Costa de la Luz Holidays
Costa de la Luz Holidays – A Spanish holiday at its most diverse
The Costa de la Luz is Andalucia at its most profound, whether it is the rugged shoreline and small coastal towns, or beautiful countryside and historic cities. From the purpose-built luxury resort of Novo Sancti Petri, to the tiny surfer’s paradise of El Palmar, via family-friendly Chipiona, no-one can go unsatisfied with a holiday on the Costa de la Luz.
The weather is impeccable; the long, hot sunny days of summer are for if you want to lounge on the beach all day; in spring the vegetation bursts into life, filling the air with the perfume of flowers, while autumn maintains the heat of the day until it’s time for a walk along the beach in a comfortable sweater. Winter has blustery winds for those who like wind-driven sports.
Exploration is a must for a Costa de la Luz holiday; to Cádiz, the oldest city in Europe, with its ancient centre full of neighbourhood bars and restaurants; Seville, so full of Andalucian life that it is known as la ciudad de alegria, the city of happiness; Ronda, where the El Tajo slices the city in two, and which has one of the loveliest old city centres in Spain; Jerez de la Frontera, to visit ancient bodegas and sample a glass of sherry, and where the music of flamenco is always in the bars and streets.
When to go to the Costa de la Luz
A holiday in the Costa de la Luz shouldn’t just be governed by the time the schools are on holiday, whether it is because you have children and are fixed to these dates, or don’t and want to avoid crowds. This corner of Andalucia has so much to offer that whatever type of holiday you love is here. The Andaluces love a party and parade, so if you do too, there is a fiesta somewhere almost every week, often out of high season.
For golf, horse riding, sailing or any of the many sports activities on offer, spring and autumn will be out of the heat of high summer, but still shorts and T-shirt weather. Lounge on the beach in July and August, or ride the surf during winter.
The weather in the Costa de la Luz
Summer temperatures on the Costa de la Luz peak at around 28º in August, with eleven hours a day of beautiful blue skies and sultry nights of around 20º. Being in the southwest of Spain, occasional light breezes from the Atlantic cool the air. Only a rare shower will dampen the earth during July and August – but will be very welcome!
April to June see temperatures rise from 20-26º, doing the reverse from September to November, but with seas temperatures of around 18º, particularly later in the year after the summer sun has warmed the water, swimming will still be delightful.
Daytime temperatures of around 16º with six hours of sunshine daily make the Costa de la Luz an ideal place for a winter break.
Getting the best deal to the Costa de la Luz
With so many airports within a couple of hours drive of almost anywhere in the Costa de la Luz, you should have no difficulty finding a bargain flight. The larger resorts such as Novo Sancti Petri have a wide range of hotel and apartment accommodation and will most likely be where you will get a decent deal on accommodation. In smaller resorts, such as Chipiona and El Palmar, who have only recently entered the international tourism market, (although they have been enormously popular with the Spanish for decades), you may struggle to get a bargain rate, so if you are determined that either of these is where you want to spend your well-earned holiday you would be well advised to book early.
Check out our excellent deals below, and keep an eye on our late offers.
Airport and transport need to know
There are four airports accessible to the Costa de la Luz that between them receive flights from twenty-two UK and Irish airports. It entirely depends where you are staying on the Costa de la Luz how long the transfer from the airport to you hotel will take, but as a general rule these are the airports in increasing distance order.
Jerez de la Frontera (XRY) is the nearest airport, but unfortunately only has one flight from the UK, Ryanair from London Stansted (STN). Next closest is Seville (SVQ), with Ryanair offering flights from five UK and Irish destinations, including London Stanstead, Liverpool (LPL) and Dublin (DUB); easyJet from Gatwick (LGW), and Spanish airlines Vueling and Iberia both operating from London Heathrow (LHR).
Next is Gibraltar, with flights by Monarch from Manchester (MAN) and Luton (LTN), easJet from Liverpool (LPL) and Gatwick (LGW), and BA from Heathrow (LHR). Most flights from the UK arrive at Malaga airport (AGP), where nine airlines have flights from twenty two Irish and UK airports. Most of the budget airlines, (including Ryanair, easyJet and Jet2) are well represented, as are a number of charter and schedule airlines, (Monarch, Aerlingus, Thomsonfly). For a full list of airports and airlines flying into Malaga visit www.andalucia.com/travel/airports/malaga/flights.htm.
All airports will have metered taxi services, but these could prove expensive over a long distance. There are many online transfer services that can be pre-booked, although hiring a car for your stay might be the most economical and convenient option. A one-week hire during high season for a standard four door, such as an Opel Corsair, will cost around 175€ (£140). There will be no problem in hiring a car in Gibraltar to use in Spain, but if you are unsure, it might be worthwhile hiring a car in La Linea (the first town on the Spanish border with Gibraltar) and getting a taxi from the airport to pick the car up.
Renfe, the Spanish rail service, (www.renfe.com/EN/viajeros/index.html) runs from Seville and Malaga to Jerez de la Frontera, where the local La Linea bus service will connect with some of the resorts. If you fly into Gibraltar you will have to go into Spain before you can use these services.
