evidenced by some ancient cannons standing sentinel over the seaward approaches to the town. This is where everyone gathers for the evening promenade, but as it's only a couple of hundred metres long, it's not much of a stroll. Still, the view's nice.
The main shopping streets lead off from this central point but I wasn't very impressed with what was on offer. In the main, the shopping seems geared more towards everyday items and not towards the huge influx of visitors. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to be falling over beach towels and postcards and cheap-n-nasty t-shirts and 'authentic' Spanish tat from Taiwan or all the other gruesome tourist paraphernalia. But on the other hand, I'm not looking for pots-n-pans and balls of wool and ironmongery when I'm on holiday either. Och, I'm a moaning faced git. The shopping couldn't have been all that bad - Mrs P managed to squeeze every last penny out of the credit card.
Similarly, eating and drinking opportunites weren't brilliant either. There were far too many English pubs (not to mention a bogfull of 'Irish' pubs - you know the type, paint it green, serve Guinness and begorrah, you're in business). I was on the look-out for Spanish 'themed' bars, but they were about as rare as good taste in Blackpool. There were some, but this is definitely a town that has it's fair share of ex-pat pubs. I suppose that's what some people want, a little slice of 'wherever' in the sun, but not me.
Still, much as I'd like to, you can't very well sit around in pubs all day and all night. So what is there to do in Nerja? Um, not an awful lot. At the eastern end of town, the Jardines de Europa are botanical gardens that slope down to Playa de Burriano. I'm sure they're very nice, but we didn't visit. About 3 km distant is the main attraction of the area - The Caves of Nerja. This is apparently the third most visited attraction in Spain - even without us making up the numbers. I'm afraid that stumbling around in caves isn't something that I find particularly appealing. Call me batty, but that's the way I am. My skin craves vitamin D.
A few miles inland, is the village of Frigliana, which we did visit. Frigliana has been voted the 'most beautiful village in Andalucia' several times. it's not hard to see why. Dazzlingly-white buildings crowd around steep and narrow streets. Floribunda in abundance only adds to the beauty. The village is perched on the side of a mountain and has fantastic views down over the valley towards the sea. There's not an awful lot to do here, but a few hours wandering the narrow streets followed by some tapas and a drink makes a welcome change from supping ale and chomping pies at the Rose & Crown.
All in all, I was a little disappointed with Nerja. I know hundreds of people who have visited here...well, a few to be brutally accurate, and they've always given it rave reviews. Anytime I've seen any pictures of the town, I've thought it pretty and unspoilt. But close-up, it didn't seem particularly pretty to me. I thought it was tired and a little run-down - like it had that end of season feeling, but this was early June! There were far too many ex-pats for me. It didn't feel very authentically Spanish - more like a blue-rinse colony.
In its favour, it's not brash, there are plenty of excellent beaches, the setting and the scenery is pretty good, and it felt fairly safe and friendly. It's probably a good place for families and those who like a less lively resort. And those who can't bear to leave dear old Blighty back home.
We had a good time there all the same. All we wanted was somewhere to spend our last three days where the most strenuous exercise we took was collecting pebbles on the beach. Somewhere where we had a reasonable choice of bars and restaurants. And somewhere that we could plan our next trip. Job done!
Advantages: Quieter than your average resort. Good centre for touring Disadvantages: Not a great family venue
NERJA
Nerja is an intimate resort on the Costa Del Sol in Andalusia. Unlike typical seaside venues, with huge playas, it is perched on cliffs above a series of small bays and beaches. Its longest beach, Burriana lies to the east and is a scenic stroll through the cliffs away.
Its most famous landmark is the Balcón de Europa, a promontory named by a Spanish King who once admired the view from there - you know the kind of thing, "Verily from this ... ...there are above. Nerja has a densely packed town centre defying much further development, and there is no shortage of eateries serving Spanish food allowing you to try somewhere different every night of a one or two week stay. One of our favourites was the Bar Redondo (Round Bar) which has an open air restaurant section across the passage, where such delights as gambas al pil-pil (prawns in a spicy chilli and garlic sauce) can be had for a reasonable ...
BNibbles 19.12.2000 (26.12.2000)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Nerja
Advantages: Easy to get to, UK friendly with a touch of spain Disadvantages: Not for the seasoned traveller
Some people love nerja, others hate it. I think it depends on what you expect when you come here and what you came to spain looking for.
When I first travelled up to Nerja I was told "its full of lager louts", "Its all british", " its full of tourists you can´t move".´This is not strictly true. Yes the british are here, and sometimes in great numbers but I have always found them to be a friendly well behaved bunch.
Nerja is a lovely coastal town on the Costa Tropical. It is also listed in many guildes and brochures as the Costa del Sol which is not strictly true and the local certainly don´t regard themselves as being on the Costa del Sol. It´s clean, lively and bustles with life all year round. True in the height of summer there are many more tourists and you are unlikely to go anywhere and not hear an english voice but there ...
Advantages: The all-year-round good weather, the scenery and the people Disadvantages: The fact that in 10 years time it will be far more developed than it is now.
Nerja is on the south coast of Spain, the Costa del sol, about a 1 hour drive east of Malaga. It is a special place because it is unlike any other on the Costa del sol.
Nerja has been voted the prettiest village on Costa del sol more than once.
Nerja has a building restriction that means none of its buildings may be more than four stories high. This makes a huge difference as there are no large, tower-block hotels in sight.
Nerja is truly multi-cultural because so many people retire out there (not just English; American, Norwegian, Dutch, French, Canadian etc).
Nerja has a massive English community with its own newspaper, theatre group, shops and businesses. I know this might sound a bit colonial, but you would have to see it working to appreciate it. There is no industry in Nerja except tourism. The locals tend to want ...
Advantages: It's spanish...a big plus to me Disadvantages: It's spanish...it helps to have a phrase book
Well actually just plain old beyond for me. I have been to Nerja but it's too expat and british for my tastes. When I travel I want to feel like I've gone abroad. I enjoy speaking broken spanish and making my phrase book work for it's money. One of the beauties of the Granada coast is just that...you can.
Once you get off the new motorway at Nerja ( actually you have no option it currently ends there although I'm informed that the extension to La Herradura will be open by December 2005) and return to the coastal road or N340 you start to get back to spain as you imagine it to be. Windy roads, whitewashed villages, beautiful beaches. Even the plastic agricultural sheds start to dwindle along here as the Costa Tropical boasts an all year round mild, temperate climate.
Don't get me wrong, there is tourism along this stretch of coast ...
