The topic of my kids Holiday Spanish Camps this year is las vacaciones; holidays. One of the first thing we discuss in the improvers and GCSE classes are what is most important to you when going on holiday? Things like, ir de compras (shopping), la playa (the beach), la gente (the people) and la comida (the food) were important but also the sea and sun scored pretty high up too.
As adults I think it’s slightly different. For me for example, I love visiting places with good weather and I am a scuba diving beach babe at heart so a crystal-clear ocean with warm water certainly entices me. However, for me the people are also important.
Let’s take Malaga as an example destination. When I think of Malaga I think of mass tourism, Torremolinos, stag and hen dos which in the past has put me off visiting. However I decided to take a look at Malaga to see if there is more than meets the eye.
I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Malaga city is said to be Spain’s most kept secret city; Barcelona and Madrid are of course top of the popularity list when it comes to Spanish cities.
Here are five more things you may not know about Malaga:
- Malaga is probably one of the world’s oldest cities, it was founded by Phoenicians in 770 BC.
- Pablo Picasso, was born in Malaga.
- Malaga enjoys an average of 300 days of sunshine and 50 days of rain each year.
- Thanks in part of the Malaga Mountains blocking cold weather from the north, Malaga has the warmest winters of all European cities. The average temperature between December and February is 63–64 °F.
- The food is excellent. There are many chiringuitos along the coast as well as inexpensive fish restaurants.
One of the best things about making progressive with your Spanish is that you are able to travel more independently getting a more enriching travel experience. As your travel confidence grows you travel to lesser-know destinations and no longer need to rely on Travel Reps and organised tours.
What do you look for when choosing your next holiday destination? Do you take destinations at face value? Or do you prefer to look a little deeper at what lies beyond the obvious sun, sand and sea?