Beaches??
 

Hello--<BR><BR>Does anyone know of the following--Cadiz,Tarifa,Gibraltar,Marbella,Fuengirola, Malaga,Granada,Almeria,Alicante,and Valencia, which have the best beaches and most fun in mid-May? <BR><BR>How expensive are these cities (US or Euros)?

I know of a few of these. I love the beaches in Marbella but ask before going, some are nude, gay etc. We went to a beach (by the Marina) that rented lounge chairs for like 300 pts (couple of bucks) for the day and had a maitre'd taking orders on the beach....very cheap as well. <BR><BR>Cadiz, not worth going.<BR><BR>Tarifa, great sand.<BR><BR>Gibralter, don't think they have a beach cuz it's a mountain, could be wrong.

i agree with laura,<BR>and if you're going to be around fuengirola, malaga etc. go a little further to NERJA - gorgeous beaches!<BR><BR>JP

Hi Geogirl,<BR>Marbella is probably the more expensive<BR>place to go.<BR>All of those cities (exexpt: Cadisz, Tarifa,Fuengirol-I don't know) have<BR>good beaches, or more than just a single strap. Waterconditions even close to cities are not to bad, bbut <BR>real swimming up in Almeria, Valencia-<BR>maybe to early (around19 degres)<BR>Pretty cold but depends on how fit u are.<BR>Granada has no beach !!!<BR>And remember ! It's cultural freedom in europe, that you will find topless women<BR>or even naked, and even on not designated "nude" areas, and no one will<BR>say anything - that's just the freedom<BR>we europeans take for us.<BR>Any more questions - email me<BR>Shain/eu/de/d&uuml;sseldorf

<BR>Actually, there are a couple of very nice beachtowns in the province of Granada. Almu&ntilde;&eacute;car, Salobre&ntilde;a and Motril<BR>are all very nice, the quality of the sand is not great, in fact they are more shingles than sand, but the water is beautiful and clear.<BR>Also, very nice cliffs and small bays<BR>and this part od the coast is not as overdeveloped as the rest.<BR><BR>For me, the most beautiful beaches in Andaluc&iacute;a are in C&aacute;diz, particularly<BR>Conil, Tarifa, Chiclana/Sancti Petri and the gorgeous Zahara de los Atunes.<BR>The only problem is you risk it a little with the wind. This is major windsurfers paradise, but for anybody else, just out of the blue the sand is literally beating you and it ruins your beach day every once in a while. <BR>However, there are many beautiful resorts where you can shelter and they are quite cheaper than the ones at the Costa del Sol.<BR>

Thanks you guys, this is really helping.<BR>Now, those of you who have been to Marbella, Almeria, Alicante, and Valencia, can you recommend some hotels preferably on the beach for hopefully under 80 Euros a night?

Best beaches rarely coincide with fun. For me the best beaches in Southern Spain are located in Cadiz province (Rota, Cadiz, Chipiona, Conil, Chiclana, not so windy, Zahara,Bolonia, Tarifa, gorgeous beaches, almost deserted, probably windy ) and Almeria province (Cabo de Gata Natural Park, Eastern Almeria Province ). The warmest water in South Huelva/North Cadiz areas ( although it might not be inviting to swim yet ). You will certainly find few people at the beach except during the weekends.