It’s the day after our return from a 5-night break in Nerja, Spain. I’m listening to the radio at the moment and I’m hearing that an aeroplane has come off the runway at Bristol airport (our nearest airport) which has resulted in all flights being cancelled for the time being, so I guess I’m grateful that we got back when we did, even though we sat in front of someone who was able to regale his new seating companions with his entire life story at a very load volume within about ten minutes of introducing himself the flight was perfectly fine and dandy. In fact the seat next to me was empty so that was a major bonus.
There’s gonna be a lot of very pissed-off people at Bristol airport who might not be able to get home for Xmas.
Trip date
December 2017
Where we stayed
We stayed at the 4-star ‘Marinas De Nerja hotel‘ just outside Nerja town. I have to say it was a very pleasant experience. We ended up upgrading to a self-catering apartment with a sea view on the fifth floor of the hotel for €50.
I think you’ll agree this is a splendid sea view:
Here’s a picture of me resting my big feet on our balcony:
Pro’s
- Good value for money (out of season anyway) – being able to upgrade for €10 a night was well worth it
- We were given a fruit and Cava welcome pack which was nice (I think I ate a banana and we threw the Cava away but it’s the thought that counts)
- Excellent sea views (great to watch the sun go down in the evening)
- Apartments were a good size and had everything we needed
- Beds were comfortable (blackout curtains in the bedrooms were very effective)
- All members of staff were very pleasant and helpful
Con’s
- A gang of very noisy Cockerels thought it was great fun to wake me up at 5am every morning
- You are made to wear hair caps in the Spa (but I get why they do it)
What we saw and did
Balcon De Europe
One of my favourite things to do in life is walking around countries around the world in the sunshine taking photo’s. You can view my portfolio here. I must have walked up and down Balcon De Europe 10 times within the 5 days I was there.
Where and what we ate
- Breakfast consisted of an excellent self-service buffet with everything you could possibly need unless you are expecting fried octopus for breakfast. We shared our buffet with several octogenarians who were enjoying a Saga holiday. In fact, I think we were the youngest guests staying in the hotel and we are in our early forties. Nowt wrong with that of course, in fact, I’d rather have a hotel full of seniors than hundreds of rampaging hormone fuelled 18-year-olds wreaking havoc and having sex in the pool
- A huge amount of Olives – Is it possible to die from eating too many olives? I ate as many as humanly possible. These are the best olives I’ve ever tasted and I’m pissed off with myself that I forgot to bring a couple of jars back with me. I need to source some in the UK
- Chorizo Pig – Serena described this as a penis on a stick. (No comment) .There’s a flammable substance in the bottom of the pig which was set on fire by the waitress. It then resulted in the ‘cooked’ chorizo seen below which was very tasty indeed. It also cost €2 a pop which is an absolute bargain.
- Avalon Restaurant (about 900 metres away from our hotel) was hands down the best place we ate on this trip. We had a two-course meal (both had fillet steak), extra sides, wine and soft drinks and the whole thing came to €80 which was an absolute bargain. We left a €10 tip and wobbled home feeling very content and full. It’s number three on Trip Advisor so I’d love to eat at number 1 and 2 in the future as they must be absolutely outstanding if this is number 3
Photography
- All the photos uploaded to my blog are generally taken on my iPhone, my ‘professional’ photos of Nerja can be seen here.
Top Tips
- If you don’t hire a car during your trip I can recommend ‘Nerja Taxis’ to take you back to the airport. It took about an hour and cost us €67