Golf holidays in Spain have been an automatic choice for millions of British Isles golfers heading for a golf holiday in the sun every year. The Costa del Sol is particularly well known for its rapid golf expansion with many golf courses springing up in this part of Spain over the 80s and 90s. But Spain has an awful lot more to offer the holiday golfer than just this strip of hotels and golf courses huddled together around Malaga and Marbella.
The inexorable rise in the number of holiday golfers heading for Spain at the end of the last Century has encouraged a plethora of Spanish golf courses to spring up right across the country. You can now take your golf holiday in almost every corner of Spain.
Take your golf clubs and head west from Malaga towards Gibraltar, you will find a much calmer belt of seaside golf in the the area around Estepona, Sotogrande and San Roque. This part of the Andalucia is a little more Spanish and a lot more civilized (greener too!) making for a more relaxing environment for your Spanish golf holiday.
There are some superb golf courses to play: world famous Valderrama, the impressive Finca Cortesin, serene La Reserva, the lovely Old course at San Roque as well as their intriguing New course plus the clifftop layout at Alcaidesa one of the best value golf courses in Spain. All in all it's by far the classier end of the Costa del Sol!
Barcelona, the Catalan capital, is well known as one of Spain's great cities to visit: for its Gaudi architecture, its broad Ramblas, its beaches, the Olympic port, its Catalan cuisine, fine wines and, for partygoers, the full spectrum of nocturnal entertainments. It is perhaps less well known as a Spanish golf destination but there are some rather exclusive private Golf Clubs to play that are tucked away around the outskirts of the city. This combination makes Barcelona an excellent golfbreak destination for golfers who are looking for a little bit more from their Spanish golf holiday, albeit one that may not spring immediately to mind!
Barcelona has a very good supply of golf courses and most are private members' clubs with that elusive exclusive feel. Barcelona's golf courses are predominantly to the North and East of the city; so staying down by the port around Barceloneta makes a lot of sense for getting out to the Golf Clubs with the minimum of fuss. There is a wonderful mix of golf courses to play from the ultra-modern El Prat and Masia Bach to the delightfully traditional Vallromanes and Sant Cugat. For a Spanish golfbreak with a generous helping of gastronomy and a dash of culture, we believe it's hard to beat.
For a more tranquil Spanish golf holiday amidst whitewashed fishing villages and sleepy Spanish towns along with a taste of real Spain
and superb quality golf courses we would recommend taking your golf holiday amongst the beautiful landscapes north of Barcelona and south of Girona - the Costa Brava.
The Costa Brava is a wonderful place to enjoy golf in Spain with a truly relaxing golf holiday. You will find an array of golf courses here as good as any in the world, such as the two courses at PGA Catalunya and two more just down the road at Emporda, out on the coast the the narrow Fairways at Platja de Pals will test your accuracy and the courses at Girona and Aro will test your stamina too!
The North-Eastern corner of Spain clings fervently
to its past and retains a distinct identity complete with its own
language – Catalan (more widely spoken here than Spanish). There are indeed some large resort style towns along the beautiful
Mediterranean coast but these are predominately to be found further
south towards Barcelona. Contrastingly, the villages east of Girona
are small fishing villages or medieval walled
towns perched on hilltops dominating the fertile, sun-drenched plains. Magnificent scenery and an exceptionally dry climate in which to play golf.
Just south of Barcelona lie miles of golden sands lapped by the warm waters of the Mediterranean Sea, aptly named the Costa Dorada. Along a lot of the seaside, development has been a little overdone and uncontrolled but there a couple of havens to be found: the old city of Tarragona with its rich past and the modern seaside town of Port Cambrils. These two venues offer slightly different advantages, each making an ideal base for a Costa Dorada golf holiday in its own way.
And as you rightly imagine, we would not recommend an area without superb golf courses! The Costa Dorada is no exception, courses good enough in fact for the European Tour's final Qualifying School that takes place frequently at the two (and-a-half) Lumine courses.
For a Winter golfbreak there are few places to rival the warmest city in Europe - Seville. The South of Spain stays resolutely warm all through the short days of Winter, rarely dipping into single figure temperatures and then not for long. Seville has an enviable array of attractions for the tourist: a huge Cathedral, Alcazar Palace, Bull Ring, Flamenco dancing, the old town with its narrow alleys festooned with tapas bars so there is as much to do off the golf course as well as on it.
The Golf Clubs themselves are all about quality rather than quantity. Three private clubs on the south side of town offer offer high-class golfing in a priviliged setting. We have some great hotels in town and there is also one at the Real Sevilla Golf Club if you like to stay 'on-course'. However, we think you should treat yourself to a stay at the quaintest hotel in Spain - Las Casas de la Juderia in the heart of the old town. It is completely unique and unlike anything we have seen before!
Getting there could not be easier with plenty of direct flights and we have a very good local transfer company if you don't want to drive yourselves around.
Golf holidays in Jerez & Cadiz have a feel of real Andalucian golfing about them. Both Jerez & Cadiz are genuine Spanish cities with lives and industries of their own that started long before the onset (onslaught some might say) of golf holidays in Spain.
Jerez is a small city, designed for strolling, that is known the world over as the producer of everybody's auntie's favourite tipple - sherry. Seemingly every street has a bodega where you can try a crisp, ice-cold fino, just the thing before dinner after a warm day on the golf course. Or a rounded Amontillado if you prefer a fruitier taste, or the full-bodied Oloroso (maybe with dessert). Whatever your taste you will be hard pressed to avoid a glass of sherry in Jerez!
Cadiz down on the coast is a larger, busier city that has a busy trading port with all of the associated hustle and bustle. Unless you particularly want to stay in Cadiz on your golf holiday we would sooner recommend Jerez as it is smaller and closer to the pick of the golf courses. However if you would like a Cadiz golf holiday, please let us know and we shall be happy to make all the arrangements for you.
One does not have to venture too far east from Barcelona before the Balearic islands are reached. Their reputation is one of wild partying, but in truth away from a couple of scary corners the majority of Mallorca is a quiet and calm land with some very good golf courses.
Spread around the island of Mallorca there are an extraordinary number of golf courses, all of a very good standard: Son Muntaner would match any course anywhere and there are many more too especially on the eastern and of the Mallorca where Capdepera, Pula and Alcanada make a tantalising threesome. If you have always dismissed Mallorca as a youthful den of iniquity, then maybe it's time to reconsider...
In the very North of Spain high in the Pyrenees and well on the way to the tiny Pyreneen province (and ski resort) of Andorra lies a lush green valley - Cerda ñ a (also known as Puigcerda). The valley runs due East to due West so catches the sun all day long and for many years this idyllic mountain retreat has been the Summer escape for well-to-do Barcelonians escaping the city heat in July and August.
Cerda ña is unlike any other golf holiday destination that we feature: total seclusion (or reclusion?) from the outside world amongst a collection of sleepy Pyreneen hamlets. If all you want is fabulous golf, pure oxygen and peace and quiet then Cerdaña is the place for you: party animals need not apply!
The well trodden path between Malaga airport and Puerto Banus is densely populated by golfers of all nationalities and abilities. The belt of golf courses along the Costa del Sol caters for their needs during the day and the bars and nightclubs slake their ensuing thirst once the sun has set on the Costa. Anybody who has visited Malaga or Puerto Banus will tell you that this part of Spain is not for the faint hearted! In fairness however, some of the golf courses are of a very high standard, there are some luxurious golf resorts set back a little from the coast and the old town of Malaga has managed to cling on to a certain charm. So if you choose carefully you can create an enjoyable golf holiday on the Costa del Sol avoiding the majority of hoi polloi!
We are of course happy to arrange your golf travel to the Costa del Sol for you, but frankly we feel you might enjoy a golf holiday in other parts of Spain even more - especially if you are looking for a more relaxing style of golf holiday.
Holidays in Spain - wining and dining
Food and wine are hugely important to the Spanish (quite right to!) where both fresh fish and seafood are very much in evidence alongside
fine hams, olives and cheeses.
The provinces of Rioja and Navarra are well known for their rounded, oaky wines, are not far distant but
there are many other, more local, wines of note: those from Penedès
and Arragon are particularly worthy of investigation.
Being such a popular holiday destination, there are numerous flights to Spain from airports all over the UK and Europe. In fact for a fly drive golf holiday, Spain is arguably the easiest location to get to for your golf holiday.
We can advise on the best routes and schedules from an airport near you to your golfing destination that will have you on course in the shortest possible time.
Alternatively, you can sail away to Spain from Portsmouth with Brittany Ferries, taking your own car and clubs, allowing you to bring back plenty of souvenirs of golf in Spain!
As we have an ATOL licence we can book flights for you or ferries at our discounted fares to Spain.
