Alhama de Granada Kids page

Children of all ages are made very welcome in Alhama and there's plenty for them to do.

There are two swimming pools locally; one about 10 minutes walk from the house, one half an hours walk/5 minutes drive just outside of town. Both are attractive with shaded areas and a little cafe/bar, and safe with a little ones' pool; easy to spend the day there. For older kids there's the adventure of swimming in the lake or the swimming holes in the river ....

The main squares of Alhama have climbing frames and slides for little ones and kiosks for refreshments. This is where lots of people meet so all ages are out and about in the squares all day. All the ferias and fiestas are very child-friendly. You may find it surprising but your children are welcome here in all shops, bars and restaurants (at all hours!). Considered an integral part of life here, they go where everyone else goes .....

Great things for your kids to do when they're in Alhama: *explore the gorge; find fossils and swimming holes, *swim in the local pools or the river or the lake, *hire a bike, explore the area, *hire a pedalo and explore beautiful Lake Bermejales, *spend a day windsurfing, canoeing, quad-biking, rock-climbing, hiking, cycling or ski-ing with Terry: Alhambra Rambler

The beach is only an hour away. Lots of watersports are available in Nerja and La Herradura in particular. Have a look at windsurflaherradura.com for surfing and sailing lessons or hire of boards, dingies,etc.

Less than an hour away there's a waterpark in Velez Malaga: www.aquavelis.com, and another one in Torremolinos: www.aqualand.es/torremolinos. (There's a little one in the town of Loja, about 40 minutes from Alhama: great for smaller kids, bigger kids might find it a little tame.) Go snorkelling or learn to dive with www.nerjadiving.com.

Torre del Mar has year-round dolphin watching boat cruises: www.absoluteaxarquia.com

A Nerja charity that you can visit is the Donkey Sanctuary. You can pat the donkeys and meet other animals including pot-bellied pigs. Their address and details are available on www.costadelsol.angloinfo.com.

About 45 minutes from Alhama, Granada has an amazing Science Park which has permanent exhibits such as Biosphere Hall, Astronomy Garden, Planetarium, Butterfly House, Botanical Walk and Oil Mill and Olive Grove as well as temporary exhibits: www.parqueciencias.com/eng

Granada also has a waterpark - www.aquaola.com Two museums that are particularly good for kids are the Archaeological Museum - granadamap.com/museoarchaeo.htm - and the Caves Museum in Sacromonte - granadamap.com/museo_cuevas. The Alybacin and Sacromonte areas are very attractive and practically car free with lots of pretty squares with cafes to sit in while you kids play safely.

The best way to get around Granada is to park up your car and take the bus. It's easy to get around all the places you would like to visit with local buses, one euro per ticket anywhere you go. Here is a map online: www.lovegranada.com (the tourist routes are 30, 31 and 32 which take you round the centre of Granada, to the Alhambra (with free entry to the Generalife if you just fancy a walk around the gardens) and all around the Albaycin and Sacromonte areas) - also you can pick up a map from the Tourist Office (one just past Plaza Real in the centre) or the Bus Station.

The Sierra Nevada National Park is a further 45 minutes from Granada. Lots of snow in the winter months, particularly from January to April with opportunities to tobogan/sledge and learn to snowboard or ski. A nice, user-friendly website is granadamap/sn/, with a good overview it's better than the official website. However, you can see the webcam and pre-book passes on www.sierranevada.co.uk.

For information about the Sierra Nevada National Park - visitors centres, walking/hiking routes, "nature classrooms" and botanical gardens;www.coloursofspain.com

Finally, if you fancy an evening out at the theatre in Granada or a day hiking to the peak of La Maroma - we can recommend a local experienced babysitter, call Pam on 0034 685035267.