Northwest Mallorca or Costa de la Luz in Andalucia, Spain?
 

Hi Fodorites,

We are a group of 6 friends trying to decide on a one week holiday in Spain at the beginning of June. We are interested in catching up and relaxing, with beach and hiking thrown in to the mix. We definitely want to avoid the tourist hordes! A little wary of Mallorca for that reason but have heard positive things about "the other Mallorca" in the Northwest of the island especially around the villages of Deia, Soller and Fornalutx. Don't know much about Costa de la Luz except that it is more remote than other Spanish coasts which is what we want. We will probably rent a car and a house for a week. Any advice or recommendations about either place? Thanks!

We stayed in Conil de la Frontera on the Costa de la Luz two years ago - our trip report is here -
www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2

We absolutely loved it and will definitely return at some stage. It's "just touristy enough" - with nice bars and restaurants, but not too built up or developed. A lot of Spanish people from Seville and Madrid go there on holidays.

We recommended it to friends of ours who rented a place in nearby Vejer de la Frontera - www.vejer.com/vejer.htm - an absolutely beautiful white town about 10K from the coast.

For more details about Conil, see here - www.webconil.com

Feel free to post again with any questions.

"... Don't know much about Costa de la Luz except that it is more remote than other Spanish coasts which is what we want. ..."
Remote?? Not!! You could rent a car in Sevilla and be on the Costa de la Luz (Sanlucar de Barrameda) in less thaan 2-hours. The Costa de la Luz extends Cadiz to el rio Guadalquivir. West of the river is the Donana wildlife refuge, Provincia de Huelva and the Costa Ballena (Whale coast). The Port of Huelva is a huge Petrochemical complex similar to the Houston Port.

Palos de la frontera, just east of Huelva, is where Columbus sailed from on his first voyage of Discovery. There's a monument there.

Around the first of June (Pentecost Monday) there are big happenings at el Santuario de la Virgen del Rocio (near Almonte): about a million Pilgrims make the Romeria to that Shrine