Off the beaten track in Andalucia early spring 2024 - Trip report

We spent ten nights in Andalucia at the end of February-beginning of March 2024. We flew into Malaga at 4.30pm on a Saturday and picked up a rental car at malagacar.com. We chose them because of the good reviews on the Tripadvisor forum and google maps and also because they had a low season special offer which included full insurance for about 165 euros for the ten days. The service was fast. Somebody was waiting behind the airport train station as indicated and we were soon on the shuttle bus. Only a short wait at the offices and we were given a Fiat 500. There was a little traffic around the airport but once we passed Malaga and were on the autovia towards Osuna, the roads were quiet.

We spent three nights in Osuna. Saturday was just arriving, shopping, eating. On the second day we visited Ecija. Day 3 was dedicated to Osuna itself.

I preferred Osuna to Ecija even though I'd expected the opposite. Of Osuna I liked the town itself, the clean and bright streets, the historical centre with its low white-washed houses with window bars and wood doors, a very pretty place. The weather both days was cloudy with a little rain and quite cool.

Day 4, the weather had cleared. It was cold and sunny. First, we visited Estepa, and loved it for the contact with friendly people, the quiet, the area of monuments at the top of the hill and the kind Senora Carmen who explained to us the church of the same name. 

Then we moved on to Antequera. We had tapas for lunch at Cerveceria Casa Diego. We'd already eaten a couple of times at Casa Meson Diego on previous trips. 

The afternoon was dedicated to El Torcal, an old friend from previous trips. It was fantastic to return. I hadn't booked our accommodation for that night until the last minute, in doubt between returning to Torcal or returning to Cordoba, according to the weather, so we ended up in Archidona, where the main attraction seemed to be the octagonal square. We could easily have missed Archidona.

Day 5 we drove up to Lucena, mainly because I'd originally wanted to use it as a base to tour the area. I think it was the right decision not to. In the afternoon we went to Cabra, which we liked, a medium-sized town but attractive. That evening we arrived at our accommodation near Priego de Cordoba. I was not hopeful about this accommodation  but I couldn't have been more wrong. A fantastic place, we had a studio flat, warm and cosy with a view over the countryside. We stayed three nights.

Day 6 was dedicated to Priego de Cordoba, which lived up to expectations and and Day 7 to Alcalà la Real which didn't. Well, not as a town, but the Fortaleza made the trip worth it.

In general the Subbetica region was disappointing from a nature point of view. Yes, the towns are beautiful but the landscape consists in olive groves and olive groves and olive groves. I'm not quite sure why it's considered a 'natural' park area. The weather those days was cold morning and evening but pleasant enough to eat outside in the sun during the day.

On Day 8 we headed for the sea, stopping at Iznacar on the way, a beautiful pueblo blanco. 

It was a pity the weather was cloudy again. Alhama de Granada is hardly mentioned by websites and blogs but we liked it a lot, the ochre sandstone of the historical buildings and the gorge. We could easily have spent longer there and there looked to be good hikes. 

From there we drove down towards the coast, to Algarrobo Costa, a bit of a shock to be surrounded by buildings and people. Day 9 was spent relaxing, we just walked along the coast, it was sunnier but there was a strong wind.

Day 10 we drove east to visit some places missing from a previous trip to Almunecar, in particular the Acantilados Maro-Cerro Gordo and to have lunch in a Ciringuito in Salobrena we remembered from that previous trip.

Day 11 was our last day. We left the apartment early, drove to Malaga and parked and spent the day there before dropping off the rental car at 15.30 to go to the airport. We had already visited Malaga for a week in March 2018 and ten days in November 2019.

The itinerary was chosen with the following factors in mind:

- we'd already seen some beautiful places in Andalucia - a week in Seville, 8 days in Granada, two trips to Malaga and an extended road trip from Italy which allowed us to visit places like Arcos de la Frontera, Ronda, Tarifa, Caidz, Sanlucar de la Barrameda, Ubeza, Jaen, another ten days between Almunecar and Nerja.

- we love Andalucia

- we were tempted to return to Seville or Malaga but we wanted to visit less touristy places

- we were flying in and out of Malaga because it was convenient and for the rental car.

Conclusions

It was a relaxing trip. All the places we visited were quiet, very few tourists, friendly and welcoming people, those working in tourism and others too. It was easy to find somewhere to eat tapas or a racion which was good but cheap. Driving around was easy, empty roads, considerate drivers. Parking was usually no problem (except when I had a meltdown on a bank in Archidona!) Weather was coldish night and morning but pleasant enough to be out all day (suitably dressed). We saw some nice places although nothing absolutely unforgettable in the way that Setenil de las Bodegas or Ronda or Cordoba are stunning.

We moved around a lot more than we usually do. We prefer to base in one place and day trip, but it worked out ok.

If you too love Andalucia and are happy to rent a car, have seen the 'big' destinations and want to see places that aren't overrun with tourists this itinerary could be of interest to you.