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Part 1: Nerja

I was surprised by this village as it is very small. A friend recommended it to me because there is some good hiking to do. I never pass up the opportunity for a good mountain hike! It is a stunning white tourist town (I even found a Dutch grocery store) with a ‘helado’ shop at every corner. The ‘balcony of europe’ is a great viewpoint over the Mediterranean where lots of selfies can be taken.

How to get there

To arrive you can take a bus from Malaga (at Maria Zambrano trainstation is also the busstation) or Granada which will take 2 hours, or drive a car there (1 hour). At calle Puente del Miso I saw lots of (shaded) spots to freely park a van or caravan, 10 minutes walking to the centre.

Playa La Burriana is the widest beach and only 15 minutes walking from the centre.

Where to work

After looking around, the only cafe I found for working with your laptop is Churreria la Rueda cafe in Calle San Miguel. Here you will have coffee and wifi, and it is open every day.

I prefered working in the hostel, where it is more quiet. Hostel EasyNerja is the only hostel for backpackers, with a very low price of only 14 euros a night. There is a kitchen table and a seat in the lobby, or just work on your laptop lying in bed! Why not! It is a quiet hostel with people to meet at dinner and breakfast time.

I prefered activities in the morning, a quick refreshing dip in the Mediterranean, and working in the late afternoon/night all fresh and happy.

The best supermarket is Mercadona, because they have so much different kinds of food. Other supermarkets closeby will be Coviran, Supersol or Carrefour Expres.

One lunchroom that stood out amongst the crowd was Casa Veggy in calle Jaen – owned by an old italian woman, they serve organic, gluten, lactose free, vegan meals and juices. One downer, they don’t have Wifi, because, I quote: “I don’t want. Wifi izz dangeroes.”

What to do

For drinks in the evening, there was live music almost every night at Plaza Tutti Frutti (I  did not make this name up).

I ended up staying 4 days in this town, because it has so much to offer. There is the beach of course, where you can swim and kayak and paddleboard, but don’t miss the river trek on Rio Chillar, where you walk in the river up till your ankles for 2,5 hours – very refreshing in hot weather and you can even swim/dip in three places (you can turn around anytime). The road is mostly shaded because you’re walking through a canyon!

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The next recommendation is to go to the cave – las cuevas – and if you take the 8:25 bus you will get there in time for FREE entrance every weekday morning (normally 13 euros). It is an impressively big cave with the largest stalactite in the word! Nice and cool cave so a good activity on hot days. The walk back (about an hour) is beautiful as you walk along avocado & apricot farms, have a nice view of the sea and pass a beautiful old aquaduct.

On the last day I took a bus to Frigiliana – a typical Spanish white houses town on the side of the mountain. It is very nice to walk around, go to shops or the viewpoint. I did a hike to the top of a mountain (Cruz Felix & Cruz Pino) and from there back to Nerja, about a 3 hour walk. The path is not very well marked so make sure you take a photo of the route in the tourist office.

All of these activities and more, including tapas tours, can also be booked in a group if you don’t want to be alone. This is done by a lovely Dutch guide! you can look on www.nerja-experiences.com

And make sure to use sunscreen! The sun is very strong and ‘dangeroez’.
Any more questions about my stay in Nerja? Leave a comment down below!