You can get to know Spanish Andalusia in different ways. Most families will discover this part of southern Spain by taking one or more day trips from their holiday destination on the Costa de Sol. Campsites, hotels and apartment complexes on this coast are very popular among families with both small and older children. Another option that combines beach, nature and culture is a car tour through Andalusia. If you want to plan a tour through Andalusia, you start by determining the different destinations that you want to visit. At the same time, you decide what you want to see and do locally. This way you know how long your trip will be. If the duration of your holiday has already been determined, you will fill in your travel plan accordingly. When making your travel plan, make sure you draw up a logical itinerary and also take into account the location of the airports at the beginning and end of your trip.
Transport to and in Andalusia
There is a very large choice of flights that go from Amsterdam to a destination in Andalusia. Both scheduled and charter flights are available. Depending on your itinerary, you can fly to Málaga, Granada or Seville. You can immediately pick up your rental car at the airport. Although public transport in Spain is good, it is still more convenient and pleasant to have access to a car during the entire tour.
Practical itinerary
If you have a week, you can choose to drive the Seville Granada Nerja route. You can fly to Seville and fly back from Málaga. If you have ten vacation days to spare, you can stay a little longer at each destination, but you can also include an extra destination in your travel plan. You can spend a few nights in the mountains near Granada, the Sierra Nevada. You can also plan a night near Antequera, so that you can visit the Fuente de Piedra national park along the way. A logical route could now be: Seville Antequera Granada Sierra Nevada Nerja. If you have two to three weeks, you can start on the beach of Nerja and then travel via the Sierra Nevada and Granada towards Seville and then end with a beach stay on the Atlantic coast, so that your Nerja Sierra Nevada Granada Antequera Sevilla Costa itinerary de la Luz becomes.
Nerja
When you start in Nerja, you will have arrived at Málaga airport, where you will have picked up the rental car to drive to your first destination. If you end up in Nerja, you probably came from Granada or the Sierra Nevada. Nerja is both a quiet start and a relaxing end to your tour of Andalusia. Depending on the accommodation you book, you can add a little more activity and tourist crowds. There are a large number of accommodation options to choose from: an apartment within walking distance of the beach, a hotel right on the beach or a villa on the outskirts of Nerja, with or without a private pool. Nerja is primarily intended for relaxing on the beach, interspersed with strolling along terraces, restaurants and souvenir shops. If you want to visit something here, be sure to go to the stalactite caves of Nerja.
If Nerja is your last destination, you will drive to Málaga airport on the last day. This is where you return the rental car before flying back home. If your holiday has just started, you can travel from Nerja to the Sierra Nevada or Granada.
Orgiva
A nice village to visit on the way from Málaga or Nerja to the Sierra Nevada and Granada is Orgiva. This authentic village has narrow, hilly alleys, orange trees and cozy terraces. You can easily encounter Spanish cowboys here and also come face to face with Dutch or other Europeans who live here.
Granada
The city of Granada is definitely worth a visit. You will often stay in an apartment in the middle of the city. The center of Granada is car-free and consists mainly of narrow winding roads with height differences, where only buses are allowed to drive. It is therefore advisable to park your car just outside the center during your stay in Granada. The main reason for your visit to Granada will probably be the Alhambra, the medieval palace of the Moorish rulers of the Kingdom of Granada. You would be wise to purchase the entrance tickets in the Netherlands. This way you avoid standing in front of the entrance for hours once you arrive and still not being able to enter. Only a limited number of visitors are allowed in per day. The tickets for the Alhambra are valid for half a day, so you have either a morning or an afternoon to see everything. Only for the Nazrid Palace is there a mandatory time within that half day at which you can visit it, this does not apply to all other parts of the Alhambra, including the palace gardens and the Generalife. In the souvenir shops, a booklet that tells the story of the Alhambra to children stands out. It is available in several languages, including Dutch. In combination with your own experiences, it is a nice reason for a paper or speech.
Not all children want to stay in the Alhambra for a long time. This depends on the age and interests of your children. You can interrupt your wandering through the Alhambra with a drink or ice cream. The bus also runs from the Alhambra car park to the center of Granada. It’s nice to stroll around there too. There are also nice terraces, including with a beautiful view of the Alhambra.
If you really don’t want to stay in the hustle and bustle of the city, you can also visit Granada and the Alhambra from an accommodation just outside the city or in the Sierra Nevada.
Sierra Nevada
The Sierra Nevada is an ideal destination to relax, both before and after and also to replace your stay in Granada. There are many opportunities for hiking in the mountains and you can even go horse riding and take a horse and carriage tour through nature. There are also a number of mountain lakes where you can take a dip or swim. There are also large mountain lakes with different colors of blue water. In the Sierra Nevada you will also find small-scale hotels, cozy restaurants and friendly cafes where you can easily mingle with the locals.
Antequera
Antequera is a nice stopover on the way from Granada and the Sierra Nevada to Seville. This is a high-altitude, white and authentic village. Here you can still see the old men on the terraces standing up for the approaching tourists. Near Antequera is the Fuente de Piedra national park. You can walk around the lake yourself, but there are also options to go with a guide. You can spot various animals, including flamingos. You can include a night in Antequera in your itinerary so you can enjoy the national park in peace.
Seville
Another major city in Andalusia is Seville and it is also definitely worth a visit. You can also choose between a hotel in the middle of the city and a hotel outside the city. If you choose accommodation in the countryside, you will have to drive a bit if you want to visit Seville, but it also provides more peace and quiet. Often the accommodations outside the city, unlike those in the city, have a swimming pool, which is very nice after a day in the heat of the city.
In Seville you can stroll for hours through old squares, through narrow alleys and past old buildings. The cathedral is also beautiful to see from the inside. You can find some relief in one of the parks. If you want to visit all the city’s sights in a fun way, you can approach a coachman on the squares around the cathedral for a tour in his horse-drawn carriage. If you want to learn more about bullfighting, you can visit an arena. You can experience some extra culture by attending a flamenco dance performance. If you like to dance yourself, you can even do a flamemco workshop. You can have a bite to eat or a drink on one of the many terraces. Especially in Seville, don’t forget to eat at an authentic tapas bar. A boat trip on the Guadalvaquir River is very fun and relaxing. If you want to take a break from busy and cultural Seville, you can visit Isla Magita, where an amusement park and water park are combined. If you want to do a lot in Seville and see a lot of the city, set aside two full days.
Costa de la Luz
The Costa de la Luz is located on the Atlantic coast. Here you will find seaside resorts such as Cádiz, Conil de la Frontera, Costa Ballena, El Puerto de Santa María, Novo Santi Petri, Rota and Sancti Petri. The Atlantic coast is currently mainly visited by the Spaniards themselves, but the long golden beaches and laidback beach bars are certainly ideal to include in your tour of Andalusia. You can relax here. In addition, the Costa de la Luz is a good starting point for excursions in the area. If you drive from Seville to the Atlantic coast, you will pass Jerez de la Frontera. This city is known for its sherry. If your children are a bit older, it is very interesting to take a tour of the production process. Adults can taste a glass of liquid gold, as sherry is also called, in one of the many bodegas.
Gibraltar
It is very special to visit a part of Great Britain during your tour through Spanish Andalusia. Although English is spoken everywhere and you regularly come across a red telephone box, people drive here on the right side of the road. The biggest attraction in Gibraltar is the monkey rock where you are surrounded by Barbary macaques. The rock is accessible by cable car. The port of Gibraltar and the red/white lighthouse are also nice to see. Gibraltar is also visited by many cruise ships and is also known from the opening scene of the James Bond film The Living Daylights.
Tarifa
Whales and dolphins can sometimes be spotted in the Gulf of Gibraltar. Boat excursions for this purpose depart from the port of Tarifa, among others. In addition to the captain and tour guide, there will often also be a biologist on board who is able to be the first to discover the sea animals and determine their species. Ferries to Morocco also depart from the same port. Tarifa is the southernmost point of Spain, only the Gulf of Gibraltar separates this piece of Spanish art from the Moroccan coast.
Costa del Sol
If you want a little more activity at the end of your trip, you can also spend the last few days of your holiday on the Costa del Sol. In addition to Nerja and Málaga, Benalmádena, Fuengirola, Marbella, Miijas, Mortil and Torremolinos are popular destinations. These are busy seaside resorts that have many high-rise buildings, making most of them less suitable for truly relaxing. There are countless water parks and amusement parks to visit on the Costa del Sol, of which a few stand out. The famous Tivolo amusement park is located in Benalmádena, where a few lesser-known parks are also definitely worth a visit. In Benalmádena you can also visit Selwo Marina, a zoo with marine animals and bird species. A number of shows take place every day, including seals, dolphins and birds. You have the opportunity to have your photo taken with dolphins, seals and snakes. For the photo with dolphins there are on average two sessions available with limited places, for which reservations as early as possible are recommended. In Selwo Marina you can also book a swimming course with sea lions, which is great fun for children and young people as well as adults. Yet another attraction in Benalmádena is Selwo Teleférico. You go up with the cable car and while you enjoy the view over Benalmádena you will automatically arrive in the park after a while. Here you can once again enjoy beautiful views, admire birds and walk through nature. A bird of prey show takes place here a few times a day. Selwo offers the option to buy a 3 in 1 ticket. In addition to the Marina and Teleférico park, it also gives access to the Selwo Aventura park. The Aventura park is located in Estepona, which is easily accessible from the seaside resorts on the Costa del Sol. Aventura is Selwo’s animal and safari park. It is a complete zoo with a large safari park set up in African style. You can travel around in a safari bus with the option to make a stop at the Africa restaurant along the way. The park also offers fun activities such as feeding giraffes, archery, camel rides and a cable car that allows you to float over the water. A special experience in Torrelominos is the horse show Ritmo a Cabbalo, where riders show their horses all kinds of beautiful tricks to the rhythm of the music. This show takes place every Wednesday evening at El Ranchito riding school. You will also find less culture here, but there are opportunities to visit various white villages in the area. The marina of Marbella, where many luxury yachts are moored, is nice in combination with a beach day.
Ronda
If you have spent the last few days of your holiday on the Atlantic coast, you will probably drive back to Málaga airport on your last day of holiday. This ride takes about four hours and takes you past a number of hippie-like surfing villages such as Zahara de Atunes, Caños de los Mecas, El Palmar and Babete, which you can visit if you have the time. You will also pass Ronda, one of the most special villages in this area. Ronda is built on two rocks, surrounded by two mountain ranges and connected by three bridges. The newest and most famous bridge is the Puente Nuevo, which spans a gorge of up to 200 meters deep. Ronda also has an arena that you can visit. You can optionally choose to plan an extra night here before flying back home. You can also fly back from Seville from the Atlantic coast.
Souvenir tips
There are many nice souvenirs for sale in Andalusia. The most obvious are probably the castanets and flamenco dresses. For enthusiasts, sherry and other Spanish wines are also a suitable souvenir. Keep in mind that the very high unemployment in Spain means that you will soon bump into sellers of all kinds of knick-knacks or touch your beach towel. Be clear when you don’t want to buy anything, this will save both you and the sellers in question a lot of time. In any case, take as many photos as possible to remember a great holiday in Andalusia