Andalucia, a Wonderful Holiday Destination
by: Ruth Polak
The Costa del Sol has long been one of the most popular
holiday destinations in southern Europe, and quite rightly
so as it has much to offer in the form of reliable sunshine,
beautiful safe beaches, good restaurants and nightlife,
good quality and affordable accommodation along with
plentiful and cheap flights from a vast choice of airports.
However The Costa del Sol is only a very small part of the
wonderful Autonomous Region of Andalucia.
Rural tourism has opened up this superb area of southern
europe and it is now possible to rent a villa in many
outstanding and remote areas hither too unexplored by the
vast majority of tourists. To a large extent the countryside
has been unspoilt by the recent developments along the
Costas and there are still many out of the way and remote
areas to explore. In recognition of this several new air
routes have now been opened up with very reasonable
flights into both Jerez and Granada airports.
The white villages, or "Pueblos Blancos" are a good
starting point as in the main life goes on in them much as it
has done for centuries. Casares, Gaucin, Benaojen,
Estacion de Cortes, Cortes de la Frontera, to name but a
few, are all delightful places to spend a few hours ambling
around, marvelling at the architecture, the slow
unchanging pace of life and sampling the various tapas
bars. During the summer months every village holds a
tradtional feria with music and dancing in the streets all
night long.
Andalucia is of course the home of Flamenco dancing
and bull fighting. The oldest bullring in Spain is to be found
at Ronda, and whatever your feelings are on this rather
emotive sport it is an interesting building to visit as is the
adjacent museum. The old part of the town is also a lovely
place to visit with its amazing Tajo ( gorge) and wealth of
old buildings. A train ride from one of the white villages
further down country such as Jimena or Gaucin, is a lovely
way to arrive at Ronda as the train passes through some
beautiful countryside not visable from the road.It also
continues on upto Granada which is a must for any visitor
to Andalucia with its stunning Alhambra Palace, old gypsey
quarter and many other places of interest.
The wildlife in Andalucia is amongst the best now left in
Europe with an astonishing array of birds, both resident
and migrant, it is particuarly well blessed with birds of prey
such as Griffon and Eygptian Vultures, Bonnelli's and
Booted Eagles,Peregrine falcons, Red and Black Kites, to
name but a few. These magnificent birds are a common
site soaring majestically above the mountain ranges of
Andalucia. It is also home to wild boar, mongeese and
genets most of which are not particuarly well appreciated
by the local population as they do alot of damage to
gardens and live stock, however they are all now protected
by law. In the spring the countryside puts on a stunning
display of wild flowers, some of which are now quite rare in
other parts of Europe.
There is much unspoilt countryside where one is quite at
liberty to walk and camp, just being careful with fires in the
dry summer months. Whilst official footpaths and
signposting are rather limited there are few real restrictions
as to where you can wander as long as you just use
common sense with regard to rubbish, fires etc. However
always take water with you as you can easily find yourself
in the middle of nowhere with no natural source of water
nearby.
So take a holiday away from all the hustle and bustle, rent
a private villa, hire a car and just enjoy exploring this
delightful region of Spain.
About The Author
Ruth Polak is the owner of http://www.costadelsol-vacationrentals.com, a web
site specializing in holiday villas and apartments on the Costa del Sol and in
Rural Andalucia. You will also find lots of information about Spain and
Andalucia, in particular.
Email Ruth at ruthcasares@yahoo.co.uk
by: Ruth Polak
The Costa del Sol has long been one of the most popular
holiday destinations in southern Europe, and quite rightly
so as it has much to offer in the form of reliable sunshine,
beautiful safe beaches, good restaurants and nightlife,
good quality and affordable accommodation along with
plentiful and cheap flights from a vast choice of airports.
However The Costa del Sol is only a very small part of the
wonderful Autonomous Region of Andalucia.
Rural tourism has opened up this superb area of southern
europe and it is now possible to rent a villa in many
outstanding and remote areas hither too unexplored by the
vast majority of tourists. To a large extent the countryside
has been unspoilt by the recent developments along the
Costas and there are still many out of the way and remote
areas to explore. In recognition of this several new air
routes have now been opened up with very reasonable
flights into both Jerez and Granada airports.
The white villages, or "Pueblos Blancos" are a good
starting point as in the main life goes on in them much as it
has done for centuries. Casares, Gaucin, Benaojen,
Estacion de Cortes, Cortes de la Frontera, to name but a
few, are all delightful places to spend a few hours ambling
around, marvelling at the architecture, the slow
unchanging pace of life and sampling the various tapas
bars. During the summer months every village holds a
tradtional feria with music and dancing in the streets all
night long.
Andalucia is of course the home of Flamenco dancing
and bull fighting. The oldest bullring in Spain is to be found
at Ronda, and whatever your feelings are on this rather
emotive sport it is an interesting building to visit as is the
adjacent museum. The old part of the town is also a lovely
place to visit with its amazing Tajo ( gorge) and wealth of
old buildings. A train ride from one of the white villages
further down country such as Jimena or Gaucin, is a lovely
way to arrive at Ronda as the train passes through some
beautiful countryside not visable from the road.It also
continues on upto Granada which is a must for any visitor
to Andalucia with its stunning Alhambra Palace, old gypsey
quarter and many other places of interest.
The wildlife in Andalucia is amongst the best now left in
Europe with an astonishing array of birds, both resident
and migrant, it is particuarly well blessed with birds of prey
such as Griffon and Eygptian Vultures, Bonnelli's and
Booted Eagles,Peregrine falcons, Red and Black Kites, to
name but a few. These magnificent birds are a common
site soaring majestically above the mountain ranges of
Andalucia. It is also home to wild boar, mongeese and
genets most of which are not particuarly well appreciated
by the local population as they do alot of damage to
gardens and live stock, however they are all now protected
by law. In the spring the countryside puts on a stunning
display of wild flowers, some of which are now quite rare in
other parts of Europe.
There is much unspoilt countryside where one is quite at
liberty to walk and camp, just being careful with fires in the
dry summer months. Whilst official footpaths and
signposting are rather limited there are few real restrictions
as to where you can wander as long as you just use
common sense with regard to rubbish, fires etc. However
always take water with you as you can easily find yourself
in the middle of nowhere with no natural source of water
nearby.
So take a holiday away from all the hustle and bustle, rent
a private villa, hire a car and just enjoy exploring this
delightful region of Spain.
About The Author
Ruth Polak is the owner of http://www.costadelsol-vacationrentals.com, a web
site specializing in holiday villas and apartments on the Costa del Sol and in
Rural Andalucia. You will also find lots of information about Spain and
Andalucia, in particular.
Email Ruth at ruthcasares@yahoo.co.uk
 | |  | |  | |  |
FAMILY TRAVEL FUN.COM
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |