Spain - Nerja
Well, I loved Nerja the first time I went, and I liked Nerja the second time I went. As part of the Costa Del Sol it’s on every must do list.
Normally I would describe it as one of the coolest beach towns anywhere. All of the action sits high atop cliffs (the Balcony of Europe is there) and you can look down on beaches, giant rocks, and in some cases bars and shops. Now however, they have sort of let it go to shit. I think the beach has eroded to the point where the area around the balcony is just not that interesting. You can still make it to pockets of beach coves along the coast from the Playa Calahonda (right next to the balcony) but many of the pockets are now gone, rock slides have seemingly occurred everywhere, there is garbage everywhere, there appears to be a multitude of homeless people who set up shop along the pathways, and the parts that are accessible are maybe too accessible, meaning families can be in areas that used to be very very sexy. That was their whole point…private time with your girl (we got some but it just wasn’t cool enough, we couldn’t get far enough away without the water completely closing us in). I know I make it sound terrible, but to be fair, most people have never, ever seen anything like this, even in its current state. You can literally walk through giant boulders and find beach coves…you just can’t do it for very long anymore.
The playa Calahonda itself is small and the entire balcony can look over it making it very exposed..again not what you are looking for in Nerja. Playa El Salon on the other side of the balcony has the same problem, too exposed and some of it is right in front of a hotel’s private pool area…boring.
If you walk along the coast on top of the cliff (which is actually pretty cool with windy, skinny roads in every direction) you will eventually make it to Playa Burriana, probably the biggest beach area and there is a boardwalk like area with patios everywhere. That being said, this beach is kind of boring. I feel like it used to have giant rock formations and now it’s primarily just sand…and jellyfish sadly
We stayed in the Plaza Cavana and this was a perfect location. Great square. Close to everything. Lots of patios and people.
I’ll look out for a notice that Nerja/Spain is fixing the beach side walkways. They are in an utter state of disrepair, and since the homelessness and trashiness has been allowed to take over what little is left of these pathways, using the water to get to the coves along the coast is your best bet, but it’s dangerous.
Notes to self:
-The restaurant that is in the balcony of Europe was empty as shit when we went there. Looked too nice for our tastes so we only had a drink.
-Going to dinner on the balconies along the cliffs is just impossible to pass up. Great views and fine enough food. These places are built into the cliffs and can be as romantic as it gets.
-Hemingway’s, which is pubby with a nice patio is a great place to get a drink. Always busy and always fun.
Plaza Cavana Nerja - May 2015
Perfect location. That’s the most important thing. Had a great little french balcony looking over the actual plaza cavana. TV was wee little. Had a strangely modern bathroom for such an old school room. Parking was wonderful in that they offered it for 10 bucks but oh my god it is down an elevator shaft. And not some giant monster truck elevator, it’s an oh my god I can’t believe I’m doing this elevator. When you make it down to this dark cave of a garage, you still have to creep. For serious, 9 point turns around every column!
We did have a little mini bar. No room service. They did have a nice little restaurant with an outdoor patio that we had a nice breakfast on. They actually had a roof top pool and that shit was packed one day. Anyway, this isn’t a resort area. You aren’t going to find a multitude of modern amenities.
Notes
-This hotel was perfect for us.
Hostal Marissal Nerja - Apr 2006
Nerja is one of the coolest places on the planet. Unbelievable beaches that go on forever. Total privacy if you want. Nooks and crannies throughout these giant rock structures everywhere you turn. Cool as shit.
This hotel was fine, but man they have far better ones. They have hotels that seem to be carved right into the rock cliffs. Amazing stuff. The location of the Marissal is pretty sweet, but we had a balcony facing away from the beach, and the room was double meh.