Andalucia Impressions: pueblos blancos

Casares

Small, absolutely white and absolutely perfect. If you are driving from Malaga to Algeciras/Gibraltar/Tarifa or are anywhere in the area it's definitely worth the detour. Be sure to visit the cemetry which is all painted white too, and watch the birds of prey riding up on the air currents from the top of the hill. A couple of hours to wander around and have a coffee is enough unless you stop for lunch too. 

Vejer de la Frontera

Quite large, easy parking (September), very well looked after, clean, quite upmarket as regards restaurants etc. Definitely worth visiting if you are in the area. Don't miss the windmills on your way out of the town, you can look inside one and make a small not compulsory offer to maintain the donkeys. You can easily spend a half or full day.

Medina Sidonia

If you have to choose between Vejer and Medina, Vejer is more pueblo blanco, but Medina is very nice, less tourists and less touristy, cheaper eateries. Definitely worth a visit if you are in the area. Half a day is enough to wander around and up to the church and around the remains of the walls.

Pueblos blancos de Sierra de Cádiz

We visited Arcos de la Frontera, Bornos, El Bosque, Ubrique, Grazalema, Olvera, Zahara de la Sierra and Setenil de las bodegas.

Arcos 

Arcos is spectacular for photos when you approach it. Park on the approach up, don't try to continue. Also wandering around the old town is very nice for the views all around and the village itself. There's also a walk all around the base of the cliff which is signed, we didn't have time to do it, but you could easily spend the whole day in Arcos. Food good and not expensive even in the centre (Meson Patio Andaluz was very good for example).

Bornos

is just a short drive from Arcos, worth it not for the pueblo blanco aspect itself but for the Casa Palacio de Ribera garden if you like that sort of thing (I do!)

El Bosque is interesting if you don't normally see 'mountain' type villages for the green, flowers and Rio Majaceite path, otherwise nothing special.

Ubrique

is another nice pueblo especially worth visiting if you are interested in buying leather goods. We weren't but prices and quality looked interesting, otherwise the large new town spoils the pueblo blanco effect.

Zahara de la Sierra

is small but really beautiful and there's a castle you can walk up to, entry is free, spectacular views and it's the nearest place to Sendero Garganta verde and just off the main roads. Absolutely not to be missed, probably my favourite in the Sierra de Cadiz.

Grazalema

is higher up and the road is quite narrow with a lot of bends, it's also the highest of the pueblos blancos in the area, and gets the worst weather, so it's not ideal as a base to visit the area in my opinion. For just a visit it's a pretty mountain town and could be a base for walking.

Olvera 

is a bit farther out but a charming town, once again for the castle, absolutely worth the two euros to visit it. Also it's got supermarkets - Mercadona, petrol station and generally more facilities. We used it as a base to visit the area, including Ronda and Setenil.

Setenil de las bodegas is absolutely a must, a pueblo blanco built into the rocks, but still a real inhabited village where people live and work, fascinating.

As regards the pueblos blancos of the Sierra de Cádiz there isn't an ideal place to stay because you're going to have to drive quite a bit if you want to visit them all in a 'slow' way, ideally taking some walks such as Garganta Verde or Via verde de la Sierra. As I said before Grazalema is a bit too isolated to make a good base, Zahara would work better. In the end we stayed  in Arcos to visit Arcos de la Frontera, Bornos, El Bosque, Ubrique and Benaocaz and in Olvera to visit Grazalema, Olvera, Zahara de la Sierra, Setenil de las bodegas and Ronda and to do the Garganta Verde.

Mojacar

I visited Mojacar as a teenager and found it disappointing 40 years later, yes, it's white, but it's really full of tourists and tourist shops and eateries and while the views over the surrounding plain are pleasant, for me it lacked the charm of all the other pueblos blancos we visited.