Casa Benalup

Where we are

Our house on the Costa de la Luz nestles on the side of the hill in the vibrant ‘pueblo blanco’ of Benalup. The house is bang in the middle of the ‘old’ quarter of town, within five minutes walk of restaurants, bars, panaderia (bread shop), supermarket, tabac, clothes and shoe shops and an internet café.

Benalup (see map) is close to the well-known towns of Vejer (15 minutes), Medina Sidonia (20 minutes) and Alcala (20 minutes). It is less than 1 hour’s drive from Jerez (Ryanair), 1½ hours from Seville (Ryanair, Iberia & BA), 1¼ hours from Gibraltar and about 3 hours from Malaga.

The coast is about 30 minutes' drive – the nearest beaches are at Los Canos de Meca and El Palmar. A little further west lie the famous Blue Flag beaches at La Barossa and Novo Sancti Petri and to the east are the amazing beaches of Tarifa and Bolonia, where wind-surfing and kite-surfing are all the rage.

This part of the world is in view of Africa – the Straits of Gibraltar are only 14 kilometres wide and a day trip from Tarifa to Tangiers in a jet-foil ferry is an exciting and low-cost entertainment.

Benalup itself is on the edge of the Parque Natural of Los Alcornocales, famed for its cork oak forests and for the wildlife, particularly birds, as this is the migratory route for many of Europe’s summer and winter avian visitors. There is a resident colony of Griffon Vultures; these birds soar high over the area, seemingly suspended in the air, sustained by their 10ft wingspan. There is a growing number of well-mapped walks that can be taken in the Parque Natural.

There is a well-established golf course on the edge of town and another one under construction nearby. There are probably another 4 or 5 courses within 1 hour's drive.

For culture, the cities of Jerez and Cadiz have rich offerings. Jerez is famous for flamenco, the historic Spanish Riding School, the bodegas of the great sherry houses and bull fighting. Cadiz, said to be the oldest city in Europe, is steeped in ancient maritime tradition and boasts a Roman amphitheatre, one of the earliest camera obscuras and some of the best tapas bars in Spain. A walk through the narrow streets of the old town is a delight.

The house – situated in Calle San Elias,Benalup

Kitchen

It’s a town house, built in 2004, very close to the church square (they thought- fully turn off the chimes between 11pm and 8 am!). On the ground floor there is a large, cool living/dining room, hallway, cloakroom and a modern and well-equipped kitchen with gas hob, electric oven, dishwasher, washing machine, toaster and large fridge. Outside, there is a private patio, good for eating out.

On the first floor there is one double bedroom with king-size bed and one twin bedroom available, a bathroom with bath, shower and bidet, and stairs leading up to a 47m2 roof terrace with a stonking 270° panoramic view out over the Parque Natural to the sierras beyond. Both the patio and roof terrace are equipped with eating and/or sunbathing furniture.

As this is a townhouse, there is no pool. However, there is a magnificent outdoor municipal pool in Benalup, together with children’s play pool, open from June to September. And of course, the beaches are not far away...
More photos in the Photo Gallery


	As this is a townhouse, there is no pool. However, there is a magnificent outdoor municipal pool in Benalup, together with children’s play pool, open from June to September. And of course, the beaches are not far away...