Nerja - is it full of Brits?

[Beelin]

I really like the sound and look of it but don't want to stay somewhere where there's just a load of British people because that changes the vibe. We like being able to eat late and wander back to our apartment while other families are out late into the evening and it being safe. Would it suit us?

I was there 'off season' (last January) and there were plenty of Brits, so would imagine there would be even more in summer? It gets a lot more Spanish if you head inland a bit directly north of the Balcon de Europa, eg the area around the streets called Calle Bolivia and Calle San Pedro. I went to a bar for churros and coffee one Sunday morning and it was packed, but I was the only non Spanish person there - other bars and restaurants in that area were also probably 90% Spanish people having lunch/dinner/drinks and tapas, with only a few tourists and a few Brits who seem to live there all year round.

But the areas around the Balcon and the beaches there were much more Brits than there were people speaking Spanish so it felt much less like you were abroad than it did in the other places I went on that trip (Seville, Granada, Cordoba etc).

Overall, while a pleasant enough place I didn't think either the town or the beaches were anything special. Seemed perfectly safe though and had some nice places to eat.

Its gorgeous. Yes there are British, German, Scandinavian and Spanish. Its not a Brits on the piss type place. Its very much a working Spanish town. If you do go be sure to head to Frigliana and El Acebuchal.
I don't agree that its nothing special. Its way ahead of countless Spanish resorts for charm. They don't allow chain stores so no McDonald's or Starbucks etc.
Seville is beautiful obviously and very different to Nerja you can't really compare them.

Was only comparing Seville to Nerja in the sense that Nerja felt less like being in Spain due to hearing English spoken all the time. Fair enough, in that it's both a tourist resort and a working town. I agree it's certainly a lot nicer than a lot of Spanish resorts, especially along that coast and it 's not a Brits on the piss place thank goodness, but I think there are much nicer places in Europe if you want a beach holiday in a small town.

OP plenty of existing threads on Nerja by the way: www.mumsnet.com/info/search?q=nerja

Thanks for the replies. I've done a bit of research on TripAdvisor now and people are talking about raw sewage and jellyfish so maybe not after all. We did have a lovely holiday further along from Nerja one year but again jellyfish were a problem on two of the days we were there. @buttermilkwaffles can I pick your brains and ask where would you say was good then that is pretty, typically Spanish and no jellyfish?!!

Cadiz?

I understand it's a pain to get to (we'd be coming from the North of England and I can't see flights to Jerez from there) but I'm thinking fly to Malaga, two nights in Ronda, two nights in Seville and ten days in Cadiz, fly back to Stansted?

Cadiz is gorgeous. It's a port of call for cruise ships with tours heading to Seville, but overall I'd say it is quite traditionally Spanish, helped by the fact that it is awkward to get to.

Thank you. There seems to be a fair bit to explore there and no one is mentioning sewage or jellyfish on the forums - dd in particular loves swimming and it did put a downer on that holiday when she couldn't go into the water for a couple of days, plus the whole point of a beach resort is surely that you can go into the sea?

Probably not the best person to ask as I am not usually a beach holiday /resort type person, usually just do it as a few days add on to a city break. Also I was thinking of places like Greek islands, Sardinia, Sicily, Corsica, Menorca etc rather than places in Spain when I was referring to more impressive destinations for a holiday by the sea in Europe...but if you want to stick to Spain the nicest beaches (I think) are in the north - Galicia especially and also Asturias, but then the weather is much less reliable up there and the sea is not as warm!

I didn't have time to make it to Cadiz, which I regret as have heard it's well worth a visit, but have also heard the beaches get very crowded in summer as people escape the heat in Seville and head to the coast...maybe Sanlúcar de Barrameda, which is nearby as well? Sitges near Barcelona perhaps? (Although I imagine that also gets very busy in summer being so easy to get to from Barcelona). Or Vilanova i la Geltrú nearby for somewhere quieter?

Flying to Malaga works well, that's what I did - then did a sort of semi circle - Malaga > Seville > Cordoba > Granada > Ronda > Nerja > Malaga for flight home. There are more direct flights to Seville now (new routes) though from Edinburgh so I would fly straight to Seville next time I think.

Keep in mind, 2 nights somewhere only gives you one full day - perhaps enough for Ronda but you might want to consider one more night in Seville, to give you 2 full days? Would avoid Seville in July/August though - too hot!

We’ve just come back from Nerja and we were pleasantly surprised by how un-British it was. Yes, there are lots of Brits there but it’s not a place full of British style pubs/bars - we maybe saw two - and those we saw were not the Euro a pint type, just had names like the Coach and Horses but otherwise blended in with all the other more Spanish bars.

Friends of ours who live in Spain and visited us there were also clearly surprised by how nice it was!!

There were lots of Brits there, yes, but also lots of Scandinavians, Germans and also a lot of Spanish holidaymakers. We found it a much more ‘authentic’ place than other Spanish resorts we’ve been to.

There were jellyfish off Burriana beach (the big beach) which put my children off swimming and also going on the inflatables in the sea, which was a shame, but we went to some of the smaller coves next to the Balcon de Europa and the water was really clear with no jellyfish (or sewage!!)

Feel free to ask anything else as we’re literally just back so it’s all fresh in my mind.

We loved Nerja. And yes there were Brits but also lots of other nationalities but the majority were Spanish. We thought it had a lovely authentic feel. Calpe was lovely too.

Ah, see now small clean coves without jellyfish sounds good. Can you access them without a car? Also pleased to hear that it's properly Spanish, iyswim. I'm not one of these "oh I must be around charming locals" types (well, maybe I am a bit 😀) but it's just boring to be in a place that's like the UK - when I go on holiday I want to feel like I'm somewhere different. My Spanish is ok as well (lived in a Spanish speaking country for a couple of years) so I don't need everyone around me to be speaking English. Is there much to see locally, again without a car?

Your trip sounds great, buttermilk. Good point about Seville in August though as that's when we'd be going. I would like to see it. Would it be unbearable?

Re beach crowdedness in Cadiz, I've found apartments to rent next to Victoria Playa which is apparently massive and a 20 minute bus/ten minute taxi ride from town. Hmmm decisions decisions.

Hi, the coves we went to were right in the middle of town - google Playa Calahonda - can’t remember the name of the other one, and you just walk down some steps from the Balcon.

We didn’t have a car and managed to get out to Frigiliana (on the bus) and the Alhambra (which was one of the reasons I wanted to go there) on a coach trip, as well as the caves - which were amazing - by taxi. You can definitely get about the town and local areas without a car if you want to.

And the centre of Nerja itself is lovely and worth a couple of days just mooching about, pretty little streets and lots of cafes for pit stops.

The Alhambra is amazing, isn't it? We went there when we stayed several days in Granada, which itself is great, before heading to Almunecar just a bit further from Nerja for a beach holiday, which was the place that ticked a lot of boxes (very Spanish, nice climate not too hot, old castle and viaduct to look at) but sadly also had jellyfish.

So I was thinking that Nerja might be similar but minus the jellyfish, which would make it ideal.

We stopped at Almunecar to pick people up on our Alhambra trip - from what we saw of it, Nerja is prettier, though similarly Spanish in vibe, so hopefully will tick all your boxes (apart from the pesky jellyfish..)

The Alhambra is truly spectacular!!

Seville will be bloody boiling in August, I really wouldn't recommend it. Over the last few weeks they've been talking about the temperature hitting the mid 40s.

We went a few years ago in May and they had an unseasonably hot spell and it was about 40 C and it was unbearable and not great for the type of holiday where you do a lot of walking about, as you tend to do on city breaks.