Vera pueblo
The comarca's main town. Palm-lined Plaza Mayor, a 16th-century fortress-church, an 18th-century town hall and remains of the old wall.
Our guide
Almería changes a lot over a short distance: hillside white villages, mining towns and cave dwellings. Of everything there is, these are the ones worth getting in the car for. Sorted by distance from the apartments.
This is an extract of our guide. The full guide, with 36 chapters, 131 tips and the area map, is exclusive to guests staying with us: it is handed over a few days before you arrive.
Here are 18. The guest guide has 35, with a tip for each.
The comarca's main town. Palm-lined Plaza Mayor, a 16th-century fortress-church, an 18th-century town hall and remains of the old wall.
Village near Hestía with the El Argar Bronze Age site, the most important on the Iberian Peninsula.
Fishing village 10 min from Hestía. Its fish market is one of the most important on the Mediterranean (famous for red prawns).
Almería's most photographed white village, perched on a hill at 175 m. Moorish heritage in every whitewashed narrow street.
Village in the Almería Levante, the northernmost. World-famous for its giant Geode (8 m tall).
Fishing village north of Cabo de Gata. Starting point for Playa de los Muertos and Mesa Roldán.
Village of houses hanging over the ravine. Surrounded by the Karst en Yesos nature reserve, unique in Europe.
Murcian coastal town, 30 min north. Famous for its Carnival, declared of International Tourist Interest.
The world capital of white marble: the same marble as the Alhambra, the Court of the Lions and the Vatican. 50 min away.
White village at the foot of Sierra Alhamilla, the natural gateway to Cabo de Gata Natural Park. Home to Andalusia's most respected pottery and traditional jarapa rugs.
Baroque city declared a Historic-Artistic Site. Known as "the City of the Sun" and for one of the most spectacular Holy Weeks in Spain.
White village in the middle of Europe's only desert. The setting for over 500 films (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly).
Whitewashed village crowned by one of the finest Renaissance castles in Spain. Its original courtyard is now in New York's Metropolitan Museum.
Walled village on a hill next to Sierra Espuña, with its 13th-century defensive perimeter almost intact. One of the best-preserved historic sites in the Region of Murcia.
The provincial capital, 1h15 away. A unique mix of a Moorish Alcazaba, a fortress-cathedral and old fishing quarters.
Port city with 3,000 years of history. Roman, modernist and military, unlike anywhere else on the Mediterranean. 1h30 away.
A Holy City, one of only five in the Christian world with a perpetual jubilee every 7 years. 2h15 away, in the mountains of northwest Murcia.
The region's capital, 1h50 away. Baroque cathedral, a 19th-century casino, gardens and Europe's most fertile market-garden land. Birthplace of the Bando de la Huerta festival.
Here are 6. The guest guide has 12, with a tip for each.
Village rebuilt in the 15th century after the 1518 earthquake. The Collegiate Church, cobbled squares and quiet Andalusian life 10 minutes from the beach.
Phoenician-Roman city (6th c. BC) right by the beach, 10 minutes from Hestía. Walls, garum factories and a necropolis remain. Barely signposted, look for the green signs.
The Park's most authentic and photogenic fishing village. Whitewashed houses, coloured boats and silence. A real postcard that still exists.
Ruins of the farmhouse where the real crime that inspired Lorca's "Blood Wedding" took place. Total silence, adobe walls and a story that raises goosebumps.
Pink lagoon with hundreds of flamingos at sunset. The sky reflected in the salt is surreal, Almería's most surprising shot.
Black volcanic rocks rising from the turquoise Mediterranean, beside the Cabo de Gata lighthouse. The most iconic image of the Almería coast.
What you see here anyone can read: what each place is, what is good about it and how far it is. It is the part that can be put in writing.
The rest is not learned by reading: it is learned by coming back, year after year. What time to arrive at each cove to find a spot. What to order at each table. Where to actually park in August. And the discounts we have negotiated with local businesses for guests who book direct.
Handed over a few days before arrival, along with everything about the apartment: from the wifi to the on-call pharmacy. Three homes in Vera Playa, run by us, with no platform commissions.