Andalucia is the jewel in the crown of Spain. There are various stella attractions that help this region claim that title – the Alhambra, Seville, Cordoba, the striking pueblos blancos (white towns), the flamenco dancing, the Sherry Triangle. There are also natural spots that are worth the trip alone, such as the beaches of Tarifa, the mountains of Parque Natural Sierra de Grazalema and the coastline of Parque Natural de Cabo de Gata-Nijar. But it is the unique historical blend of Christian Spain and Moorish Al-Andalus that gives Andalucia the magic touch and makes it the must visit region of Spain
The itinerary below will give you the highlights and try to minimise the driving by having Cordoba and Parque Natural de Cabo de Gata-Nijar as optional
I’ve listed tips below, but high level – the standout attractions are the drive through the achingly beautiful white towns of Parque Natural Sierra de Grazalema, Seville’s Old Town with its Cathedral and Palace, and staying overnight in the sensational Vejer de la Fontera
Ronda is all about the dramatic gorge and how the pretty white old town, complete with one of Spain’s oldest bull rings and sensational bridge, is built impossibly around it. Certainly worth the day trip from the likes of Seville and Malaga as the surrounding scenery is just gorgeous and, despite it being really busy with fellow day tourists, has enough to see to not make it feel overly crowded
Top tip #1 – if have a car, focus instead on the drive through nearby Parque Natural Sierra de Grazalema. Ronda is beautiful, for sure, but it is just one of many stunning white hilltop towns in this part of Andalucia. Instead of spending 1-2 days in Ronda, enjoy it as part of a driving route from Ronda to Arcos de la Fontera. The most beautiful part of Spain, one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen in all of Europe and with far less tourists than in Ronda. See the full travel entry here –Driving through the White Towns of Parque Natural Sierra Grazalema
Tip #2 – walk through the valley to the west of Ronda as part of a circular route that gives you great views of the Bridge. Its a fairly simple route that you can start from anywhere, is around 6km / 3.75miles so takes only about 1.5 hours with only one moderately steep part, gives the best views of the gorge and allows you to wander through the vineyards for a very different feel. Use google maps – start at the bridge- then walk through the pretty Old Town to Mirador del Viento for amazing views – then to Mirador La Hoya del Tajo for further great views – then walk through the vineyards to Mirador de los Pinos – then all the way along the ridge to the views from Hotel Catalonia Reina – and then back to the central area with the bridge
Tip #3 – or something more unusual, try the Bodega Garcia Hidalgo vineyard. Only 5km from town, run by a local family and about as genuine a vineyard tour you can get
Tip #4 – where to stay. We stayed at the Hotel Catalonia Reina which has sensational views of the nearby mountains and valleys from its wide garden balcony, but is a bit overpriced for the rooms you get. I don’t think it really matters where you stay as everything is so close in Ronda
Tip #5 – where to eat. La Abaceria Ronda did great tapas. For drinks, give the Hotel Catalonia Reina’s outside area a go for great views and not rammed
Whilst the wines from Rioja are known throughout the world, the wine region itself is relatively underrated compared to other regions with such a famous name. This is a real plus, because, in addition to the spectacular views along the mountain ridge-line and the oh-so-pretty small villages perched on top of the various rocky-outcrops, you don’t tend to get the huge hoards of fellow tourists you normally associate with such regions . . . nor the prices
I only spent a very short time in the Rioja Wine Region, so I won’t go into much detail for tips, except:
Tip #1 – visit the Eguren Ugarte winery. Both the winery itself and its surroundings that look over the valley are simply stunning. They do wine tours and tastings and really reasonable overnight staying options
Tip #2 – try to stay in the wine region itself. We stayed in Burgos which, although it was nice and had the UNESCO World Heritage Cathedral, felt a bit too far away from . . . well . . . any sign of vineyards!
Bordeaux is nice – the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Old Town is pleasant and big enough to get enjoyably lost in; the Place de la Bourse is impressive with its mirrored effect looking from the fountains; and of course you have some of the best wines in the world to sample in the various wine bars and learn about in the museum La Cite du Vin . . . but the highlight of this part of the world is the vineyards themselves . . . and in particular around the Saint Emilion area (see Sampling wines in Saint Emilion for more detailed tips). So, spend an afternoon if, as you likely will be, passing through, but not at the expense of time in the vineyards
Tip – the museum, La Cite du Vin, is surprisingly good. It’s out of town a little, but only a 15min tram ride on the main route, plus it has views over the city with your choice of some free wine to compliment the view and the nearby Les Halles Bacalan is a market of tapas restaurants where the food is wonderful
Eger’s central square is very pretty and worth sitting around in whilst looking at the views of the Minorite Church, but it is the wine tasting in the Valley of the Beautiful Women that gains the attention.
To manage expectation though … it’s not quite what you’d expect. There doesn’t quite seem to be the hoards of beautiful women helpfully grouped together in one picturesque valley. It’s also not quite a valley …. more like a park around 70m x 35m / 230ft x 135ft with a few wineries round the outside. False advertising? Yes for sure, but it is worth a visit as once you get past the initial surprise at what you’ve taken a 2 hour train from Budapest for, it does kind of grow on you. Firstly, the wine cellars are deceptive – there must be around 40 of them and most have cellars / drinking / eating areas that go back around 100m / 330 feet under the hills, which makes for quite a lot of wine drinking area around such a small park. And secondly, the Valley of the Beautiful Women attracts locals and tourists alike to generate what must be quite an atmosphere in this compact spot in the summer festivals (sadly we missed one by a couple of days)
Worth a day trip / overnight trip, but manage expectations
Some high level tips:
- Getting there – trains leave every hour or so from Budapest’s Keleti station, and it’s less than a 10min taxi into the centre of Eger / the Valley of the Beautiful Women
- Accommodation – we stayed at the Hotel Senator which had a perfect location and felt like going back in time a bit. Slightly overpriced (USD100 per night) and maybe a tad basic in places, but worth it for the location and the randomness
Portugal is a great country for visiting for 10/14 days as it has a heap of varied things to experience and not vast distances to cover. By basing yourself in the 3 major areas of Porto / The Douro Valley, Lisbon, and the Algarve, you can use each as a hub for adventures nearby and also be able to stop off on a few places directly in between that are great for a couple of hours or so
Big highlights for me were actually some of the smaller places that I’d never heard of before I arrived in Portugal. In particular the gorgeous Duoro Valley wine region, the hilltop town of Sintra and the beautifully charming streets of Cascais. Plus, the more famous highlights of port tasting in Porto and various neighbourhoods of Lisbon
Each piece that makes up this itinerary has its own travel post, but I’ve also condensed the key points and listed some more general tips below
What a surprisingly wonderful experience the Duoro Valley offers! I must admit that, like many others, I hadn’t heard of it before making the trip to Portugal and had mainly thought of the Algarve and Lisbon area when thinking of Portugal. . How wrong I was – the Duoro’s combination of vineyards, steep dramatic slopes and river views is one I can’t think of anywhere else in the world, let alone Portugal. When you add into the mix that there is the more unusual Port wine to sample along with the normal table wine, then you have a real gem of an experience and, in my opinion, the highlight of Portugal
Porto is nice enough, and definitely worth a day trip. Its UNESCO-listed Ribeira district and waterfront are nice to wander around, if very touristy, and a visit to one of the port wine houses in particular is good fun to sample the wines, learn about the production and enjoy the views. But I thought it was a slightly less attractive version of the Alfama district in Lisbon and is more of a conduit to the real highlight of the area (and Portugal) which is the Duoro Valley (see Wine tasting around Pinhao in the Duoro Valley for more details)
All sounds a bit negative! – definitely worth a visit on the way to the Duoro, but no more than a day needed
My girlfriend and I went on a 6month trip around Latin America (excluding Brazil). Started in the far South in the Tierra del Fuego in Argentina and, broadly, made our way up the west coast to the Yucatan Peninsular of Mexico. Best large scale trip I’ve done, and wanted to share the overall itinerary and tips here to hopefully help those who are considering something similar
A few high level points:
- Other than the flights there and the first hotel, there were only three things we booked in advance: the Inca Trail (which we knew we needed to for permits); plus for Patagonia a trip through Torres del Paine National Park and a ferry through the fjords (as we were going at peak season and only a couple of weeks after we landed). Everything else, we booked when in Latin America and, in our opinion, that is the best way to do it – gives you the freedom to relax in the places you find that you love and be super flexible to do what you want to do
- Total costs – my girlfriend and I went in our 30s, with no kids and on sabbaticals from work. We’re not poor, but certainly not mega wealthy. We didn’t stay in super expensive hotels (other than for the occasional splurge), flew economy and used a bit of common sense for timings of certain expensive items, but never held back on doing the things we wanted to do. Some examples of big ticket items: US$5k for a week diving in the remote Wolf & Darwin Islands in the Galapagos; US$1.2k for 4 days in Torres del Paine National Park in Patagonia; US$800 for a helicopter trip to see the El Mirador Mayan ruins in the Guatemalan jungle; US$700 for the Inca Trail. Total cost of the whole trip was US$34k each. This included all flights, transport, hotels, activities, food, drink, guides, screwing things up, credit card fees – the lot. Expensive, but so are most Experiences of a Lifetime
- It’s not about trying to “do everything” – in a place as large as Latin America, you couldn’t even if you tried – so don’t think of things as a big tick box exercise. Brazil, for example, we knew we couldn’t do justice whilst also trying to enjoy all the other amazing places we’d heard of, so left it for next time
- In the similar vain, make sure you give yourself big chunks of time to chill out. Not only to recharge the batteries, but also because most places are enjoyed when you spend time to soak up the feel for the place. There were some places . . . like Lake Atitlan in Guatemala, Buenos Aires in Argentina, Isla Mujeres in Mexico, Bocas del Toro in Panama . . . where I could have spent weeks there just because the general vibe of the place was so wonderful
- Safety – we weren’t robbed, but many people do either having a bag stolen or, unpleasantly, get robbed face to face. Other than a couple of cities, we generally felt super safe the places we went and tried to just apply common sense to reduce our risks
- Learn a bit of Spanish before you go – the app DuoLingo was great for getting us to a basic level that made a lot of difference. But also don’t be afraid to pull out google for simultaneous conversation translations to really be able to have a conversation with someone – some long trips became some of our highlights just from being able to properly talk with the driver / locals. I particularly remember a long taxi ride in Colombia where we went back and forward for 2 hours with the driver on everything from his home town to politics to football to his favourite movies to his family problems- never could have done that without Spanish or google. In a similar vein, and using the right level of common sense, don’t turn down an invite for drinks / dinner / house visit with locals. There are some truly unforgettable natural and cultural spots to see, but similarly an evening with a local family will be something likely to be just as unforgettable
- Whenever checking out a place or must-do-site, its easy to get templed / churched / ancient site / beached out. Always do a very basic bit of research to see if there is a more out of the ordinary way to experience it – by bike / drinking tour / kayaking / helicopter / whatever. Thats what we tried to do, and I hope it reflected in some of the cool stuff listed below
The most famous wine region in Latin America . . . making your way cycling from one superb vineyard to the next . . . stopping off for lunch overlooking the tallest section of the Andes range . . . sounds awful right?
Whilst Mendoza has a sea of vineyards spread out across a wide area, Chacras de Coria is jam packed with vineyards in a manageable sized area that is geared for cyclists who can easily make their way between them. If you can, give yourself an extra day to head off to some of the other regions, but make Chacras de Coria your base
