La Herradura - Spain's best kept secret!

La Herradura is located in the Costa Tropical, less than 1 hour from Malaga.

The small town of La Herradura is located on the Mediterranean Sea in the province of Granada.  Costa Tropical is an approximately 40 km long stretch of coastline that has a subtropical climate. It is unique and the area is alone in this throughout Europe!  This is due to its location to the south along with the surroundings of mountain ranges such as the Sierra Nevada with peaks of 3500 meters.
 

Costa Tropical - La Herradura has an enviable climate, with an average of 320 days of sunshine per year.
 

The climate on the Costa Tropical is, as I said, subtropical  Costa Tropical has the warmest winter temperature on the European mainland. It's even hotter here than on the Costa del Sol. Due to the subtropical weather  grows here a lot of tropical fruits, mostly avocado, mango and Cherimoya but also papaya, persimmons and guava. The mountains are also filled with figs and almond trees.
 

The climate is mild all year round - expect warm winters with 14 to 20 degrees and in summer the temperature is around 24 to 26 degrees.  It is very rare that it gets below 10 degrees. In the summer, the mountains and the sea air mean that it is not as "oppressive" heat as you can often experience elsewhere in the Mediterranean area during the period June-September.

La Herradura is a small town (about 10  000 inhabitants) belonging to the municipality of Almunecar. Almunecar is more or less connected to LaHerradura, separated only by a "bay". It takes about 5 minutes to Almunecar city which has about 35  000 inhabitants.  In the other direction from La Herradura is Nerja (about 1 mile) and can be reached in 10 min. La Herradura is located 70km east of Málaga Airport and 100km north of the city is Granada. 

La Herradura means "horseshoe" in Spanish, as the bay has that shape. The beach is 2km long and every year a swimming competition is organized across the bay. Here are the best diving waters in Spain. La Herrudara is a small quiet and nice town with local market on selected days, market hall, fortress, old town, culture houses, hotels and plenty of nice bars and restaurants. As this is a fishing village, this means that the supply of fresh seafood is very large. ​ 

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Cerro Gordo, the National Park in the western part of the bay has an old guard tower where you can hike. Down by the water's edge you can paddle a canoe into caves. Popular waters to dive and snorkel in. Playa Cantarrijan is located furthest west and is called Playa Nudista. Here you can swim naked if you want, if you do not prefer to sit at the lovely restaurant La Barraca. Good parking for hiking up in the mountains in the National Park, where you can see Iberian Capricorn and at the same time get a fantastic view away towards Nerja.

This quiet and unspoilt city is known for its beautiful bay. Naturally shaped like a horseshoe, the beach in the bay is considered one of the most beautiful in Spain.

The town itself has a typical Andalusian style with lots of bars and restaurants with terraces where you can enjoy tapas or international cuisine. In the evenings  Many of the bars and restaurants offer live music. 

La Herradura's surroundings and mild climate make it a perfect holiday destination for those interested in leisure activities. Water sports are popular, especially sailing and diving. Hikers will come here to enjoy walks around the promontory of the Cerro Gordo Natural Park with its Moorish watchtowers. 

To the east of the city is Punta de la Mona, a luxury residential area with many nice villas. Down by the beach is the port of Marina del Este, the center of all water sports and activities.  Marina del Este is the marina at the bay's eastern cape. Here you will find fine restaurants and the opportunity to join a sailing trip out on the Mediterranean. A new star hotel is also being planned here, which of course places demands on a beautiful environment - and the hotel really gets it here!

La Herradura is one of the most attractive and unspoilt places on the Andalusian coast and offers year-round leisure activities.