Leeds to Seville and Vejer de la Frontera - 7 nights in Winter
Itinerary At A Glance
7 day independent itinerary for Andalusia, 3 nights in Seville and 4 nights in Vejer de la Frontera
Based on flying from Leeds into Malaga, in March
Highlights include authentic tapas walking tour and live flamenco show in a very small theatre, meandering through the tiny lanes of Seville’s barrios, hiring scooters for an independent scoot around the city, and e-biking around Cadiz province.
Based on a couple travelling, with a focus on leisurely cultural activities and biking, interspersed with time to just relax and soak up the atmosphere
Honest verdict
Did I enjoy the holiday? Does the place live up to expectations? Did the itinerary work for the trip? Would I make another visit?
Yes, yes, yes and yes.
Seville is probably on the hitlist of many a traveller and now that I have been, I’d say it deserves such a coveting. Probably the most architecturally beautiful and sensorially-stimulating city I have ever been to - the buildings were a visual delight, it smelled of orange blossom and it is literally filled with the lingering sounds of flamenco guitar.
We found history and culture aplenty, with marvellous food (as long as you stay away from the tourist spots) and great drink. This city also does winter very very well - mild and sunny with blue skies but don’t make the mistake of thinking you should go in shorts and flip flops as you’ll not only look like a tourist, you’ll also be shivering in the shade - think pleasant but not hot. An ideal spot for a March city break with minimal crowds and beautifully sunny and mild skies; the ideal counterpoint to the cold and grey of Northern England at this time.
Vejer de la Frontera is one of the white hilltop towns (Pueblos Blancos in Spanish) of the Serranía de Ronda region. The most famous of these towns is Ronda, but there are many to choose from and I chose Vejer for it being one of the slightly lesser-known ones while still being one of the more sizeable and visitor-orientated. We found it to be beautiful, welcoming, and an ideal base for e-biking its surrounds. My boyfriend stated that Vejer was the best place we have ever been cycling – and it was absolutely superb. The biggest surprise was how verdant the area around Vejer was; we expected arid and instead was rewarded with scenes not dissimilar to the green and rolling hills of the Yorkshire Dales so it is a surprise that this isn’t a more known cycling destination. Its an ideal location for being on two wheels. For anyone vaguely interested in cycling while on holiday, leisurely or hardcore, there is much to enjoy hereabouts.
Rare is the place that touches me so much that I want to visit again, to get deeper under its skin; Cadiz province is one of those rare places. We had the most fantastic trip from start to finish, but I very much want to return to Cadiz province to see and experience some more of its loveliness. Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Tarifa, Cádiz, Castellar de la Frontera in the Alcornocales, and Jerez de la Frontera are now on my hitlist.
Itinerary Details
TRAVEL MEANS
Direct flight from Leeds into Malaga, with Jet 2
We hired a car for the entirety of our trip, and it would be difficult, (though not impossible) to do without it.
Seville is a 2.5 hour drive from Malaga airport; Vejer is about a 1h 40m drive from Seville, then Malaga airport is about 2h 15m from Vejer.
We hired an e-bike for the entirety of our stay in Vejer from Bicicletas Francisco who also handily provided us with some local maps and biking routes
ACCOMMODATION
Seville - Suites Murillo Alcazar (in Barrio Santa Cruz)
superb location right next door to the Alcazar
ideally walkable for pretty much everything
comfy bed
plenty of space for two people
felt a teensy bit rundown and the breakfast was ‘meh’.
Vejer de la Frontera - La Casa del Califa in the self-catering Duplex Asilah
a collection of real townhouses that have been brought together to make a hotel
gorgeous location with fab service
an excellent restaurant
lacked any soundproofing so we found it was a bit noisy into the evening and in the early morning.
SCHEDULE
Seville - Day 1 to 4
Sunset City bike tour with Sevilla Bike Tours - very authentic tour around the city including the outer neighbourhoods that you would be unlikely to see on a short city break. Sunset felt like a good choice as the Spaniards seem to come alive in the early evening and the streets were buzzing. Excellent and passionate guide too. Note that Seville is almost pancake flat, so this is easy for anyone to do
Tapas y Flamenco tour with MIMO. This was superb and probably the best thing we did during our stay in Seville. We visited a small flamenco school in Triana for an authentic and intimate flamenco 45 minute performance of two dancers, one singer and one guitarist. I have chills even now, months after the trip, just thinking about how the performance made me feel. This was no tourist thing; this felt like the real deal. These performers exhibited their craft and training with feeling and passion, and the audience was a mixture of locals and tourists in the know. We were then taken off to 3 tapas establishments in Triana and our knowledgeable guide ordered for us - food and drink. Everything was delicious and we left a bit tipsy and fully full like a full thing on full day. 11 out of 10 for this tour
Alcazar tour with Feel the City tours. Good tour of the Alcazar, that filled in the historical detail and importance of the building that we would miss if we just went in solo (which you can do if you want to). The only thing about this is that it was very ‘classically touristy’ and the guide’s script sounded memorised and a bit rote. Good, just not outstanding
Torres y Garcia, Calle Harinas, 2, 41001 Sevilla – very modern and hip café right in central Seville but not a single tourist in it. Surprisingly large, and the food was both healthy and cooked with care – we had lunch
Gocho Neo Charcuteria, Calle Puente y Pellón, 19, 41004 Sevilla - teeny little shop for a fresh ham sandwich, with the jamon sliced right in front of you. We had one with a bag of crisps and it was delish
Crustum Panem, Calle Puente y Pellón, 24, 41004 Sevilla - properly good bakery selling all manner of authentic baked goods. We had empanadas and bread. Top marks for a lunchtime snack
Taberna Alvaro Peregil, Mateos Gago, 22, 41004 Sevilla - little teensy tapas bar on a street of restaurants made for tourists. Ignore the rest and go here for a taste of that classic Seville experience. Menu is classic, simple, straightforward and tasty
La Cacharerria, Calle Regina, 14 – go for breakfasts, but expect to wait a long time. You’ll be rewarded with home baked bread and marmalades, sweet freshly squeezed orange juice and great coffee.
There are almost endless tasty places to eat in Seville, however, Seville is still a tourist hotspot and so despite the endless options of great authentic food, there are also plenty of bland and crap food locales made just for tourists - steer clear of touristy-looking places and get off the main streets. Better yet, get ahead and don’t rely on stumbling on the right place - the Michelin Travel guide is very much a friend here as it will recommend not just the places with a star, but also ones just doing good food - this is how I found Torres y Garcia
SEVILLE’S NEIGHBOURHOODS
The very centre of Seville is known as the ‘Casco Antiguo’ (‘old quarter’ in Spanish) and is shaped like an upside-down tear drop, bordered on it’s western side by the Guadalquivir river. Inside this area are 12 neighbourhoods, and it will take about 30 minutes to briskly walk from the northern-most neighbourhood (San Gil) to the bottom of its southern-most neighbourhood (Santa Cruz). The following sections of the city contain the most relevant sights for a visiting tourist:
Centro Histórico (Spanish for "historic centre”) - This is the heart of historic Seville, spread across the Museo and Alfafa neighbourhoods and is the commercial heart of the city around the pedestrianised shopping streets of Sierpes and Tetuan, and the four squares – Plaza del Duque and Campana at their north end, and Plazas Nueva and San Francisco at the south.
Barrio Santa Cruz - the beautiful area. This is an area of the Casco Antiguo that has a character all its own, filled with wrought-iron cancelas (gates), courtyards with Andalusian tiled fountains, art galleries, restaurants, cafes, tabernas, flowerpots of geraniums, and winding narrow alleyways. This is where we stayed and is the absolute best part of the city to just wander about in.
Barrio (El) Arenal - is the area of the Casco Antiguo between the Avenida de la Constitución and the river, and gets its name from the Maestranza bullring – or more exactly from the yellow sand in the arena. Less touristy than its neighbours and not necessarily somewhere to specifically go to unless you want to visit one of the attractions there.
Barrio La Macarena – the authentic and residential area. North of the Casco Antiguo, this is the least touristy part of the city, and is regarded by many as its most authentic neighbourhood, and most representative of the lives of ordinary Sevillanos.
Triana – the young, funky and trendy area. Across the river to the south west of the Casco Antiguo, the (former gypsy, now gentrified) neighbourhood of Triana is the traditional home of ceramics and flamenco in the city, and many famous performers and bullfighters were born there. It feels almost like a city itself, which stands testament to the historical feud between the two sides of the river.
Vejer de la frontera & surrounds - Day 4 to 8
Combined on-road and off-road circular cycle route, Vejer to Barbate, about 40km round trip. Out to the coast, with a stop for coffee in Barbate, this took in one of the smallest nature parks in Andalusia - the Breña y Marismas del Barbate Nature Park. It contains five different ecosystems: marine, cliff, pine grove, marshland and dunes. Only suitable for offroad bikes
Combined on-road and off-road circular cycle route, Vejer to Medina-Sidonia, about 70km round trip which even on an e-bike was a full day journey for the round trip. Medina-Sidonia is another one of the white hilltop towns; the journey to and from it was a beautiful rolling sojourn and the climb into town a punisher. We stopped for lunch in Medina before heading back
Combined on-road and off-road circular cycle route, Vejer to El Palmar de Vejer, about 30km round trip. Most leisurely of the three routes and the day was a stunner so we hung out at one of the surfer-type bars that line the beach at El Palmar. The place was absolutely buzzing with all kinds of folk - motorcyclists, families, surfers, groups of friends, groups of families. We had a few bevvies and soaked up the sunshine. Bliss
Ate at Restaurante El Califa - restaurant within our hotel and about 6 steps from our door. This place has quite the reputation, and deservedly so. We ate here on two out of four evenings; the menu selection was superb, the service outstanding, the setting elegant and the food sublime. The best food we ate on the whole trip. You can also book in to eat here even if you aren’t a resident of the hotel.
Ate at El Campero, Avda. de la Constitución local 5C, 11160 Barbate. Restaurant specialising in the red tuna fished right off shore. The service and the food here was excellent. Most importantly, the waiters were all very knowledgeable and make recommendations about the menu which is useful as many of the tuna cuts and dish descriptions will seem entirely foreign
Lessons Learnt for me
Duplex Asilah wasn’t the ideal type of accom for bikes as it was tiny so we had to ask the reception to store them for us. Not at all the fault of the accom, but rather something I need to consider when booking a place to stay when we need room to store bikes
Taking some sunshine at the end of the UK winter in March felt like such a treat, and I feel like should be something we prioritise doing. It was so nice to be in the sunshine after 5 months of grey and rain.
Doing two tours in Seville, then the Real Alcazar, meant the guides repeated similar historical anecdotes and facts – probably best to do just one tour otherwise it can start sounding repetitious.
If we went to Seville again, we’d stay in Triana for a slightly more authentic experience, though we felt we got a good flavour of the city in our 2.5 days so I suspect a revisit is a while away.
3 night city break plus 4 night countryside break feels like a formula that works for us and one I am going to use more of when planning future trips. It gives the ideal balance between the excitement of city-based culture and time to either be active outdoors or just relax.
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