# Nerja / Almunecar / Heradura for families ?



## hertsmas (Nov 12, 2014)

Lo again all, 

Im shortly going to hunt for a long term rental preparing for my very early retirement that is now in no doubt , the game is on so to speek.

I had thought Nerja/ Almunecar / herradura / Frigliana and surrounds to hunt however I'm already worried re one thing.

My sons are aged 6 and 10 ( live with mum) and would be visiting regularly , will these spots have enough other families and things to do for them or are they geared more to old fogies like me ( only joking)

But seriously , to get enough for the kids to do and meet other kids to play with
as I did in Capistrano as a boy should I discount Almunecar and Herradura and go for a larger busier place. Nothing is more important to me than my boys happiness.

Thanks

Mas


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Of the places you have mentioned, I would say that Almuñecar might offer more for your sons to do. They have a water park there (only open June-September as almost all of them are), a large municipal sports centre, and the beach of course. It's a bigger place than either La Herradura or Frigiliana so there should be more families with children around, and Almuñecar is the only place along that stretch of coast which has an international school so there must be enough expat families around to keep it going. It's well placed for skiing trips in the Sierra Nevada if they visit in the winter.

One thing which occurs to me about Nerja is that they have only just begun preparatory work on building a sewage treatment plant, which will take years to complete, and until they do sewage will continue to be discharged into the sea. I would not swim in the sea there and wouldn't want to let any children in my family do so either.

One alternative you might take a look at is Torre del Mar. In all honesty it doesn't have the visual appeal of the other places, but does have a lot going for it as far as facilities and activities are concerned. There is a very long beach with a flat, safe promenade separated from the road and by crossing a couple of footbridges it's possible to cycle along the seafront all the way from Torre through Caleta de Velez, Algarrobo Costa, Mezquitilla as far as El Morche. I see a lot of people with kids doing that, or children on online skates. There are public tennis courts, football pitches and basketball courts on the Paseo Maritimo. There is a water park here too (Aquavelis) and a go-karting track (Karting del Sol) just outside Torre at Almayate. In summer there things like giant in flatable water slides and those floating activity centres set up for families. As they get older, if you still want them to be visiting when they're teenagers there is a bit more nightlife in Torre than the other places you're thinking of. Last year they started a Weekend Beach music event which was a great success and they plan to make it an annual event - Damian Marley (son of His Bobness) will be appearing at this year's event. During the annual fiestas (Santa Ana for Torre and San Miguel for Velez) there are always free concerts featuring rock bands put on. There are companies offering activities like horse riding, buggy safaris, etc. based in the countryside inland from Velez although you'd need a car to get to them. If they got interested in golf as they get older there is the 18 hole Baviera Golf course at Caleta de Velez, just a couple of minutes away.

Torre is about half an hour closer by car to Malaga airport for picking them up and taking them back than Almuñecar is. It has really good public transport connections (approx 40 buses per weekday to Malaga for example) so would be easy to go into Malaga maybe for a football match at Malaga CF's La Rosaleda stadium. They run a night bus (El Buho) at weekends for the youngsters who want to go out in Malaga Capital. Although hopefully you'd never need it, it might be reassuring to know that the region's hospital is just 5 minutes down the road - when my friend's daughter fell off a tripwire in the park and broke her arm on the first afternoon of one of their holidays, she appreciated the fact that it was just a short taxi ride away!


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## hertsmas (Nov 12, 2014)

Thanks , its nice when someone makes an effort to pack some info in to a reply . I'm aware of Tore Del Mar though I haven't been there. I must admit the 'look' does put me off it a bit but it keeps cropping up as better than you think and opinions are clearly devided. If Almunecar is as well kitted out as you mention then I think that I will keep that well up on the scouting list. Ski-ing is a big draw for me you are spot on there. I know the boys will likely want to as they are very sporty.

It may sound silly but Karate is a must too and I'm struggling on the web re Karate around there , i'm sure the sports Centre will have some though. 

I'm actually torn between Rivierra Del Sol area which I think is so smart and peaceful yet well equipped and Nerja/Almunecar. I like Riviera Del Sol area but the Ski-ing is a big draw re Nerja etc.

But hey that's my problem !

I may be popping over in 2 weeks but its in the balance at work at the mo.

Once again Thanks

Mas


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