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7 Suggestions From a Native Expat


Are you staying in Southern Spain and in search of some new locations to discover round Seville? In that case, you’re in the best place!

I’ve been residing in Southern Spain, for over 3 years now and visited a lot of lovely locations and locations which might be inside simple attain from Seville. On this article, I’ve chosen seven simple day journeys from Seville that tick all of your journey packing containers – lovely areas, simple attain from Seville, and loads of time and issues to discover in simply at some point.

Earlier than we get to them, I’ve shared some suggestions for choosing the best vacation spot for you beneath, and on the finish of the article, you will see that some bonus suggestions that may make your journey far more handy and hassle-free. Take pleasure in! 

Planning Your Day Journey from Seville

Planning your day journeys from Seville is fairly simple – town is effectively related to a lot of different locations in Southern Spain by high-quality highways, prolonged rail connections, and even frequent bus companies. 

So even should you’re not eager on driving a automobile, there are many locations you possibly can discover very simply with only a prepare or a bus experience.

On this article, I’ve compiled a few of the finest choices for cities and locations to go to inside a brief attain from Seville. I attempted to maintain the journey time below two hours, so there may be sufficient time to discover town with out feeling such as you spent more often than not within the automobile or commuting someplace.

There’s a vast combine of various measurement locations so everybody can discover one thing they may like – larger and extra recognized locations and a few smaller native gems thrown in between.

For ease of reference, I’ve additionally added notes on every choice whether or not it’s simple to do this particular vacation spot with a prepare or bus, must you not need to lease a automobile when you’re staying in Seville. 

In the event you’re unsure find out how to determine on a spot the place you wish to go, there are just a few questions you possibly can ask your self:

  • Do you like hassle-free journey and need to use a prepare or a bus? In that case, the larger cities that are higher related by rail community are a greater choice for you (Granada, Cadiz, Cordoba)
  • Would you like a quick journey time and extra time exploring the vacation spot? In that case take a look at the cities closest to you by automobile or prepare, like Cadiz (sufficiently small that you simply see every thing in at some point) or Jezer de la Frontera
  • If you wish to spend a while on a seaside when you’re staying in Seville, I might advocate heading to Cadiz or Tarifa (in Tarifa you get to expertise the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea on the similar time)
  • Are you a historical past fanatic and need to see all of the gems of Southern Spain? In that case head in direction of Granda, or Cordoba!
  • If you wish to see a bit extra genuine facet of Southern Spain, locations like Jerez de la Frontera or Tarifa will probably be an excellent match for you
  • If you want to tick off a few of the ‘bucket checklist’ locations for Southern Spain, a sensible choice is both Ronda or Gibraltar (technically not Spain, however effectively definitely worth the journey)
  • For wine fans, you’ll love the Sherry triangle city of Jerez, and people who like good meals will love the free tapas custom in Granada (free small tapas served with each drink practically anyplace within the metropolis)

So right here they’re, my prime picks for Seville day journeys!

High Day Journeys from Seville

1. Cadiz

Cadiz is a coastal city on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, and it’s stated to be one of many oldest cities not simply in Spain, but in addition in Europe.

Cadiz is kind of a singular place – initially, it’s situated by itself island, related to the mainland with two bridges and a stretch of lengthy seaside. Cadiz is generally favored by native Spanish vacationers who love town’s white sandy seashores and conventional southern hospitality. Cadiz certainly looks like a small village, despite the fact that it’s a reasonably well-known metropolis.

Whereas in Cadiz, you’ll have loads of time to see the outdated city, the market, the Cadiz Cathedral and a few of the different monuments across the shoreline, just like the Citadel of San Sebastian with its lovely promenade stretching into the ocean, and Castillo de Santa Catalina, ruins of an outdated fortress with attractive views throughout.

You possibly can drive to Cadiz fairly simply from Seville (about 1.5 hrs), or take an area prepare which is able to get you there in 1 hour and 45 minutes.

2. Jerez de la Frontera

Jerez de la Frontera is an exquisite conventional Andalusian village, about midway between Seville and Cadiz. In the event you want a brief and fast journey out of town, to see one of many prettiest white villages, Jerez is a good choice for a day journey.

Identified primarily for its sherry manufacturing custom (a part of the Sherry Triangle), Jerez could also be a small place, however there’s a lot to be found, and every thing will be seen in simply at some point. 

One of many highlights of the journey can be visiting the native Alcazar, a Moorish fortress from the eleventh century, adopted by a go to an area taverna to see a Flamenco efficiency. There may be additionally a devoted museum for sherry manufacturing referred to as Bodega Custom, and Jerez Cathedral can be price a go to.

To get to Jerez, you possibly can simply drive there from Seville, or take the prepare in path of Cadiz, which ought to take round 1 hour. 

3. Tarifa

Tarifa is the southern scorching spot for water sports activities and delightful seashores. In distinction to many of the coastal locations in Southern Spain, in Tarifa, you will see that extra pure, pristine seashores that provide a way more stress-free approach to get pleasure from some sunbathing and swimming within the sea.

Tarifa is a well-liked resort for windsurfers and kitesurfers, and likewise for many who love to observe lovely sunsets. In Tarifa, there are additionally a variety of firms providing whale-watching and dolphin-watching boat journeys on prime of ferry crossings to Morocco, a rustic with a lot of issues to do you would additionally add to your itinerary.

In any case, and going again to Tarifa, whereas the city itself nonetheless very a lot looks like an outdated village that hasn’t been too touched by mass tourism, it’s a breath of recent air to have the ability to nonetheless discover a little bit of genuine Spain even on the shoreline.

4. Gibraltar

Whilst you’re staying in Seville, it will be a disgrace to overlook out on the expertise of visiting Gibraltar, the British sovereign territory south of Seville. Listed below are some very fascinating Gibraltar details to know earlier than you go.

From Seville, your finest guess is to drive there by automobile as there are not any native connections that may get you on to Gibraltar. Give your self loads of time because the crossing of the border and the safety checks can take fairly a very long time – alternatively, you possibly can park the automobile on the Spanish facet on the city of La Linea, and use the a lot quicker pedestrian crossing (I might advocate this selection).

Whereas in Gibraltar, e book a tour of the character reserve to get pleasure from some fairly spectacular views of the Mediterranean Sea, and on a transparent day you possibly can see the African continent – Morocco – within the distance. You can even stroll to the outdated city and the excessive road to get pleasure from some duty-free purchasing.

5. Granada

One might positively get used to waking as much as this view, the one we received from our Alhambra Palace Lodge’s room in Granada.

Granada is likely one of the three cities that type the Andalusian golden triangle (along with Seville and Cordoba), and it’s one to not be missed.

The crowning glory of Granada is the traditional Moorish palace complicated referred to as Alhambra, with the Palace of Charles V, ruins of the outdated Alcazaba, and beautiful effectively preserved Generalife Gardens as a part of it.

Whereas Granada’s Alhambra is a reasonably spectacular place to go to, the sights don’t finish there. The outdated a part of the city referred to as Albaicin is an exquisite genuine place to find, and you can even stroll to the district of Sacromonte, recognized for its cave homes and Flamenco performances. Proper up within the hill above Sacromonte, you will see that Sacromonte abbey with lovely views, and the one underground cave church I’ve ever seen.

Granada must be one among my favourite Andalusian cities to go to and also you received’t remorse including it to your day journey locations wishlist. There’s a common prepare service from Seville to Granada (2 hours 20 minutes), however you can even drive there most likely quicker with a automobile.

6. Ronda

Ronda is a kind of locations you could’t cease speaking about. An historical metropolis divided in half by the El Tajo gorge, with the historic Puente Nuevo bridge towering over it, Ronda is a real magnificence that also feels very genuine Spanish.

Ronda has one of many oldest bullrings in Spain, and the historical past of bullfighting is seen in practically each restaurant you go to, with bull heads hanging over you when you get pleasure from your tapas. 

Ernest Hemingway was an enormous fan of Ronda and spent a variety of time right here, amongst many different authors. 

Ronda is the right one-day journey vacation spot as you possibly can squeeze all of its highlights right into a single journey – visiting Puente Nuevo bridge, the gardens that stretch proper behind it resulting in the outdated Roman Baths, the Bullring, and when you’ve got time, I extremely advocate a go to of an outdated villa referred to as Casa don Bosco, from the place you get a few of the finest views of Puente Nuevo.


Due to its location, Ronda is finest reached by automobile. 

7. Cordoba

Cordoba is residence to some of the spectacular cathedrals in Southern Spain – the Mezquita Cathedral. What was once an Islamic mosque was later transformed right into a catholic Cathedral, which resulted within the distinctive architectural piece of labor it’s right now.

The doorway to the cathedral is thru an exquisite courtyard lined by orange timber, and similar to with different historic monuments, the tickets might not be accessible on the day, so get them early earlier than your journey. Whereas in Cordoba, you can even squeeze in a go to to the Alcazar (full title Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos), with beautiful gardens and delightful water options.

To get to Cordoba, you possibly can simply drive there from Seville, however there may be additionally a quick prepare connection accessible with low cost prepare tickets. 

A Few Further Suggestions

Earlier than I allow you to off planning your journey, listed below are just a few suggestions that may make your journey far more fulfilling:

  • In the event you’re planning to go to a few of the widespread historic websites like Alhambra in Granada, it’s effectively price reserving your tickets on-line prematurely. Particularly, Alhambra tickets are inclined to promote out weeks prematurely, so that you is likely to be upset should you arrive pondering you will get them on the gates
  • In the event you’re touring in the summertime, it will get tremendous scorching in Andalusia. Plan your journey accordingly and attempt to spend the most well liked time of the day commuting to your vacation spot as an alternative of climbing steep stairs on some historic monument.
  • In the event you’re planning to make use of the prepare in your day journey, the identical as above applies – prepare ticket costs range relying on the day and season, so you’ll avoid wasting cash should you e book them prematurely. And also you’re additionally eliminating the prospect that the prepare you wished to take will probably be totally booked. 
  • Driving in Southern Spain is fairly simple, however there are some street tolls you will have to pay, they’re at all times marked. You should use a Spanish street toll calculator akin to Through Michelin the place you enter your journey and it’ll inform you the price of the tolls (often only a few euros). 

I hope you loved a choice of lovely locations inside simple attain from Seville. Tell us within the feedback which of them are your favourite and which of them are you probably including to your journey itinerary.

Lucia is a Slovak expat residing in Southern Spain. On her weblog Viva la Vita, she shares her insights about lovely areas, hidden gems, and genuine experiences from Costa del Sol and past.






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