A three day tour of Andalucia

A three day tour of Andalucia, from the Mijas apartment.

This is based on a trip we did a couple of years ago, that was amazing! You could take a little longer if you like...

Day 1 - After breakfast in the apartment, drive to Gibraltar and park in the car park at the foot of cable car. Don't forget to take your passports to get into the island. It'll take you about 90 minutes to get there and a few minutes in traffic to get through passport control.

The cable car to the top goes from the centre of town and brings you out to a restaurant and spectacular views. If you want the obligatory photos of the monkeys, this is where you need to be. It's also a nice place for a coffee or a spot of lunch, depending on how you're doing for time. To make the most of your trip to the rock, get the ticket that allows you to walk back down and explore the caves and tunnels too. If you didn't have lunch already, head to the Old Town where you'll find narrow streets and a huge range of restaurants.

Continuing on, head to Tarifa, the most southerly point in mainland Europe, stopping at El Mirador del Estrecho. This is nothing more than a layby with a coffee shop but the views of Africa across the narrowest of waterways makes this a must. Grab an ice cream, and a selfie!

It's less than an hour from Gibraltar to Tarifa so we had plenty of time to wander along the promentary as far as we could whilst watching the kite surfers. Expect it to be windy, btw, and hold onto your hats... If you haven't settled in a bar overlooking the beach by now, go find the narrow streets by the cathedral and a wonderful cake shop - Pastelería Bernal. We sat at the bar opposite but were allowed to bring cakes to the table, just like everyone else was doing.

Loaded with sugar, finally make your way to Cadiz. This is about 75 minutes and will give you lots of time to get there, settle into a hotel and wander the main city before choosing somewhere nice for dinner. Like many Spanish old towns, leave your car in a main parking garage and walk the last few minutes. All the hotels give recommendations on where to park, and the parking garages are typically 24 hour and secure. We stayed at Casual con Duende Cadiz, which was lovely, central and had a great breakfast too. If you're not sure where to eat, head to Calle Plocia, where you'll find lots of good places. And the night doesn't necessarily stop there, as you'll find a good many bars to stop in to sample a sherry or vermouth late in the evening. We sat at the bar in a lovely place called Bar La Taperia de Columela before calling it a night.

Day 2 - After another good breakfast, spend some time walking the streets of Cadiz. To be honest, we wished we'd stayed an extra day, but in the time we did have we walked down the Corniche, made our way to the central market and, by far the highlight, went up to the top of the Torre Tavira. This is a tower in the centre with a camera obscura at the top - and was the highlight of the trip. Head up there and you'll get a guided tour of the city from above, explaining the rich history and with more than a joke or two thrown in for good measure. It made the short trip to the rooftop all the more interesting as we now knew roughly what we were looking at.

There's more to see and do in Cadiz, but we decided to head to Jerez next which is home to two things - sherry, and the Andalucian Equestrian School, where you can catch the most dazzling setting and display of equestrian skill. This needs a bit of planning ahead. The horse show only runs on certain days, and only in the mornings (worth double-checking as this is seasonal) so be sure to time your trip. It would certainly be worth staying an extra night in Cadiz and setting off for Jerez in the morning - it's only a half hour drive.

In addition to the horse show, Jerez is where sherry comes from and an official tour and tasting at one of the bodegas is well worth it. Again, time it right as they often close for lunch, only reopening at 4pm. We made the visit to Gonzalez Byass, famous for Tio Pepe and so much more. It's right in the centre, so easy to park up or join it after wandering round the town. Top tip, if you're choosing between the 2 sherry and 4 sherry tasting, go for the 4 sherry option - you can't mix and match between you and those who only chose 2 looked on with envy at those of us who chose more wisely!

We left Jerez very happy and continued to Seville that evening where, once again, we stowed the car securely and headed on foot to a hotel in the old town, this time El Rey Moro, who offer you a nice welcome drink on arrival. It's a short walk from the Cathedral and streets lined with lovely places to eat. Take your pick and retrace your steps carefully, Seville really is a warren.

Day 3 - Seville is a wonderful place to spend a few days, but if there's two sites in Seville you have to see, it's the Alcazar and the Cathedral, with its winding tower and peaceful courtyard. A word of caution, both of these need booking in advance and often several hours ahead. If you're not sure when you want to go, you can probably wait until you're in the queue for the Alcazar before booking the Cathedral, or vice versa, but if you leave it too late, you could well be disappointed. We've done the Alcazar twice, and it doesn't disappoint. The rooms inside are magical and, if you're flagging, head to the gardens, and grab a hot chocolate in the outdoor cafe while looking at the peacocks. Once refreshed, make sure you climb inside the walls themselves just because it's fun - and also give spectacular views of the palace and gardens. 

If you have time, or if you are staying a second night, head over the bridge to the Triana area, which is the heart of Flamenco. It's something we haven't yet managed to do, mainly because we've always been caught up in stopping at little tapas places and wandering the old town, but one day we'll go and catch a show!

Finally, you can drive all the way back to the apartment in about 2.5 hours but we decided to make a stop in Ronda en route. By leaving Seville late afternoon, we were able to stop for a drink and early dinner in Ronda (yes, it's possible to eat before 10 in Spain, but probably not before 6...) To be honest, all we really wanted was to wander across the gorge and soak up the atmosphere before getting home around 9pm. You could always come back to spend more time and do the bull ring tour (highly recommended, btw) as it's just under 90 minutes back to the apartment. In fact, doing Ronda as a day trip allows you to enjoy the sweeping mountain roads more than donig them at night.

So, there you have it - that's what we did in three days. It's a lot, but it didn't feel rushed. If you have more time, stay an extra night in Cadiz or Seville. If you have less, do one of them as a day trip, or Granada, which is what we did - but that's a whole other story!