Visit Costa Almeria
Costa Almeria is as varied as any of the Spanish costas. To the east of the main city, Almeria, is the long, rugged and desolate coast of the Cabo de Gata-Nijar Natural Park.
This is an arid, desert-like landscape with the annual rainfall below 200mm. It is very sparsely populated, with few villages, secluded bays and remote beaches. It is very popular with nature lovers and back-packers, as much of it can only be reached on foot. The most popular coastal village here is San Jose.
Sixty miles to the east of Almeria is the lovely picturesque resort of Mojacar, very
popular with British holidaymakers. It is a hill-top village of dazzling white Moorish
houses amid twisting cobbled streets. Mojacar is famous for its good luck symbol, the "Indalo" man and has a large British ex-pat population. Sandy Mojacar Beach is about
2 miles from the village, at the bottom of the hill. Ancient cave paintings can be seen at
Cuevas de Almanzora.
A little further to the north of Mojacar is the naturist beach at Vera, where there are a number of new holiday complexes.
West of Almeria city are the highly developed modern tourist resorts of
Aguadulce and Roquetas de Mar.
Roquetas de Mar, "the little rocks of the sea", is a purpose-built resort, popular with couples and families. It has lots of open-air bars and cafes, plus some discos and has seen rapid expansion over the last 20 years. It has the advantage of being on flat ground, so it is ideal for strolling and bicycle riding. Flamingos can be seen near the salt lagoons of Las Marinas 4 km south of Roquetas.
There is a splendid yachting marina at Aguadulce, which is a busy resort, popular with Spanish people and a favourite with youngsters.
Further west along the coast is the purpose-built, fast-developing, tourist resort of Almerimar, on the edge of natural parkland. It has yachting marinas, a golf course, large modern hotels and many other tourism facilities.
Travelling even further west towards the Costa Tropical and Costa del Sol, you come to the the fishing port of Adra, sometimes missed by tourists on the coastal motorway.
Villaricos is a charming small town 10 km from the lively fishing harbour of La Garrucha. Villaricos has a strong fishing community and several unspoilt beaches. The surrounding countryside is stunning.
Inland from the Costa Tropical are the impressive mountains of the Sierra Nevada and, just to their west, the historic jewel of Andalucia, the city of Granada.
Granada is the location of the famed, magnificent Alhambra Palace. The word Alhambra is Arabic for "the red", due to the red clay used to construct it. If any historic location is worth visiting in the whole of Spain, it is the very large, superbly ornate, Alhambra Palace on a hill overlooking the city of Granada.
This is a tremendous legacy left over
from the Moorish rulers of Spain. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a fantastic
must-see tourist attraction. The palace is currently a museum exhibiting exquisite Islamic
architecture and is visited by people from all over the world. It is well worth the coach trip
from the Costa de Almeria or Costa del Sol to get to the Alhambra.
The city of Almeria also has an interesting vast Moorish citadel. This is the Alcazaba Castle on a hill overlooking Almeria. The city has many interesting historic monuments and a Gothic Cathedral. It also has great, authentic tapas bars!
Almeria is also the location of the airport serving Costa Almeria. There are other airports at Granada to the north west and Malaga to the west along the coast. The latter largely serves the Costa del Sol and is consequently a very busy airport.
Due to the constant sunshine, Almeria is one of the most productive agricultural areas
in Europe, with more than 10,000 hectares of fruit, vegetables and flowers grown
mainly in plastic greenhouses, or "invernaderos", largely between Almeria city and
Granada, using irrigation water from the snow-capped mountains of the Sierra Nevada
behind the coast.
Costa Almeria is much quieter than the Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca and well-worth considering as a holiday destination.