Andalucia (Spain)

...well, here goes…… Mention Andalucia to a lot of people and their immediate reaction is 'well, I know it's in Spain, but don't ask me where'. Mention the Costa del Sol instead and then they'll say,' OH!! THERE!' To be fair, I have done the 'beach thing' on the Costa del Sol myself, having stayed in Nerja a few times several years ago. Even then, it doesn't take long for somewhere like Nerja's admittedly pleasant attractions to wear thin, leaving ...
...be, then this area of Andalucia has a lot else to offer, particularly for the jaded city motorist. Spain seems to have had a lot of EC money lately to update and improve its transport infrastructure, much of which has been spent on a nice new tarmac makeover for many of its mountain roads. Many of these are so smooth now that you can be forgiven for approaching hairpin bends a trifle fast - oh yes, they've also spent a lot on crash barrier! I love ...

BNibbles 15.11.2005 · Read full review
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Review of Andalucia (Spain)

CARMONA sits on an elevated plot of land commanding sweeping views of the Corbones valley, around 30km from Seville in Andalucia. This is a very fertile region so it's no surprise that this strategic site, one of the few high points in the area, has been settled by humans for a long time. How long? I'm not going down the road of historical time-lines, but let's just say that there is evidence of human settlement from the neolithic period. It was ...
...the old town still follows the original Roman urban plan. The defensive gates, Seville and Córdoba, are Roman, but the most important Roman site in the town has to be the Necropolis (more on that later). The town's prosperity continued under almost 500 years of Moorish occupation, and indeed, was a major player during the reconquest of Granada. But enough of the past, let's explore the town in the present. The reason we had decided to stay here was ...

proxam 14.09.2004 (24.08.2007) · Read full review
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Review of Andalucia (Spain)

I first visited Salobrena two years ago, when in January I decided I had had enough S.A.D. I wasn't prepared to hybernate any longer. I chose my destination from the internet. Am so glad I did! January was very quiet, but there was Sun and lots of it. We had two days rain in 28 days. But then they only have 11 days rain a year.! We flew to Malaga, and drove East along the coast for one hour of quite dramatic scenes, before reaching our destination. ...
...the prettiest place we had ever seen. The highest mountains, covered in Olive, Almond, Orange & Lemon trees, just waiting to be picked. Salobrena tucked in below these mountains was sheltered and warm. The shopping centre is small compared to some of the larger towns, there are not too many souvenier shops, just enough for the residents really. A few speaking English, thats it! You really need to speak Spanish, although they are all willing to help. ...

elinor.z 23.05.2005 · Read full review
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Review of Andalucia (Spain)

...cheap but they are of an excellent quality. SUMMARY Andalucia is wonderful. Get away from the tourist spots to find the real Spain, and you won't be disappointed. Great scenery, great food, and friendly locals made for a really enjoyable and relaxing break. Nice hospitals too! ...

Salgirl 22.04.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Andalucia (Spain)

...can be found in mainland Andalucia read on - and have a look at some photos to see for yourself. Our journey began in Malaga going onto Antequera, Cordoba, Jaen, Cazorla, Segura de la Sierra, Baza, Guadix, Granada, Marbella and back to Malaga to fly home. Destinations of note included Antequera where, aside from the very beautiful moorish town, you can also visit some great national park areas - specifically El Torcal, 15kms away. Further away, ...
...river gorge - the highlight of our journey. Once at the gorge it is possible to clamber up a disused road towards the railway tunnels. After passing a sign stating 'You risk injury or death by passing beyond this point. Do so at your risk' (or the equivalent in Spanish), a small trek across a few obvious dirt walkways brings you the railway tunnels. For this vantage point you can take your chances - there's a disused eighty year old concrete walkway, ...

boilot 05.08.2000 · Read full review
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Review of Andalucia (Spain)

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 ...
...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 to keep the ex-pats and the tourists happy so everybody is very friendly and helpful. It is a beautiful little town with lots to do if ...

Motley 26.03.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Andalucia (Spain)

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 ...
...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 and sad to say it is begining to attract more brits but the tourism in this little stretch tends to be home grown ...

shelley40 08.08.2005 · Read full review
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Review of Andalucia (Spain)

Andalucia is essentially the Costa Del Sol, it just encompasses more of the Spanish main-land. As well as the coastal areas which are jammed full of tourists (predominantly british usually), the breath-taking Spanish scenery in towns such as Granada, Ronda and Seville are all located within this beautiful region. In my short life I have visited Southern Spain a total of 5 times and from the first visit, my whole family totally fell in love with it. ...
...holiday a lovely relaxed feel which is such a must when you go on holiday. Coupled with that, if you have children, are all the attractions which can keep the active family occupied for a 2 week break. You have the many water parks for those swelteringly hot days and "tivoli world" located in arroyo de la miel (literally translated meaning the river of honey) near torremolinos ( although it is much less tacky area!) which is a night-time theme park ...

jambo5678 02.05.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Andalucia (Spain)

Nerja, east of Malaga on the Costa del Sol, is the place to be for a wonderful family holiday. We wnet last August and we're going back this year. It was recommended by a friend and it sounded just right for us; quiet, lots of restaurants, excellent beaches and reasonably Spanish and unspoilt. She was right on all accounts!! We could only go in August so it was touch and go whether we could afford it. The packages, even the cheap ones, came out ...
...girl 10 and boy 8). So i decided to go it alone. Good thing I did and I'd recommend booking the holiday yourself. I found a three bedroom apartment on the internet: Spanishholiday.com. They are agents for private owners and you deal with the owners yourself. Excellent communication, very good price: £680 for two weeks in August. I booked the flight with Easyjet: £960 for the four of us. Total £1640, near on half the price of the packages. The apartment ...

susanjane 12.03.2002 · Read full review
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Review of Andalucia (Spain)

I go to Estepona several times a year as my parents live there now and its a lovely place to go to chill out. The weather is warm and dry most of the year and I have worn t shirts in february (unheard of in the UK!) although it can and does rain hard some winter days and nights. If you are after a holiday which offers some time sightseeing and some time beaching it then this area is for you. The mountain range is only a few miles from the beach ...
...all year round. If you are a birdwatcher (feathered rather than thonged) this is the place for you - lots of large birds and small(including several species of vulture, buzzards, kites, storks, kestrels). Places to visit? Too many to list here but on my "essential" list would be: Rhonda (fascinating and beautiful ancient town and the oldest bullring in Spain), Casares (most photographed of the little white towns), Castellar de la frontera (strangely ...

lovetoad 01.10.2003 · Read full review
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Review of Andalucia (Spain)

Andalucia has now become a favourite holiday destination. Too often it is just considered the home of the Costa del Sol, but it is really worth exploring beyond the beachfront. A good way to do this is to rent a car. This is cheap in Spain, and the roads are good. This gives you the flexibility to choose where to stay based on how you feel. My experience over the past two trips has been that though one often wants to visit the larger towns, it's ...
...incredible landscapes you pass. Andalucia has such a range of terrain that it's bound to keep you impressed: fertile areas over to the west, dessert-like conditions over to the east. As a meat-eater, you taste buds will be well-catered for in Andalucia. Of course, the Serrano ham and various other sausages - Lomo, Chorizo, etc are fantastic. But other local favourites are also well worth a try: if you're in Cordoba, taste the Rabo de Toro - bulls ...

nattsang 26.07.2000 · Read full review
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Review of Andalucia (Spain)

I visited Seville in May of this year accompanied by 80,000 Celtic fans. Apart from being awestruck by the magnitude of a UEFA Cup Final, I fell in love with this wonderful city. We arrived from Madrid on the AVE mega-fast, clean and modern train. Just two hours to travel the 200+ miles from Spain's capital. Seville is also served by an airport and be accessed easily from Jerez and Faro airport in Portugal. We made our way through maze of narrow ...
...bodegas, and fantastic architectural monuments demonstrating the heavy Moorish influence of the past towards the magnificent cathedral with its majestic Giraldo tower. The cathedral is the third biggest in Europe with only ST Peter's (Rome) and St Paul’s (London) being larger. You can pay to enter the cathedral and it is well worth the €4 charge. Climb the tower and look over the ancient streets to see the city below. Quite a sight on this day as ...

Davkat 18.09.2003 · Read full review
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Review of Andalucia (Spain)

My experience of Andalucia is the white village of Frigiliana near Nerja. My husband and I have stayed there twice, once in a village house in the centre of the village, and once in a converted farmhouse outside the village. Both were very different experiences. Being in the centre meant that we were involved in the spanish village life if we wanted to be. We ate good food in well priced reastarants and then only had to walk or stumble next door ...
...the views and peace and tranquility were outstanding. We are walkers so it was heaven for us as there plenty in and around the mountains. We followed a dry stream one day into Nerja, and only saw about 4 other people the whole day. Our idea of heaven so much so that we are seriously thinking of moving over there. Having just been back again, this time to a town called Lanjaron, I thought I would edit this and try and put more information in. Lanjaron ...

Alison3 20.08.2002 (17.11.2002) · Read full review
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Review of Andalucia (Spain)