New Holiday Rentals near Priego de Cordoba

We are very proud to announce our new holiday rentals Casas Castil near Priego de Cordoba.
These two newly built townhouses in the village of Castil del Campo are ideal for discovering the Cordoba and Granada area.

These twin-houses each have their own swimmingpool and offer place for up to six people.
The houses are fully equipped and there is a new airconditioning system installed this winter.

 
You can read everything about these holiday lettings on our website:
In English, in French, in German and in Dutch

Tivoli World Theme Park has opened again!

One of the special attractions for kids at the Costa del Sol is Tivoli theme park in Benalmadena, next to Malaga.
The park celebrates this year its' 40th anniversary, but is although getting older it is really fun to go to. It is a huge park with some 40 rides to enjoy.

The park is set in beautiful gardens with illuminated fountains and has many free shows, such as a Wild West town with French can-can shows, Country & Western music, flamenco and Spanish ballet. An open-air theatre puts on shows during the summer and a large selection of restaurants and cafés keep everyone fed and watered for the whole day.

Tivoli World has its own currency (the Tivolino) which you use to buy rides and entrance to other amusements. The Supertivolino ticket gives you unlimited access to the 37 or so rides and attractions, some of which are subject to age restrictions.

Some attractions you have to pay for like go-karts, boats and the horror passage.
We recommend to take all day to enjoy the park at the fullest.

Now in March the park opens only during the weekends from 11:00 til 19:00 most days.
Entrance fee is 6,95 euros, but it is advisable to buy tivolinos (14 €) so the kids can enjoy free rides.
Telephone number: 952-577016
Website: www.tivoli.es
Information about opening hours, ticket prices etc on Tivoli

If you want to read an experience of somebody who visited Tivoli please click here

How to get to Tivoli?
Tivoli is located between Fuengirola and Torremolinos between the coast road and the motorway A-7 (exit 222).
By Rail: Railway station Arroyo de la Miel. The park is 100 m from the station.

The Alpujarras

The region of mountain villages known as Las Alpujarras clings to the southern flanks of the Sierra Nevada south of Granada, cloven by deep, sheltered valleys and gorges which run down towards the Mediterranean.
Its physical surroundings together with the Sierra Nevada have been declared a reserve of the biosphere by Unesco in 1988 for its botanical qualities and particular ecological culture. Now the Sierra Nevada is a National Park.
The Alpujarras is a long east-west longitudal valley of about one hundred kilometres, in the provinces of Granada and Almeria. The steep mountain sides offers an alpine landscape at the higher mountain peaks of the Sierra Nevada to a Subtropical landscape at the coast. Here is the Contraviesa, a low mountain range well known for its wine

The Alpujarra, is famous throughout Spain because of its unique mini-ecology. Its terraced farmlands are constantly watered by the melting snow from above, constituting a high-altitude oasis of greenery which stands in dramatic contrast to the arid foothills below. This is ideal hiking terrain for adventurous travellers - the average altitude is 1,200 m above sea level.

History
The Alpujarras was the last stronghold of the Spanish Muslims, or Moors. Soon after the Castillians took Granada in 1492, all the city´s Moors were forced to convert to Christianity allthough they were allowed to live in the Alpujarras.. Constant pressure from the Christians led to a bloody uprising, the Morisco Rebellion of 1568, which was ruthlessly crushed out, with the public execution of the leader, Ben Humeya. Soon followed a royal decree expelling from the Kingdom of Granada all people of Arab descent.
The villages of the Alpujarra were resettled with some 12,000 Christian families brought by King Philip II from all parts of  Spain. However, these unique hamlets have retained their traditional Berber architecture - terraced clusters of grey-white box-shaped houses with flat clay roofs - which is still common in the Rif and Atlas mountains of Morocco. Perhaps the most picturesque villages are the famous trio which cling, one close above the other, to the slopes of the Poqueira Valley, where red peppers and tomatoes are still set out to dry on the flat clay roofs, among the tall round chimney pots. Pampaneira, at the bottom, bustles with crafts shops and restaurants, Bubión half way up the slope is more tranquil, with its massive square church tower standing on a plaza of rough paving stones. Capileira lies at the top of the valley - the name is an Arabic derivation of the Latin word for head or top – it is nice to walk down from the road into the lower streets of the village, where the rocky streets, overhanging passageways and sagging, stone houses have still not been remodelled and prettified for contemporary living...

The Alpujarras are ideal for walking.
There are several routes in the area. The most famous one being the GR7, the long distance path which goes from Tarifa all the way to Athens bordering the Meditteranean-
The walkingroute Sulayr is a circular itinerary walking route which circumverences the Sierra Nevada, crossing the natural park as well as the national park. The route accounts to 300 kms and is the longest walking itinerary in Spain of circular layout.
To the accomplishment of this itinerary, old pack animal roads and cattle paths are recovered. Its layout has been outlined such as to create an easy and safe walking itinerary avoiding great slopes. In addition accesses have been defined to and from populated centers, to present their rich cultural patrimony and favouring socioeconomic benefits.
Additionally in 2012 a new bicicle track around the Sierra Nevada is designed.
If you stray from the beaten path, you will be sure to catch sight of the region´s abundant wild life, such as the Cabra Hispanica, a mountain goat which roams the mountains in herds and is often seen standing on pinnacles, silhouetted against the sky. But as soon as it flairs the scent of man it will bound up the steepest slopes with amazing speed...
The Alpujarra is also famous for its excellent birdwatching.

General website National Park Sierra Nevada  in Spanish, English, French and German
See also our blog

Useful information for walkers:

In English                                                              
About the Sulayr trail
About walks in the Alpujarras

In Spanish
Rutas con GPS
Senderos en la Alpujarra
Sulayr

In German
Wanderungen in den Sierra Nevada
Wanderrouten Alpujarra

In Dutch
Wandelingen Alpujarra en algemene informatie
Wandelwebsite van Fred Triep

Holiday rentals in the Alpujarras

Low cost flights from Belgium and Holland to Andalusia

We've been checking flights in the months April and May and discovered the following:

Holland
From Amsterdam to Malaga the costs are normally around 250 euros.
But to Almeria there are returntickets available from 173 €

Cheaper options are also available from airport Eindhoven to Seville (133€) or Malaga (135€)
From Maastricht to Malaga (136€)

Belgium
Los cost flights are to be found from Brussels-Charleroi to Malaga (156€) or to Seville (93€).
Also from Luik/Liège to Malaga  (172€)
Or Oostende/Brugge to Malaga (96€)  or to Seville (155€)

Germany
If you are living next to the german border perhaps the airport Dusseldorf-Weeze is an option. You can reach the airport by public transport and prices to Malaga, Almeria and Sevilla are availble from around 100€ return ticket.

Also if you are willing to drive a little longer there are cheap options available if you fly to Madrid or to Alicante.

The best site to find these flights is www.skyscanner.net

On this site you have the option to enter the exact flight dates but also you can chose to see the possibilities for the whole month, or you can chose to see which flights are availble from the entire country to one airport or vice versa.