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, with concentration of worldscholing families and expats (ad-hoc meetings of teenagers, several yoga classes…).
    • otherwise, LH is not a special town, similar to other seaside towns around. Other towns around (see below) have also international people and local events to enjoy.
    • LH has only 1 bigger grocery (Dia shop), dosen 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
    • 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. Monday game’s meetup, Friday karaoke, 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.

Places to see:

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 town
  • 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

Hello – Hola
Good bye – Adios
Thank you – Gracias
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?