Highlights of Andalucia with Travel Department

I am a city girl at heart and GG and I love exploring new places. So a Travel Department trip with the title ‘Highlights of Andalucia’ hugely appealed to us.

Those of you who have followed me for a while know that I am a huge fan of Travel Department and their sister company TDActive. Graham and I first travelled to South Africa with them 20 years ago and have been on 16 holidays with them. Check out my posts on Morocco HERE and Sicily HERE.

We love the fact that we can totally relax and let someone else do the research and the organising. We just have to enjoy ourselves.

The Highlights of Andalucia is a two-centre holiday. We stayed in the lovely town of Antequera for four nights and travelled from there to Cordoba and Seville on day trips.

The final three nights were spent in Granada. Both hotels were excellent 4-star establishments, with breakfast and dinner provided in the first and breakfast in the second.

In Hotel Antequera, the group ate together and it gave us a chance to get to know each other. We had fun! And from early on, a few nightcaps were de rigeur. Our guide Alex, seen below in the green shirt, became part of the gang.

There were a few solo travellers and even a mum and daughter so the age profile was mixed and the craic was mighty. The above pic was taken on our last night outside Hotel Catalonia, following dinner and a superb flamenco show.

ANTEQUERA

Our second day began with a visit to some ancient dolmens dating back to the Megalithic period.

Those of us who had been to Newgrange raved about how similar they were. But it was our guided tour of the old town that I loved. What is it about Spanish streets, plazas, fortresses and churches that they get so right?

We wandered around, taking refuge from the sun in old churches and sometimes even a supermarket. Then it was time to find a bar for a late lunch.

CORDOBA

I fell in love with this UNESCO World Heritage City.

And we had an amazing tour of the Mezquita, formerly The Great Mosque, which now houses a Christian Cathedral in its centre, while keeping the mosque around it.

As always, we had a guided walking tour of the lovely back streets and then a lazy lunch.

SEVILLE

We were in Seville before, in November and the temps were mid-30s, so I suppose I should not have been surprised that at around 4 o’clock in June it hit 44. We had been to the gorgeous Plaza Espana in the morning.

And then we all separated for lunch. Graham and I found a lovely tapas bar and spent several hours there surrounded by locals.

Then we toured Royal Alcazar.

It was just as amazing the second time around, but we gave the gardens a miss this time. A few did brave the scorching sun for a few minutes. Seemingly Seville is called The Frying Pan of Spain: I can understand why!

GRANADA

We spent three nights and four days in Granada. It really is a beautiful city and we were there during a festival and also the celebration of Corpus Christi so everyone was in holiday mode.

I have long wanted to visit the city and the famous Alhambra complex. And yes, it lived up to all my expectations. There are gardens and palaces and we were so lucky that we had full access to everything. Our guide told us that tickets are booked out three months in advance. The Moorish/Islamic influence is at its strongest in Granada and nowhere more than in and around this complex and in the Albacin district.

It was festival time in both Seville and Granada when we were there and the atmosphere was electric.

I am not overly fond of Spanish food but I was pleasantly surprised on this trip. We always had tapas at lunch in a little bar with a glass or two of Verdejo wine and they were delicious.

In Granada, the tapas came free when you ordered a glass of wine. We just kept having to have more! The food was good in Hotel Antequera but the breakfasts in Hotel Catalonia in Granada (below) were at another level completely.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Every single person in the group loved the holiday. Many were repeat customers, but those on their first trip with Travel Department were going home to book another for next year.

We came back feeling that we had been there much longer than a week. While you do have to keep to a timetable, there is no doubt that you would not get to experience as much if you were doing ‘The Highlights of Andalucia’ under your own steam.

The central location of Antequera was perfect with the longest bus journey about 1 hour 40 minutes.

Alex was the perfect tour guide, with a wonderful sense of humour, and could not have been more helpful.

Until next time. Thanks for reading.

Love Hilda x

My holiday was gifted. Travel Department Ambassador.