tarifa, cadiz area in spain - d'you know it?

[cedar]

has anyone ever been to tarifa (or that area)in southern spain?
what's it like if you're not a windsurfer? I know it's windy. Just the beaches look great and it doesn't seem as touristy as other parts of southern spain. Is it nice or a bit of a dump? Seeking answers please.

[Lucy123]

hi again bunny2. I miss England somewhat, dp doesn't at all so looks like we're here to stay. Fed up with many ex-pats on the coast (have been ripped off etc) and thinking of moving to Granada soonish - hopefully this will help our Spanish too. We moved here 2 years ago, me for language him for sun. Had dd here (hospital is excellent)

The thing is I have found some ex-pats to be a little cliquey, and the Spanish don't seem to do coffee mornings etc. It's odd. Anyway there is an English mother and toddler group in Fuengirola (starts sep) you might be interested in, and an English midwife here somewhere. I have her number somewhere (found her too late for my pregnancy), but she advertises in sur in english under health and beauty (noticed the other thread about anti-d).

anyway dd needs feding. email me on [email protected] if you want to swap tips / moans.

[bunny2]

Hi lucy123, we are in Benalmadena by the Pueblo. Its so full of tourists here, cant bear it! There is nowhere to park and the beach is packed as is the pool. I'm missing England! We moved here last year but whether we will stay forever remains to be seen. We came out for one specific reason which has now been achieved, there arw some great advantages to living here but overall I think it is difficult being an ex-pat, especially when struggling to learn a new language. What about you? What do you think?

[Lucy123]

cedar - that site is fantastic, thanks. And yes I am the "screenwriter" although really I'm only trying to write the final draft of an original script by my sister (I and her tutor told her it could be a good film with changes, she said - I can't face it, you do it!).

Have a good holiday!

[cedar]

on another note entirely, lucy123 are you the screenwriter.?! check out
www.craftyscreenwriting.com/

(scroll down for advice)

an excellent site for tips on writing your sreenplay.

[cedar]

thanks everyone!

Am hearing mixed reports about tarifa. (Also found a site called 'boots n'all' where spanish insiders share their knowledge of the country with you.) But am pleased that bunny2 friends' love it.

I'm only stuck on it since I've located this really quirky looking hotel that i like the look of. Guess I should go for it.

[Lucy123]

bunny2 - where do you live and what do you make of life here? We live in Calahonda and are completely fed up with august - heat, traffic, queues etc. It would help if I was a beach person I guess!

[bunny2]

Tarifa is fab apparently - one of my friends visited recently and raves on about it, another goes as often as she can and plans to retire there! Btw both have toddlers. We live on the Costa del Sol which is busy and touristy. I have heard that Tarifa is completely different and much nicer - maybe we should live there!

[Mima]

We have a house in Sotogrande in Southern Spain, which is 15 mins from Gibraltar airport and about 1 hour drive from Malaga Airport. Although been coming here for years never been up that coast. Sotogrande definately not touristy much more residential. It has lovely marina and is generally quite quiet. Very safe place and very child friendly. Need to a car to get about but lots of lovely places nearby ie Marbella for shopping about 40 mins away and lots of nice golf courses (Valderama and San Roque) if you play. If you want further info let me know.

[Lucy123]

As it goes there are still relatively quiet beaches here (between Marbella and Fuengirola) and also East of Malaga, but they do have hotels, mobbed supermarkets etc. East of Malaga is nice particularly because you have the Sierra Nevada behind you, which is stunning.

Seville is wonderful and I would definately recommend a visit - we didn't have dd when we went but in general Spain is very child-friendly in terms of tolerance etc (especially in the cities - you see whole families including kids and grandparents out for a stroll at 11pm), but not so much in terms of available equipment - cots/good high chairs etc.

Be warned though - without the sea breeze, Seville is hot in August so make sure you check the hotel has air-conditioning! Also Granada is worth a visit, but being in the mountains is also v hot in summer.

[cedar]

thanks lucy123, a good sign that it gets a thumbs-up from the Spanish!I chose that area because I thought it less developed and quieter than other areas of Southern Spain by the sea(and that's what I'm after) but maybe I'm wrong and there are other parts of Spain I don't know about. Since you live in the Costa del Sol you'd be the best one to advise. Can you get quiet, untouristy beaches there or have they long gone?

I'm thinking about combining it with a trip to Seville! D'you know of any child friendly hotels?

[Lucy123]

haven't been there, but all of our Spanish friends here (the Costa del Sol) are always telling us to go there and it's definately not too touristy. Algeciras is horrible as it's the main port for Morocco, but I've only heard good things about Cadiz. And you could take a trip to Morocco! (get out of Tangiers fast though if you do).