Winter break in Spain's Andalusia region

With its year-round warmer climate and relatively low cost of living, Andalusia is a magnet for sun-seekers desperate for brilliant blue skies and sunshine during the UK’s colder months. Heidi Fuller-Love sets off for the Costa de la Luz to explore charming towns in both Spain and Morocco.

Trip highlights:

• Doñana National Park
• Exploring Conil de la Frontera
• Moroccan excursion to Tangier
• Touring Gibraltar
• Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art
• Discovering Jerez and sherry producers
• Staying at Tarifa and visiting Medina- Sidonia.
• Coastal and forest surroundings at Camping Roche

Observing wildlife in Doñana National Park

Beginning of the tour

Doñana, a Unesco World Heritage Site, is a vast area of marshes and sand dunes meeting where the Guadalquivir River flows into the Atlantic. Migratory birds seek winter warmth here and the park is also home to the critically-endangered Iberian lynx and to a herd of indigenous, rare Retuerta horses.

There is even a small herd of dromedaries, some of which were released here during the filming of Lawrence of Arabia in 1962.

Ideally located at Roche Caravan Site

Nearby beautiful beaches and towns

After an hour’s drive from Doñana  (via Sanlúcar, a departure port for both Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Magellan) you will arrive at Roche Caravan Site. Surrounded by pine forests and close to the glorious beaches of the Costa de la Luz (Coast of Light), this site is a superb base for exploring the region. Plus there’s an on-site restaurant and other fine facilities.

Nearby, Conil de la Frontera is a pretty port with a central labyrinth of whitewashed houses. The tiny municipal museum details the town’s fishing heritage and history of the 16th century Castilnovo Tower. Follow your visit with a cool beer and lunch at Freiduría Zapola, a tiny street café famed for its lightly battered seafood.

Exploring Jerez and sherry tasting

Cobbled streets, Baroque churches and flamenco music

Head along a costal road to the charming, sherry-producing town, Jerez. From here you can take a tour of Tio Pepe bodega where you’ll learn all about the production and storage of sherry in barrels. Finish the tour with sherry tasting and tapas.

Visit Jerez’s Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art, where you’ll see prancing purebred Spanish horses; according to the school’s little museum, even Greek philosopher Aristotle was impressed by them back in the 4th century BC, on a visit to the region. 

In the evenings, La Carboná is a busy bodega-style gourmet restaurant where chef Javier Muñoz cooks with the local sherry. Clap along to flamenco in the cramped-but-lively Tabanco el Pasaje bar close by.

Driving back in time to Gibraltar

British culture with blue skies

As a British overseas territory, you will see red telephone boxes and old-fashioned pubs on your arrival to Gibraltar. This makes it feel like Britain thirty years ago.

Once you have seen the Rock of Gibraltar, park at Grand Parade and take a cable car to see the Barbary macaques, where the bluish mountains of Morocco loom in the distance.

Heading downhill again, pay a visit to Alameda (Gibraltar Botanic Gardens). It’s also worth exploring the Great Siege Tunnels, a spooky, 30-mile labyrinth of passageways that are said to be haunted.

End your day with some souvnir shopping on Main Street and you can enjoy very British fish and chips at the Lord Nelson pub.

Enjoying Tarifa

A picturesque stay at Valdevaqueros site

Close to Tarifa on Andalusia’s southernmost tip, you’ll find Valdevaqueros, a pretty, rural site with a good-sized pool and a cosy little restaurant, surrounded by the white villages for which Andalusia is renowned.

From here, you can easily spend a few days watching windsurfers and soaking up the sun on Tarifa’s seemingly endless beaches. You can also drive through the winding mountain roads to the Alcornocales Natural Park, to the medieval city of Medina- Sidonia.

Moroccan adventure

A two-night stay in Tangiers

From the Valdevaqueros site, you can head to Morocco itself to spend a couple of days near Tangier. The campsite does offer coach excursions or you can take a ferry.The crossing from Tarifa takes an hour.

Throughout your stay in Tangiers, you may come across many touts and carpet sellers; it’s best to firmly say ‘no’ in order to be left alone.

Enjoy visiting Les Grottes d’Hercule caves, sip tea at open-air Café Hafa and shop in the narrow streets around the Kasbah. Try the local speciality bourtaka muhallabieh (orange-caramel custard) at the iconic Gran Café de Paris.