What's the Granada province really like? (I've lived there and can give 1 or 2 insights!) (Granada (Spain))

Member Name: snootybutnice

Product:	Granada (Spain)
Date:	25/01/09 (210 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good for sun/sea/sand and skiing/snowboarding/walki ng and not too touristy

Disadvantages: It helps if you speak Spanish as this is a very Spanish area still

I spent several years in Granada (southern Spain) - and I loved it!

Firstly, Granada is a province - and there is also a city called Granada in the province, which is its capital. This is a review of the province. Some people make the mistake of thinking that Granada is just a town! ;-)

This part of Spain is great in so much as it's easily reached by 3 different airports. You can fly directly to Granada Airport itself ( or fly into Malaga (1hr away) or Almeria (2 hrs away) and drive down ) ...from Granada Airport it takes about 1/2 hour to reach the city of Granada - and another 1/2 hour to make your way up the mountain road for all the ski resorts. There are several restaurants on the way up - and last time I went up there a stray bull was happily walking down. The ski slopes are fantastic and I know they have some of the best snow machines in Europe. There is a great nightlife there - but I'm sure last time my brother was just about to ski down a beautiful run and someone stopped him because of avalanches...and I'm pretty sure they only gave the avalanche warnings in Spanish!! But hey...bygones! They also have a creche in the ski resort for families with young children and a spa place.

In and around Granada (the city!) - if you don't like skiing - there are still loads of things to see and do. The area also offers lots of walking-type holidays (urgh!) and the infamous Alhambra / "General life" - which will take a good 2-3 days to explore.

The city of Granada is a wonderful Moorish city - full of Moorish Architecture, original aquaducts and water ways - and awash with beautiful olive and lemon groves, almond farms and little white hamlets tucked away into the hills. It's not unusual to see a man finishing his work on the land and walking home with his donkey after a hard days graft - or seeing water diviners looking for water the old way. In fact - this part of Spain has almost stood still in time. If you want to read more about the area read the critically aclaimed book "Driving over Lemons" - a very good read! It is also sometimes covered in a foggy pollution which sits over the city ...it's a very busy city ...which is freezing cold in the winter. It's where all the main teaching hospitals are located, plus there are 2 x large El Corte Ingles shops (2 large superstores), lots of churches, arts, museums, shops, restaurants - basically like most cities there are many things to see and do. It is also famous for its university and there are lots of diverse night life activities - even a go-go bar!

The area south of the Sierra Nevada (at the foothills of the mountain range) is called Las Alpujarras - which encompass a lot of small villages, some of which we will be discussing now.

The village of Lanjarron is the next MAIN place on the map (south of the Sierra Nevada's) ...this is a lovely village famous for its water springs. Lanjarron water sells all over Spain but if you drive directly into the village itself you can just grab a large container and fill up with Lanjarron water for free! Travelling through Lanjarron you reach Orgiva. Here you find camping grounds for your tents/caravans and a nice little village.

Travelling south from the Sierra Nevada mountains you can then pass the small village of Beznar with a large artificial lake called "Presa de Beznar" on your right. You can turn off here and admire the lake (beautiful views) - and if you drive up over the lake up towards Pinos del Valle (Valley of the Pines) you can take a right at the T junction and stop at 1 of 2 restaurants on your right before continuing on the road (turning left at the next junction) which will eventually get you to the coast. This is the old coastal road and is the little known route that the tourist buses use. You will see a lot of the beautiful countryside here (and pass by my own Almond farm LOL!).

Another small village just before Pinos del Valle and Beznar is the village of Durcal - in the centre just down a small side street is a fabulous cake shop (mmmm!). Further down on the right is also the main co-operative tucked behind houses which the local farmers use to sell their Almonds. (From bitter experience!...I've learnt that you don't lump all your Almonds together in one big bag because there are lots of different TYPES of almonds - and you have to separate them all. Some almonds are bitter - so have only a medicinal use and are poisoness to eat - but you need a mix of different almond trees in your grove to cross pollinate...but I digress!).

If you continue past Lake Beznar the next small village is called Izbor. This is nice to stop at if you are dying for a quick drink or wee (if you don't mind a puzzled stare from the locals trying to figure out who you are!) - but it's a perillious drive if you're not used to it so park at the bottom of the hill and walk up! - but I have to say other than seeing a traditional Spanish village there's not much to see/do here!).

Continuing on from Izbor you reach a junction 15 minutes later at the coast...turn left for Motril or turn right for Salobrena.

Now, un-beknown to many people there is a big difference in temperature between the coast and the Sierra Nevada - despite only a 40 minute car journey.

You have to remember that the Granada province is surrounded by the Sierra Nevada mountains... so think skiing...think cold snow...think cold weather. However just 5 miles back from the coastline there is a 'magic' belt called the "Costa Tropical" (the tropical coast). Here you see bananas growing against the backdrop view of the Sierra Nevada's covered in snow!

Because of a further set of mountains between the Sierra Nevada's and the coast, this strip of coastal land is several degrees warmer than inland - for example in spring 2004 I was wearing a jumper in Lanjarron but in Almunecar and Salobrena I was wearing a T shirt - all on the same day! The tropical coastline starts just before you get to Motril and continues up to La Herradura.

Now, my biggest tip is that the best place to stay is in Salobrena's big hotel La Playa Calida. I lived a few miles up the road in Almunecar ...and I went there on holiday LOL. It was great, we packed the car and travelled for 10 minutes - and we had the assurance if we forgot to bring anything we could just nip back home. This is the BEST hotel I've ever stayed at in Granada and not too expensive. It has a great childrens club, an infinity pool and lots of gorgeous gorgeous food.

Alternatively if you stay inland be aware that some of the smaller guesthouses, despite having heating in the evening, can sometimes feel a bit cold/damp. It just seems that many of the older buildings suffer from damp problems so from Oct-March always pack a few jumpers and pack a dressing gown + slippers, because the mornings/evenings are very cold - not helped by the cold Spanish marble floors! However all is forgiven in summer - and you welcome the cold floors after being out in the summer heat for a few hours (I've been known to lay down on them when I was pregnant to cool down quicker!).

One point I did forget to mention is that just as the Costa Tropical is warmer in the winter, it is also cooler in the summer and has nice cooling breezes. While Granada is really hot in the summer months and the heat becomes almost stiffling!!

Overall I think this area of Spain is fantastic and is great for two-centre holidays when one of you wants to walk/ski and the other wants sand/sun. It caters for everyone - but it is still an area that the spanish go to for their holidays and not everyone speaks English (in fact not many people speak English) so you'll need to take your Spanish/English translation book if you don't speak the lingo!

If you're renting a car try to stop yourself from renting an open top in the summer. You'll fry! I only say this because I gave my friends this advice a few years ago - and they went ahead anyway with a lovely open top because they "always rented open topped cars". However after a trip to Granada and getting stuck in a traffic jam for an hour - they had beautiful lobster red faces for the rest of the week and they rented a more practical car the next time they visited! ;-)

Summary: Perfect holiday place - very Spanish - not too touristy