Antequera: the Case for B-List Travel

Estimated numbers of hotel rooms in places we stayed: Granada, Antequera, Marbella and Nerja, Spain. May 2019 data from Instituto Nacional de Estadistica.

If you’re planning to visit Spain’s Costa del Sol, you’ll probably be staying in a busy place. It can be hard to avoid over-loved places, but I prefer to seek out B-List places.

On our recent family trip to the Andalucia region of Southern Spain, we stayed in four cities: Nerja (4 nights), Granada (2 nights), Antequera (7 nights), and Marbella (4 nights).

The graph at the top of this post provides some evidence of the relative popularity of these places.

Mandatory Visits to the Costa del Sol

We had two nephews (10 and 11) in tow. It would be unreasonable to travel so near to the Mediterranean and not give the boys some time to romp on the beach. We book-ended our trip with stays in two places on Spain’s over-loved Costa del Sol: Nerja and Marbella.

Last year (2018) I included Andalucia in my solo travels so I could suss out towns where we might stay this year on our family trip. For many reasons, including the presence of strip clubs, and the sheer density of hotels, I eliminated Torremolinos as a seaside option.

Estimated number of hotel rooms in Marbella, Nerja, and Torremolinos, on the Costa del Sol, Spain.
May 2019 data from Instituto Nacional de Estadistica.

Andalucia’s “Interior”: Granada and Antequera

We stayed two nights in the over-loved city of Granada in a pleasant hotel just outside the walls of the Alhambra. We spent much of a day exploring the A-List Alhambra, and were grateful that admissions are severely limited. Online reservations for the Alhambra open up 90 days in advance and sell out quickly.

It was therefore with some relief I checked us into an Airbnb villa in the lovely town of Antequera. As the chart at the top of this post suggests, this town, population 40,000, is not on most people’s travel A-List. Only 741 hotel rooms is evidence of limited demand for overnight visits.

We rarely heard native English speakers as we explored the town and its uncrowded sights. We also used Antequera as a base for day trips to two crowded A-List places: Ronda and Cordoba.

Antequera did not disappoint.