Andalusia road trip – round trip along the white villages

For which I was reluctant to drive for years and could hardly sleep a wink days before an upcoming car trip, I was suspiciously often behind the wheel this year. But as the saying goes. Practice makes perfect. After I had mastered the snow-covered Icefields Parkway as well as the curves on Mallorca, Madeira and on the Swiss pass roads brilliantly, the Andalusian roads were on the drive program at the end of October. We had a total of five days and based our route planning on the “Ruta de los Pueblos Blancos”. Weather-wise, Andalusia presented itself from its changeable side during these five days and surprised us on the highway with gusts of wind and torrential downpours. Apart from that, Andalusia was not stingy with scenic and architectural charms.

Tag 1: Malaga – Frigiliana – Granada

The first day of the road trip started at Malaga airport. From there we followed the coastal road towards Almeria and crossed the area of the Axarquía. Shortly before Nerja we made a detour into the hilly hinterland and stopped in Frigiliana. The village has already been awarded the title of “most beautiful village in Andalusia” several times. Although it does not belong to the so-called “Pueblos Blancos” of the provinces of Cádiz and Málaga, it was for me the most delightful of all the white villages we visited during these five days; unfair to all the other villages. Because if you stroll along the cobblestones and take the picobello whitewashed houses, green box trees and bright blue shutters of Frigiliana as a yardstick, you set the standards high.

The second planned stop in Nerja was unceremoniously overturned due to a road detour and a missed parking space. On the way from Motril to Granada we enjoyed the view of the snow-capped Sierra Nevada.

Day 2: Granada

On the second day of travel, the car remained in the underground car park. If you want to visit the Alhambra in Granada, you should take a full day for the city.

Tag 3: Granada – Alhama de Granada – Ronda

Instead of driving straight on the A-92 towards Antequerra and from there on to Ronda, we took our time on the third day of travel and, true to the motto “the journey is the destination”, chose a less frequented country road in the direction of Alhama de Granada. With a view of wide fields, olive groves and reservoirs, the drive was entertaining and around 11:00 a.m. we reached the small town of Alhama de Granada just in time for an espresso on the village square including a short tour through the village center. An authentic village with a beautiful church and pretty squares.

There was no shortage of clichés on this route. Serpentines that almost made me dizzy. A herd of goats that brought traffic to a standstill and jostling motorists who dared to overtake at breakneck speed. Originally, we wanted to stop at the Caminito del Rey. The well-known trail has been restored and is now open to visitors again. In view of the advanced time and a growling stomach that demanded a lunch break, we drove straight through to Ronda, where the friend guided me through the small town without further ado.

The parking thing brought me to the brink of despair more than once in Andalusia. The alleys are narrow and arranged in a winding one-way system. I was afraid of getting stuck somewhere and never getting out of the maze of streets. But I quickly reconciled with Ronda. With the impressive backdrop of the Puente Nuevo high above the Tagus and the culinary works of art by De Locos Tapas (Plazuela Arquitecto Francisco Pons Sorolla, 7), this was not difficult. What you get served in this tapas bar can easily keep up with any gourmet restaurant.

Tag 4: Ronda – Zahara – Vejer de la Frontera

On the third evening of our trip, we spent the night near Ronda in the beautiful hotel «La Fuente de la Higuera». The hotel is located on a hillside in an old oil mill. Exactly my taste and it’s a pity that we didn’t stay here for a week’s holiday. For a short time, I regretted that I had paid too little attention to lounging in a deck chair when planning my trip. But that was quickly forgotten. The fourth day of the trip was dominated by the white villages and led us across the Parque Natural Sierra de Grazalema. We stopped in Grazalema, Zahara de la Sierra and Arcos de la Frontera and strolled through the original alleys. If we hadn’t secretly compared each village to Frigiliana, each one would have deserved to be called a “bijou”.

Shortly before Jerez de la Frontera we were greeted by a nasty weather front with dark clouds. Nevertheless, we dared to make a detour to Bonanza. I had read in the travel guide that we would be greeted by a very special atmosphere at the mouth of the Rio Guadalquivir. Maybe it was the weather, maybe we missed the right spot… I definitely didn’t warm up to this place. Cadiz also didn’t inspire us. The axis of incidence is reminiscent of an American boulevard and in terms of restaurant we experienced the disaster par excellence. You would actually know that restaurants in tourist places, for example directly in front of the cathedral, should be avoided. But well, – the growling stomach tempted us to act recklessly and the Bar Terraza really ripped us off. Totally overpriced tapas in poor quality. What a disappointment!

However, it didn’t take long for us to reconcile with the Andalusian restaurants. In our stage destination Vejer de la Frontera, my nerves were once again strained during the ride through the narrow maze of alleys, but we relaxed with a good glass of wine and local cuisine in the restaurant Valvatida (Juan Relinque, 3). Vejer de la Frontera is considered the secret foodie stronghold of Andalusia. The density of good, innovative restaurants is surprisingly high for such a small place. If you can’t make up your mind, simply head for the “Mercado” in Plaza San Francisco. There are various food stalls offering delicious, inexpensive dishes in typical street food style.

Tag 5: Vejer de la Frontera – Tarifa – Malaga

If the weather had been friendlier on the last day, we would probably have stopped more often on the last leg back to Malaga. There are secluded beaches right in front of Vejer de la Frontera, Tarifa is known for its surfers and Marbella is considered the Saint-Tropez of Spain. But rain and wind bathed the landscape in a uniform gray and so we drove directly back to Malaga with the exception of a stop at the beach of Tarifa.

Andalusia Road Trip Tips:

Andalusia is big. At the beginning of the trip planning, I tended to underestimate the distances and pack too much into the daily program. It’s better to pick out two or three stops and travel in a relaxed way. It is worth planning the routes via intercity roads. In terms of landscape, these are more attractive than the dead straight motorways. On the winding roads, however, you are rarely faster than 50km/h – this should be taken into account in the time planning. Parking guidance systems are lacking in many localities. If you want to drive as close as possible to a sight, you may find yourself in a dead end. Therefore, keep your eyes open and follow the underground car park signs.

I had rented the car from Europcar – for the third time this year. My sympathy for Europcar is based on their booking page, which is friendly to automatic bookers like me (with Avis, for example, I can’t just sort by automatic, but have to choose the automatic type directly). However, my experience in Mallorca has also shown that at the end of a trip you should keep an eye on your credit card statements. At that time, they deducted the booking money twice and it took forever until the mistakenly debited money was back on my account.

By the way, our trip ended unexpectedly on the jump seat in the cockpit with an unobstructed view of the Alpine panorama. Life always has a surprise in store.