We are staying 3 nights in Sevilla. We have one night free before we go to Tarifa (adult kids want to go to Morrocco for the day) We were planning to drive into Jerez and do some sherry tasting then drive the 35 minutes to spend the night in Arcos OR we could stay in Jerez, drive to Arcos in the am and head down to Tarifa (about 2 hours.)

A visit to a Sherry Bodega takes about two hours. For a little walking around, add another hour. So, three hours would be enough for Jerez.

No reason to stay overnight in Jerez and enough time to drive to Arcos. (And you won't get so much sherry that you cannot drive after the tasting.) Buy a couple of bottles in the Bodega and have a drink in the evening.

BTW, we made the tour at Gonzales Byass (Tio Pepe Sherry, Lepanto Brandy) which was very good. But other Bodegas have good tours, too.

Spending the night in Arcos sounds like a good idea. It's especially nice there after all the day-tripping tourists have gone, and you can explore the old town after dawn.

If you want another stop on your way down to Tarifa, you have Medina-Sidonia and Vejer as two more pueblos blancos en route on A399 and A396, and also the quite impressive Roman ruins at Baelo (15km before Tafira, 5km off N340, directly on the coast).

Arcos is a much prettier town and the parador is lovely. The only reason you might want to spend the night in Jerez is that I have heard (but obviously cannot confirm) that the flamenco there is among the best in the country..

We spent two nights at the Arcos Parador, then drove to Jerez for a visit to the Sandeman bodega, and then to Sanlucar de Barrameda for the night.

Medina-Sedonia has a special attraction too. This village has routes on both the north and south of this village. There's also two roads which both east/west. This gives a four corner box of this village. On each corner on these routes have Ventas (home made cooking restaurants)on each corner and their specialty is game birds. You can taste Pheasant, Partirdge, and some other types of birds as well as rabbit, etc.. The food is great and the prices are fairly cheap. The ambiance is very great in these ventas too.

These restauarants are not tourist spots. You're going to see about 95% Spanish customers. The places are full most times so go early and enjoy. This is Spain in it's best.

Blackduff

Blackduff can you recommend a particular(or couple of) of venta(s)in this area? It sounds perfect.

ana maria

I don't think this is considered a venta, but we did enjoy our meal here, not far from Jerez:


http://www.hotellacueva.com/restau.htm

ana maria
There are ventas everywhere in Andalucia. They tend to look rundown but this is a lot of ambiance in most.

Medina-Sedonia is a high hill. If you think about a square over this village and you'll see the roads. On each corner where the roads connect, there will be a venta or two on each place. I don't remember the names of each and many of the expats have given their own name, so it's hard to give a direction.

Some of the expats called one place the "Chicken In The Dirt", since the floor was dirt inside of the venta. Venta Vaca is next to the chicken in the dirt. Well, maybe you won't find the expat name but that area is good food for a decent price.

Blackduff

ekscrunchy

The restaurant Cueva is a very good restaurant. I've eaten there very often.

There's a race course for Motorcycles - Worlds level racing. This used to had F1 racing there too but now that's moved to Barcelona.

I used to play golf across this place too. This restaurant the best restaurant around Arcos. In fact Arcos doesn't have much for food.

The Cueva also specialies for game fowl too, similar to Medina-Sedonia.

The prices for the meals are not cheap but it's always good. For a tourist it could be a big splurge but worthwhile.

Blackduff

what exactly is a venta?

Momincy
Here's a Spanish explanation. This is from the "Gastronomia Y Cocina Gaditana". Literally this is called " Gastronomy and Cooking Gaditana". Gaditana is the old name for people from Cadiz. Actually Gaditana is still used.

Venta: Taberna a modo de restaurante, generalmente junto a carreteras y cercanias de las poblaciones gaditanas

Now, my poor translation into English.
Venta: A tavern or type of restaurant, generally next to roads and near to the population Gaditanias.

In the region of Barcelona, you'll find a similar places called "Can".

Normally the ventas have something for breakfast. Mostly it will be toast with butter and/or manteca (lard). Most places have good tapas as well as good dishes. Expect to have a lot of oil in the cooking at Ventas. But, most places give good food for the small prices.

Blackduff

ttt

Thanks Blackduff and Scrunchita

I understand about the names. Chicken in the Dirt sounds pretty good!


ams

Better type in Arcos on this board and see the difficulties people had in driving to the Parador in Arcos. I tried it myself, and had to give up after scraping the sides of my rental car on buildings. The signs are not very good, and when I thought I finally had it figured out, I was confronted with "Do not enter" signs. I finally gave up. I'm glad I did not have a reservation there.

We stayed at the Parador in Arcos and did not have any trouble finding or accessing the place. And we are not the best drivers. So it is not a given that you will have trouble.

I learned that in Spain, you can drive against the "do not enter" for at least two blocks. I'm not sure if there's a written law but in effort everyone follows this rule.

Otherwise, how will you get to the top of Arcos.

Blackduff

The paradors often send you driving and parking instructions when you reserve.

I read you are planning a day in Morrocco from Tarifa.
Gibraltar straits has an average of 90 stormy days per year. Winds over 8 in Beaufort scale and waves over 5 yards. Dec, Jan and Feb are the worst months. Ferries are very safe and they rarely stop the service.
But I wonder how much fun can be crossing Gib in a winter stormy day knowing you have to come back the same afternoon.
So be informed about the weather conditions and have an laternative plan.

I disagree with the other posters on this topic. Jerez makes for a much more interesting overnight stay than Arcos. Your adult kids will probably also want to see a bit of nightlife which isn't nearly as good in Arcos as it is in Jerez. Aside from the sherry bodegas (and, btw, even with just a glass of sherry you would be considered over the limit according to spanish law, sherry has a 17° alcohol grade) you have the equestrian school (tuesdays and thursdays) the alcazar with its moorish baths and camera oscura, and the possibility of seeing the best and most authentic flamenco in Spain. My advice would be to spend the night in Jerez, then get an early start the next day to Arcos, wander around for the morning, have lunch in any number of its quaint bars, and set out to Tarifa in the afternoon. Also, as someone who lives in Morocco, I'd advise against a simple day trip to Tangier. It isn't a great day trip destination.

See my recent post with some cautions regarding staying overnight in Arcos:
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=35091291

You can drive to the Parador, but be sure you get detailed directions (I can provide, if you need them), and be careful and patient. The parking at the top is limited, and you could find no spots available and have to drive back down or hang in your car until someone leaves.

Another option besides Jerez is Sanlucar de Barrameda. Some highly-regarded seafood restuarants (Bigote, on the water) and tapas bars (my favorite was Balbino, Barbiana is another).

Pedro Romero is a really interesting Bodega in Sanlucar still producing Manzanilla in an artisanal fashion. Call ahead to be sure you can join an English-speaking tour or just have a staff person take you around (as I did).

-- Paul