Why book a villa in Andalusia

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The warm, sunny days that characterize Spain’s south constitute a year-round reason for choosing a holiday here.


Andalusia remains dusky, romantic, exotic, gypsy in the imagination and hugely satisfying in reality with its warm climate, vast landscapes, old villages and a history markedly different from the rest of Spain. The Mediterranean cradles the whole region with its soothing climate.
Now that the Costa del Sol and much of the rest of the south coast has succumbed to its fate as a continuous concrete strip of high rise holiday apartment blocks, busy traffic and dusty heat, the desire to relax with privacy in more natural surroundings has seen the understandable rise of rural tourism in Spain’s largest autonomous community.

Rural holiday villas with pools are as Andalusian these days as flamenco and bull-fighting. Their popularity remains undiminished, crisis or no crisis, for good reason. Holiday rentals are inexpensive, whether you are eating out or self catering. Peace and quiet, views, privacy, often a garden, in a country setting where you can forget city noise and air pollution are the new, natural choice.




A week or two recharging on solar energy, swims and a healthy Mediterranean diet are ready and waiting to restore many a flagging soul and popular with all the family.
Suggest a Spanish holiday in the sun with a swimming pool to children and what’s the reaction?






At the same time, who isn’t aware of the endless villa listings on the internet with poor information and reviews that are just too good to be true? We recommend booking through a reputable, experienced and specialized rural tourism agency – it doesn’t have to Rustical Travel – which has visited and carefully weighed up a property before accepting it onto their website.



And expectations are evolving along with the choice of Andalucia villas, cottages and rural apartments. People quite rightly want not only to be in the most rewarding locations of great natural beauty and historic interest, but also to have good local opportunities for eating out and getting a feel for country or village life.

There are four special areas of Andalucia that allow the possibility of more than just sun and relaxation. The Ronda mountains & Grazalema, La Axarquía & Antequera, Las Alpujarras and the Sierra de Aracena offer beautiful natural locations with fantastic walking, seaside excursions, visits to the famed cities of Granada, Seville, Cordoba or Ronda, tremendous mountain scenery, country cooking and an experience of a genuine Spain that the costas lost back in the 1970s.

The altitude ensures four distinct seasons and although quietest in winter, when sunny days make for exhilarating high walks, even in summer you can ramble trails and hardly see another soul apart from a shepherd with his sheep and goats. You’re more likely to encounter bird and other wildlife, including eagles, vultures, ibex and foxes.




People want to be able to complement days of relaxation at their holiday home with interesting days out, cultural visits, hiking, maybe horse riding.














The mountains of southern Spain are excellent for hiking at any time of year.







Exploring by car is also interesting. Get off the beaten track and you’ll discover a region of wide-open landscapes where empty roads turn driving back into pleasurable motoring.
Andalucia remains unhurried and easy-going thanks to its rural character and the sunny heat that slows life down so pleasurably. Prices are pleasantly low compared even with other areas of Spain, and that goes for some first class holiday villas, too.



With quality rural tourism, Andalucia has reinvented itself as everyone’s favourite Spanish destination. The land of siesta, fiesta and tapas is still number one.