looking for a new part of Andalucia to visit

[RichardCoeurdeLion]

We no longer have our little shack near Estepona, but we intend to come back next year for a visit.
We know the coast between Malaga and Estepona well, but want to try somewhere else. We don't want to stay on a tourist type urbanisation. We would like to be within walking distance of a town for mooching about. Not necesarily on the coast. We like seeing the traditional aspect of spain, and would hire a car for excursions further afield. We have made side trips to places like Cordoba, Seville, Granada etc and liked them all. We did a very nice side trip to Sanlucar once, so I wondered about basing in Jerez. We are open to all suggestions you have.

Thanks in advance

Rick

[Bandy]

Have you done the route of the pueblos blancos between Cortes de la Frontera and Ronda, down the Genal valley etc finsishing off in Grazalema and Setenil etc

[Paula]

Definitely a lovely route Bandy suggests. You have many white villages to stay in, or if you want a bigger town Ronda or Cortes. Also close enough for a trip to the coast if you wanted one.

[karandjon]

Yes, fantastic route. Don´t forget to pop into Medina Sidonia too while you´re there. well worth a visit.

[katy]

Yes, medina Sidonia, Vejer de la Frontera. I like Cádiz city as a base (and very Spanish). I am not fond of Jerez, very touristy. You could try Lavanda's neck of the woods, totally different...we enjoyed it.

[daismarg]

How about Arcos de la Frontera which is a white town, known for its lake and about 20 mins from Jerez, 60 mins from Seville and 90 mins from Gibraltar!

[keddyboy]

Try the El Chorro route, the Andaucian lake district?

[RichardCoeurdeLion]

Thanks for the replies guys and gals.

Weve been to all the places mentioned, but only as a day trip or en route to somewhere else. Never slept there. So they are all good posibilities. Where does Lavanda hang out?

[katy]

Lavanda is in Extremadura, have a read at her posts. Nice area for a holiday.

[Mydogdylan]

A good base to explore from is Antequera you can go East/West/North/South to visit interesting places not yet discovered.

[Chrissie]

I really love the Subbetica region South of Cordoba. It's still relatively undiscovered with some beautiful villages, fantastic scenery and amazing wildlife. The big plus, of course, is Cordoba itself
http://www.andalucia.com/province/cordo ... a/home.htm

[anyroads]

Why not try Lebrija, Rick.

It has a railway station also (about 50 minutes to Seville )

anyroads

[Roz]

Rick, we have had a holiday in Cazella de la Sierra 3 or 4 times over the years. There are many other villages and places of interest to visit and a good train service to Sevilla. http://www.andalucia.com/province/sevilla/cazalla.htm

I can recommend a good place to stay, p.m. me if you want more information.

Roz

[RichardCoeurdeLion]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Will look into it all next year.

[fuentearriba]

The Sierra de los Filabres in Almeria presses all the right buttons!

[dido72]

Rick Frigiliana is a beautiful village and you can explore the whole of the Axarquia from there plus you can venture into Almeria from there too....highly recommended from me!!!

[RichardCoeurdeLion]

Hey guys 'n gals

Really appreciate the effort you've put in.

[Chrissie]

You're spoiled for choice now Rick - it will probably take you 12 months to get round these places - what fun in store!

[Mydogdylan]

This place is ideal...... i know its not in Andulucia but the town of Aranjuez 30 miles south of Madrid is a great place to stay and to explore the surrounding area.

The town is beautiful itself and has excellent restuarants along the River Tagus which runs through the town(never managed to visit them all as we was only there for a week) and its proper Spanish town with very little or no foreigners living there


Type the name of the town in google and see what comes up.

[Mowser]

Rick Frigiliana is a beautiful village and you can explore the whole of the Axarquia from there plus you can venture into Almeria from there too....highly recommended from me!!!

RANT BEGINS

I'd give Frigiliana a miss for 2009. The Ayuntamiento in its wisdom has decided to "beautify" one of the roads that still has electric cables showing. All cables will now be buried.This road is the main road through the old town. Preparatory work started a few weeks ago, but we only learned on Friday 9th January that the road was to be closed to all traffic as from today 12th January. The work will last for 8 months (that means probably a year at least). If you fancy walking through rubble then come and visit.

Frigiliana has been a building site for the last 10 years. We have lots of illegal flats to view. They were declared illegal about 6 years ago but still they stand - half finished. This Ayuntamiento seems to pride itself in making life as difficult as possible for the residents. As the local shops are small family affairs and can't compete with the supermarkets, the prices are OTT. Fine if you run out of the odd barra de pan (€1.00), but it's a no-no for weekly shopping. I asked at the town hall about the pre-planning for this work - specifically how do I get a monthly shopping up to my house given that the road is closed. Obviously this word "pre-planning" is not in their vocabulary. I received three different answers:-

1 "Park your car at the bottom of the village and walk." (With umpteen heavy boxes?)
2 "Drive to just before the work starts - do a 3-point turn and go back the way you came". (As this is a one-way road barely wide enough for one car this could prove a tad difficult).
3 "It will be a controlled access. Just wait till the local police give you permission and you can drive straight through."

I liked point three and asked for clarification. An instant decision was made that point three was impossible so that was deleted. I now had two choices:- walk or play at dodgems. I'll play dodgems. I asked then about delivery vehicle access and pointed out that it would be impossible for a delivery vehicle to do a three - point turn.This got them stumped.

In short - please stay away until 2010 - month to be decided.

RANT ENDS