If you are thinking of visiting Marbella why not visit during one of the many Spanish festivals that occur throughout the year. Here is a guide to some of the festivals celebrated in the region and their dates so you can get a culture rich experience from your trip.
Christmas and New Year
If you are thinking of visiting Spain for Christmas, you should be aware that the holiday is celebrated slightly differently to in the UK and it split into three stages. Christmas Eve tends to be a family affair, with families meeting up for the festive period and spending time together and sharing a meal.
Christmas day is one of the quietest of the year, it’s a fiesta day so all shops and banks are closed. The third and main part of the Christmas celebration is Los Reyes on the 6th January. The arrival of the three kings is like the arrival of Father Christmas in the UK, the kings replace Father Christmas and are the ones that bring the presents and the children write to them with their gift requests. The night before there is a procession and the kings arrive and work their way through the city throwing sweets from the floats. This is a festival with a real buzz and is worth attending, each town and city has their own parade so it’s almost impossible to miss.
New Year is celebrated similar to the UK with the exception that at midnight you need to eat 12 grapes one on each stroke of the clock.
Carnival
This celebration occurs immediately before Lent, it usually involves a parade and most people dress up similar to Halloween. Celebrations vary from town to town, but there tends to be a week or so of activities in this period associated with Carnival.
Semana Santa
This is the Easter week, huge floats are carried through the town adorned with candles and flowers. The floats are carried through by brotherhoods, and are followed by hooded penitents. The ceremony is a celebration but can be fairly solemn and some processions are watched in silence. It is an experience to watch but is a very different festival to the ferias.
Corpus Christi
This is a festival that occurs at the end of May that celebrates the triumph of good over evil, the streets are carpeted with flowers and herbs and there is a procession of the host through the streets.
Marbella Feria
The Marbella Feria occurs every night of the second week of June. Celebrating Saint Bernabé, the patron saint of Marbella, the festival has marquees selling tapas and drinks and there are plenty of dancing shows and cultural entertainment.
La Virgen del Carmen
This mid-summer event in the middle of July is spectacular and occurs in the Puerto Banus area of Marbella, there are masses held in the local chapels and fishing boats that line the coast. Sacred church statues are stored in caves at sea level and the festival ends with a spectacular display of fireworks
Feria de San Pedro
This occurs the second week in October and is a weeklong celebration of Saint Pedro de Alcantara, and occurs in the San Pedro district of Marbella. There will be people dressed up in flamenco costumes; there will be activities throughout the day, lots of food stalls and fairground rides and fireworks. It’s definitely worth a trip.
Fiesta del Tostόn
This fiesta is held on November 1st and celebrates All Saints Day. It’s celebrated with roasted chestnuts and local specialities and a party that goes on the next morning.
Whatever time of the year you visit Marbella, you can be sure there will be a fiesta or festival of some variety, so time your visit for one of these festivals and stay at our villa in Puerto Banus and take advantage of the luxury villa rental in Marbella to take some time out from the crowds while you experience a real taste of the Spain.
Wednesday, 30 November 2011
Thursday, 24 November 2011
Book a Golf holiday on the Costa del Sol
If you are looking for a golfing holiday in Marbella then Puerto Banus could be the ideal location with 3 first class golf courses to choose from you will be spoilt for choice.
Los Naranjos Golf Club is located in the “Golf Valley” in Marbella just a few minutes from Puerto Banus. The course was designed By Robert Trent Jones Sr and is representative of his designs offering generous fairways and testing bunkers and water hazards. The green was originally designed in 1977 and has been recently rebuilt with Penn A4-gras.
The course has hosted the Spanish Open and has won awards for course of the year in the Costa del Sol in 2005 and 2008
If you want to polish your skills there is a golf academy offering lessons, a driving range and a putting green.
As well as the course, the club has a golf shop offering clothes, clubs, bags and balls. The club also has a hairdressers and a wellness tour offering massage and use of fitness equipment. So you can be sure you will be well looked after on and off the course.
La Quinta Golf & Country Club is also located a few minutes inland from Puerto Banus. Originally an 18 hole golf course designed by Manolo Pinero, the golf course has been extended to offer 27 holes, in three 9 hole courses. It hosts the Benahavis Senior Masters, a regular European Seniors PGA Tour Event.
La Quinta golf club offers the best golfers a good choice in courses and in order to play at la quinta you need to have an official handicap of 28/36. The course offers its own challenges with sloping fairways and well placed bunkers and water hazards.
If you are looking to improve your game La Quinta golf academy has a number of options from private lessons to golf courses, junior programmes and intensive courses. In the academy there is a 2 tier driving range with covered bays, chipping and pitching areas and a video room for digital swing analysis. A pro shop and a café-bar will help you to relax between lessons.
If you are not interested in golf but are visiting with someone who is why not take advantage of the onsite spa offering manicures, pedicures and treatments. There are experience rooms like sauna, steam, hydrotherapy and sensory showers and if you want a work out there is also a gym and paddle courts and paddle classes if needed.
If you have kids then there is a kid’s cub to keep them entertained with a playground, pool, workshops, sports courts and TV and reading room.
Las Brisas Golf is located in Marbella’s golf valley and is another design by Robert Trent Jones, it was designed in 1968 and was one of the first to use bent grass.
Las Brisas is a particularly challenging golf course where water is the main obstacle with 12 holes where you must either cross or avoid it, it is not the only challenge though as there are a number of strategically placed bunkers
This course has hosted several important tournaments from the World cup to the Spanish Open and has been considered as an option for other major tournaments. The course also features a friendly clubhouse to have a drink with fellow golfers after a round
These three golf courses are all within easy reach of a fantastic villa, available to hire in weekly blocks. The villa has its own staff and you will have 2 cooked meals per day and drinks, prices vary depending on the season. The villa is located between las brisas and los naranjos golf courses. Our location allows you to combine your golf trip with a relaxing villa, allowing you to have a morning on the course and the afternoon by the pool. Why not take a look at availability and book your Costa del Sol Golf holiday now.
Los Naranjos Golf Club is located in the “Golf Valley” in Marbella just a few minutes from Puerto Banus. The course was designed By Robert Trent Jones Sr and is representative of his designs offering generous fairways and testing bunkers and water hazards. The green was originally designed in 1977 and has been recently rebuilt with Penn A4-gras.
The course has hosted the Spanish Open and has won awards for course of the year in the Costa del Sol in 2005 and 2008
If you want to polish your skills there is a golf academy offering lessons, a driving range and a putting green.
As well as the course, the club has a golf shop offering clothes, clubs, bags and balls. The club also has a hairdressers and a wellness tour offering massage and use of fitness equipment. So you can be sure you will be well looked after on and off the course.
La Quinta Golf & Country Club is also located a few minutes inland from Puerto Banus. Originally an 18 hole golf course designed by Manolo Pinero, the golf course has been extended to offer 27 holes, in three 9 hole courses. It hosts the Benahavis Senior Masters, a regular European Seniors PGA Tour Event.
La Quinta golf club offers the best golfers a good choice in courses and in order to play at la quinta you need to have an official handicap of 28/36. The course offers its own challenges with sloping fairways and well placed bunkers and water hazards.
If you are looking to improve your game La Quinta golf academy has a number of options from private lessons to golf courses, junior programmes and intensive courses. In the academy there is a 2 tier driving range with covered bays, chipping and pitching areas and a video room for digital swing analysis. A pro shop and a café-bar will help you to relax between lessons.
If you are not interested in golf but are visiting with someone who is why not take advantage of the onsite spa offering manicures, pedicures and treatments. There are experience rooms like sauna, steam, hydrotherapy and sensory showers and if you want a work out there is also a gym and paddle courts and paddle classes if needed.
If you have kids then there is a kid’s cub to keep them entertained with a playground, pool, workshops, sports courts and TV and reading room.
Las Brisas Golf is located in Marbella’s golf valley and is another design by Robert Trent Jones, it was designed in 1968 and was one of the first to use bent grass.
Las Brisas is a particularly challenging golf course where water is the main obstacle with 12 holes where you must either cross or avoid it, it is not the only challenge though as there are a number of strategically placed bunkers
This course has hosted several important tournaments from the World cup to the Spanish Open and has been considered as an option for other major tournaments. The course also features a friendly clubhouse to have a drink with fellow golfers after a round
These three golf courses are all within easy reach of a fantastic villa, available to hire in weekly blocks. The villa has its own staff and you will have 2 cooked meals per day and drinks, prices vary depending on the season. The villa is located between las brisas and los naranjos golf courses. Our location allows you to combine your golf trip with a relaxing villa, allowing you to have a morning on the course and the afternoon by the pool. Why not take a look at availability and book your Costa del Sol Golf holiday now.
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