Andalusia travel trips

Information for people who want to explore the area around Andalusian town La Herradura, known for the world-schooling hub.

It should help you decide:

  • What places you can visit if you have 3, 5 or 7 days in Andalusia
  • If to stay local or explore as much as possible
  • If to rent a car or do without it

Where to stay?

If you want to stay near where we usually stay, those are the options:

La Herradura (LH)

  • small town where our family usually stays. High density of worldscholing families and expats
  • many ad-hoc meetings of teenagers, several yoga classes…
  • otherwise it is not a special town, similar to other seaside towns around. Other towns (see below) have also international people and local events to enjoy.
  • LH has only 1 bigger grocery (Dia shop), a dozen of restaurants and pubs, gas station, pharmacy.

Almuñecar

  • a bigger town, 6km from La Herradura (10 mins by car or local bus, 1 hour by walking from LH)
  • it had bigger shops: Lidl, Aldi, Mercadona, and weekly market with fresh local fruits & vegetables
  • direct buses to Granada, Malaga (see Alsa.es)

Nerja

  • bigger town, 15km from La Herradura (15 mins by car or local bus)
  • it had bigger shops: Lidl, Aldi, Mercadona
  • next to famous Nerja cave

other towns around (rather with a car)

  • Salobreña (with a castle)
  • Motril (biggest town in the area)

How? Two modes of staying – with or without car

Probably you will arrive by plane to Malaga airport. If you want to get to La Herradura (or bigger towns nearby: Almuñecar, Nerja) – all are about 80 km away. Then you have two options:

  1. Rent a car
    • you can rent directly at the airport – it takes additional 1 hour of paperwork
      • we used this portal Rentalcars.com to get a car (from a GoldCar – was cheapest, but not very recommended). However it was in before pandemic, things could change. Other sites to check: amovens.com/cars, Malagacar.com/. Costs 100-200€/week.
      • Advice: have damage insurance (directly at provider, or from a separate company, we used www.worldwideinsure.com, but in 2019)
  2. Use friend’s transport (if available) or public or taxi (cost close to 100€)
    • Public transport:
      • there is bus from airport to Malaga.
      • from Malaga there are busses to Almuñecar (more) or to La Herradura (a few a day). Check details at bus company Alsa.es

Trips – places to visit

La Herradura (1/2 – 1 day – week)

A small town with a concentration of world-schooling families and expats. Thanks to this, there are ad-hoc meetings of teenagers happening every week, several yoga and other sport / meditation classes. A cozy town with a long beach between two hills. Feels like a small village, where you quickly start knowing people on the street.

Things to do:

  • local hikes (1-4 hour-long walks) to lighthouse or tower above the town
  • weekly / occasional meet-ups of world-schooling families living here e.g.
    • Tuesday game’s meetup for teenagers
    • Wednesday Open Mic for musicians and singers (mostly adults)
    • Friday karaoke (first hours usualy teens, later adults)
    • Sunday teens & parents hike
  • yoga and some sport classes happening every week
  • have a coffee or beer and taps in dozen of cafes, pubs and restaurants
  • enjoy beach (with little stones, not sand), with playground
  • walk the small old town streets
  • work at Tropi coworking place
  • weekly rock concerts in a local music clubs La Cochera, or Bamboo bar.

Malaga (1 day)

Biggest city in the region, a place of Picasso, Antonio Banderas…

Places to see there:

  • Old town (A. Banderas has a restaurant there, he was born in this city and invested in theater there)
  • Marketplace hall
  • Sea port area and a park nearby wit tropical plants (Google map here Muelle Uno)
  • Picasso museum – dedicated to the work of Pablo Picasso with collection of his artworks.See more about it here.
  • Botanic garden (Jardín Botánico – Histórico La Concepción) huge 23 ha botanical garden with tropical & subtropical flora from 5 continents. (see Google Maps).
  • Castle Alcazaba: Moorish-style medieval fortress overlooking the sea, with fountain & gardens. Learn more about it here.

Granada (1 day)

Beautiful city with Moorish style old town and famous Alhambra palace – one of the best-preserved palaces of the historic Islamic world and architecture. The city is located under the Sierra Nevada mountains – often you can see snowy mountains in the background.

  • Travel from LH: 1h by car
  • Trip duration: a day recommended

Granada – our recommended tour:

  1. Parking – we recommend around Centro Commercial Neptuno – close from highway and to the town.
    • there are several safe paid parking places e.g. around Centro Commercial Neptuno (cost about 15€ a day), but you can be lucky find a free parking on those streets around (white lines mark free parking, blue are paid): Calle Montero, C. Maria de Zayas. You may need to do several rounds to find a spot.
  2. Granada old town – walk to classical old town,
    • Cathedral de Granada and small streets with shops around to buy souvenirs or tea (we recommend Pakistani tea mix)
    • Plaza Isabel Catolica
    • Plaza de Santa Ana with the best empanada bakery on the way under Alhambra castle, next to cosy river
    • walk Carrera del Darro towards back valley to get to Alhambra beautiful untraditional way
    • there is small hidden Museum Archeologic to stop by for 1h visit on that street (free for EU citizens) with great view from patio to castle
  3. Granada old moorish town – if you have time for 1-2h detour go to this part now, or after Alhambra walk
  4. Alhambra castle

Almuñecar (1/2 – 1 day)

Mid-size town nearby LH, with multiple shops (Lidl, Aldi, Mercadona) and weekly market.

  • Travel from LH: 10 min by car, 1 h walking
  • Trip duration: min. 2 h recommended

Places to see there:

  • Old town and small castle
  • Weekly market with fresh fruits & vegetables (oranges, avocados, tomates) – on each Friday till noon
  • Beach
  • Roman aqueduct in the park (15 min walk from center) and another aqueducts above the town (by car 15 min)
  • Small botanic garden in centere

Nerja (1/2 – 1 day)

Mid-size touristic town, with nice old town, several small beaches. There are multiple bigger shops (Lidl, Mercadona).

  • Travel from LH: 20 min by car
  • Trip duration: min. half a day recommended
  • see Google map of Nerja

Places to see:

Gibraltar (1 day)

British territory on Spain’s south coast. Dominated by the Rock of Gibraltar, a 426m-high ridge, with lots of monkeys – stealing tourists’s backpacks and mobiles 😉

Other places to be explored by us and added

  • Ronda
  • Sevilla
  • Cordoba
  • Sierra Nevada 3000+m peaks

Visited, but not yet described:

  • Toledo
    • 4-5 hours by car from LH, or by bus / train from Malaga / Granada
  • Madrid
    • 4-5 hours by car from LH, or by bus / train from Malaga / Granada
  • Alcala de Hernandez
    • beautiful old town (like Oxford) next to Madrid
  • Barcelona
    • 8+ hours by car or train (via Madrid) or by plane from Malaga

About Spain

Interesting Facts

  • Population: 48 million
  • Biggest cities: Madrid (capital), Barcelona, Valencia, Seville
  • History facts
    • Today: Part of the EU, Schengen, NATO.
    • Past:
      • Decades under the cruel Franco dictatorship from 1939 to 1975.
      • In 1492, Spain “sponsored” Christopher Columbus’s voyage, leading to the discovery of the Americas.
      • Country ruled by Moorish (Islamic) culture for 700 years (711-1492). Hence you can see Arabic influence all around (architecture, names, famous Alhambra palace)
    • For more history background, check Canva presentation made by Nina (Polish version here, English soon)

Practical vocabulary

To be expanded regularly

Hello – Hola
Good bye – Adios
Thank you – Gracias
See you – Hasta luego
Food – Comida
Bread – Pan
Drink – Beber
Fresh orange juice – Jugo de naranja natural
Ice cream – Helado
Pay by card – Con tarjeta
Pay by cash – En efectivo
I need help – Necesito auyda
Where is toilet? – ¿Dónde está el baño?

Calendar of events for world-schoolers (Feb 2025) in La Herradura