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Alhama is so well-placed between the coast and the mountains there are lots of interesting places to visit which are easily accessible within an hour or so's drive from the town. Here are just a few!

From December to April you can enjoy fantastic skiing and snowboarding in the beautiful Sierra Nevada mountain range. The resort itself, called ’Solynieve’, looks like something from a picture postcard. There’s a wide choice of runs for all levels; tuition and equipment hire also available. You can easily avoid the weekend queues at the slopes by driving up from Alhama during the working week; ski all day and be back in Alhama in plenty of time for dinner. The Sierra Nevada National Park is also fabulous all year round for walking and cycling and only one and a half hour's drive from Alhama.

The Costa Tropical is one hour's drive where you can visit the historical seaside towns of Nerja, La Herradura and Almunecar. All the usual water sports including wind-surfing, sailing, para-gliding and scuba diving are very popular from La Herradura in particular. The towns are attractive and have traditional architecture, old barrios with flower laden balconies and twisting cobbled lanes, and lots of great restaurants, bars and shops.

A trip to the famous caves at Nerja with 20,000 year old paintings and a concert hall housed in one of the caves is highly recommended with admission prices at 5 euros for adults and 2.50 for kids makes it easy on the pocket too! There is a very nice restaurant at the caves with terrific views and a pleasant park and picnic area in the grounds. Also around the coast there are aqua-parks at Velez-Malaga and Torremolinos, which provide fun days out for little kids and big kids too. Near Estepona, a little further along the coast (reachable within two hours), is the safari park ’Selwo’. Based on an African safari park design there are over 2,000 animals there including rhinos, elephants, tigers and bears as well as botanical gardens.

North of Alhama, the nearby town of Antequera is an attraction in itself, but also has a lobo park (wolf reserve) and a donkey sanctuary which are fascinating for kids and really good causes deserving support. The town of Loja is a short drive from Alhama and it’s attractive main street is a treasure trove for shoppers; check out the numerous bazaars for some great gifts to take back home.

Two more villages that are in very easy reach are Riofrio and Montefrio. Popular with Spanish families, especially on Sundays, Riofrio’s river is teeming with trout and the cluster of restaurants there serve up these delicious fresh fish at a very reasonable price. Montefrio is a typical white Spanish village with windy narrow streets for you to stroll down before enjoying some tapas and drinks in one of the bars.