Luxury Costa de la Luz holidays

Translated as Coast of Light, Costa de la Luz stretches from Tarifa, just west of Gibraltar, to the Portuguese border via Jerez and Cadiz and, as part of Spain and Andalucia’s most southernmost tip, it is an unspoiled, windswept stretch of coast characterized, as its name suggests, by strong, pure light.

Jerez

Jerez needs no introduction as the world famous capital of sherry but it is also the centre for Spanish brandy and there are numerous bodegas where you can sample either or both.

Additionally, Jerez is famed for the Real Escuela Andaluza de Arte Ecuestre, the equestrian school, with dressage displays open to the public each Thursday. On other days you might be lucky enough to watch the horses in training. Unsurprisingly, sherry and horses play major parts in the capital’s most important festivals namely the Horse Fair in May and the Grape Harvest in September.

Jerez is also home to the Centro Andaluz de Flamenco and this long and very distinguished tradition is evident during the Horse Fair when there’s many a beautiful flamenco gown adorning local Spanish ladies.

It is an elegant town with impressive architectural highlights including the Cathedral of San Salvador, an imposing celebration of Gothic-Renaissance and, bequeathed by the Moors, an eleventh century Alcazar.

Cadiz

Cádiz is an ancient port city built on a strip of land surrounded by the sea. As the home of the Spanish Navy, the port boomed in the 16th-century as a base for exploration and trade. It has more than 100 watchtowers, including the iconic Torre Tavira and 18th-century Cádiz Cathedral on the waterfront.

Novo Sancti Petri

Approximately 30 minutes’ drive (28km) south of Cadiz, lies Novo Sancti Petri, a seafront resort located to the south of the old town of Sancti Petri. The resort boasts a seafront promenade alongside the famed Playa de La Barrosa; a magnificent sandy beach more than 6km in length with dunes and blue flag status. The beach stretches from Sancti Petri all the way to Torre del Puerco, a defensive coastal tower dating from the 19th century. Most hotels have direct access to the beach via their own private wooden walkways and there are parkland protected pine woods close by.

Ancient Cadiz

Europe’s most ancient town? Cadiz is certainly Spain’s oldest continuously inhabited city and, in legend, was founded by Hercules although, in reality, it was established in 1100BC by the Phoenicians. Now a typical Andalucian city, it’s well worth a visit.

The eighteenth century was its Golden Age, almost literally, as Cadiz held a monopoly on precious metal trading between Spain and America.

As it juts into the bay, Cadiz is almost entirely surrounded by water, which might account for its relaxed, easy-going atmosphere; it definitely affects the beautifully decaying Cathedral as the soft limestone succumbs to sea air. The city is mostly about atmosphere rather than architecture, with Lent Carnival a satirical fancy dress song contest with colourful floats and choirs headed up by the town’s sizeable gay community.

The Old Town runs rife with markets, alleyways and street life whilst the waterfront adds grand, open squares and manicured public gardens.

Flamenco

Spain’s gastronomic marriage of food and wine is a definite threesome in Jerez where life is fuelled by sherry and tapas, but it is also the place to discover first-hand the beat of flamenco music and dancing in bars, clubs and, during the summer months, in many a square.

World Heritage Nature

Donana Natural Park, Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site is located in the

south of the Huelva province close to the mouth of the Guadalquivir river.

It’s an exceptional park with marshland ecosystems and fantastic flora and fauna

including hundreds of migrating birds, the ever popular flamingo, imperial eagles, griffon vultures plus many mammals such as deer, wild boar, bucks and otter.

There are numerous ways of enjoying the park depending on your preferences whether that’s bird watching, wildlife photography, horse-riding or walking. There are horse-drawn carriages experiences and guided tours by 4x4 to the northern zone of the park.

Gastronomy & Coffee

Pescaito frito, simple fried fish is a coastal staple and flour, olive oil and lemon combine with fresh fish to produce a world-beater. There’s also puntillitas, fried baby squid. The highest quality jamon iberico is produced in Andalucia, and typical plato alpujarreno is the Spanish version of a fried breakfast with jamon, chorizo, morcilla (black pudding), eggs and potatoes. Huevos a la flamenca is a typical Andalucian dish of eggs baked in a rich chorizo and tomato sauce. Migas, similar to couscous, is made from a base of bread crumbs, often including bacon, sausage and red pepper. For dessert don’t miss pestinos, deep-fried pastry covered in sticky honey, and polvo, a soft, crumbly pudding of flour, milk, sugar, olive oil and nuts.

Coffee is somewhat of a sport all over Spain; choose from the familiar café solo, con leche or cortado or more unusually, leche manchada, little coffee and much milk, café bonbon which includes sweetened condensed milk and when ordered ‘con hielo’, is refreshingly served chilled over ice.