Explore Chiclana

Fiesta Dates:

Semana Santa (Holy Week).

Locally in Chiclana de la Frontera:

June - Feria and Festival of San Antonio :

Sanlucar de Barrameda:

A Central Location

Take a holiday in real Spain.
Enjoy the Culture and Heritage
as well as beautiful beaches.

Fiestas and Traditions

Here is a list of the more well-known dates that are celebrated in this area. Why not stay in my three bedroom holiday rental villa 'Las Mariposas' and join in with the Spanish celebrations! Spain is well known for its Ferias and Fiestas. Every town and village has its annual celebration. Many towns have Feria grounds specially built.

If you wish to know the exact dates this year for any of the following events please email
me at info@ExploreChiclana.com

February Carnival in Cádiz and other Towns:

Each February Cadiz, Chiclana and other larger towns launch into its riotous Carnival one of the most important in Spain.

Many people take to the streets for the ten days to party, the street fiestas which also feature oyster and sea urchin tasting.

Mar - Apr : Holy Week (Seville is well worth a visit)

This may be a religious festival but the bars are busy throughout the week day and night. Much preparation is undertook for the festival with many processions of brotherhoods of the church (cofradias) marching with the penitents, followed by (pasos) the floats and the Christ and a Virgin being the main figures. Much monies are spent on the flowers, costumes, candles and precious stones. The bearers (costaleros) walk in time to drumbeats from the bands. These are interspersed with impromptu (saetas) flamenco style hymns about the Passion and the Virgin's sorrows. Patterns of events change day and night and Good Friday is the climax of the processions. The processions leave the churches at midnight and march throughout the night.

Tapas, processions, bullfighting and flamenco are part of everyday life in Chiclana. If you are in this area around June 13, the Feria is a must! It is a week long festival and you will see all the old customs, the time for the residents to put on their colourful flamenco dresses and caballero hats and parade around the Feria ground, many on horseback.

You will hear flamenco singing and dancing and the whole family are together for this celebration. It is an opportunity to meet friends, enjoy tapas and the local dry sherries, fino or manzanilla and to dance 'sevillanas' to the accompaniment of the andaluz music which pulsates in every tent, this goes on until 6 am in the morning!

There are many other local Fiestas which take place. Many brochures and leaflets are placed in my Villas each season.

This major sherry town is a substantial place with an attractive old quarter set at the mouth of the Guadalquivir. It is the main depot for manzanilla wine (a pale dry fino variety) - it is not fortified with alcohol like in Jerez or El Puerto. It has its own microclimate added to by the poniente wind. Many seafood restaurants are here.

Sanlucar de Barrameda is also noted for its horse racing which dates back to 1845 and takes place along a 1,800m stretch of beach at the mouth of the Río Guadalquivir during the month of August, daily from 6.00 pm, on the 2nd and 4th weekends of the month (Thursday to Sunday). This is a thrilling spectacle where real racehorses thunder across the sand watched by a large noisy crowd of spectators. There is nothing amateur about this event and you can expect to see spectator stands, bookmakers, paddocks and of course the winners enclosure.

There is also a wonderful ferry boat trip where you can see the local fauna and flora across the Guadalquivir river from Sanlucar. The trip lasts 3.5 hrs and you stop off in two places to see the bird life and visit a traditional village. If you do the afternoon trip the sunsets are wonderful. You can book in advance - tickets can be bought from the old Ice factory on the waterfront in Sanlucar. Trips are from 10 am and 4 or 5 pm depending on the season.

Self Catering - Holiday Rental Villa

info@explorechiclana.com
Contact

0034 680 581 324

Come and explore Andalucia (Costa de la Luz)

Staying in a family run holiday villa

My self catering holiday villa is centrally located for visiting the Costa de la Luz part of Andalucia in Spain.
Booking a self-catering holiday rental villa, here in the Costa de la Luz, through www.ExploreChiclana.com , means you can please yourself and have your holiday just the way you want it, by the pool, beach side, city or countryside. Some guests like to spend much of their holiday on the beach. It doesn't get better than the Barrosa beach with all its facilities, especially for children. It is a sandy beach, not pebbles or shingle and has easy gentle sloping access to the sea. The sea is warm and clean. It is much much warmer than the Portuguese Algarve and a whole lot cleaner than the Mediterranean sea. There are several other beaches, Barbate, Cape Trafalgar, El Palmar, Conil, Roche some of which have secluded coves.

Beaches are not for everyone. This area abounds with Culture, History, Walking, Hiking, Riding, Water sports and Golf. The rental villa is centrally located for many daily trips out. The town of Jerez is 30 minutes drive. Take a tour of one of the famous Bodegas of Jerez and see how Sherry and Brandy are made. The town is rich with historic and artistic sites, one day is not enough!! Visit the Moorish Alcazar and gardens, the Clock museum, 15th century churches, the Flamenco museum etc.The performing horses of Jerez are a wonder to behold. For motor sports enthusiasts visit the famous race track. Formula 1 test their cars here and the Moto GP is normally the first one of the season. Check out their web site Jerez Circuit

The wonderful City of Cadiz, a short drive away, is a must to visit on your holiday in Andalucia, Costa de la Luz. The ancient city is approximately 3,000 years old. Cadiz is a very relaxed and easy-going city. People sit outside at the cafes all day long enjoying the cool sea breeze and warm sunshine, gazing up at the Moorish architecture. The old quarter is probably the most beautiful with the mansions of yesteryear merchants, towers, picturesque squares are awe inspiring. Visit a Roman Amphitheatre, admire the Moorish influences. Visit the grand Cathedral or the enormous Ficus trees in the parks and gardens with wild parrots. Shop in the main plaza/square, enjoy an ice cream or tapas in this beautiful area. Cadiz is so close to my holiday villa that many guests choose to spend more than one day visiting Cadiz.

Seville is known as the cultural city of Spain. It is about an hours drive. Or you can park (for free) at the local train station and for a moderate price let the train take you to the centre of Seville. Places to visit in Seville are the Cathedral and Giralda, the Tapas bars of Barrio Santa Cruz, the Alcazar, the Roman ruins of Italica at Santiponce, see the spectacular Plaza de Espana, take a river boat or horse and carriage trip. Take the children to Isla Magica Theme Park (Seville's Alton Towers) or visit one of the city's tablaos and experience a Flamenco Show.

There are some very good, cheap golf courses within easy reach of my Andalucian rental villa. Golfing is a very popular sport and many people have a golfing holiday here in the costa de la Luz Andalucia rather than the more expensive Costa del sol. Click on Useful Tourist Guide/ Golf to get more information.

For people who love nature- it is all here. The famous Donana Nature park with its pink flamingos is close by. The easiest way to explore this nature reserve from the Explorechiclana rental villas is to drive to Sanlucar de la Barrameda and catch a small foot-passenger ferry across the Guadalquivir river to the nature reserve.