How to get hereThe nearest airport to us is Seville, which is a little more than an hour away, the next closest being Jerez (2 hours).Arriving at Malaga (3 ½ hours) means a longer drive, but it is spectacular for most of its length and gives you a great excuse to visit Granada and Cordoba on your way. Faro (3 ½ hours) is eminently feasible although you may have to warn your car-hire company that you’re crossing the border and pay a penalty in higher insurance charges. We have provided tried and tested guides to getting here by car from Sevilla, Jerez and Malaga airports. We have also provided guides to getting here by bus from Sevilla Airport and Santa Justa train station. In addition we have given a route to get here by car if you are arriving from the west or south. However if you require any additional route suggestions please feel free to contact us and we shall do our best to answer your queries. Directions to Cortelazor by Car: By Bus: From Sevilla Airport | Arriving by train in Sevilla | Buses to Cortelazor from Sevilla Maps: |
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By Car from Sevilla AirportLeaving the hire car park you are directed to the motorway and you only have 2 options Sevilla or Cordoba . DO NOT TAKE THE CORDOBA OPTION. Only about a kilometre or so after you join the motorway is the turn-off for MERIDA and HUELVA , you really have to watch for this because it comes a lot quicker than you expect. After that it is really straightforward. There are a lot of roundabouts but they are all clearly marked Sevilla/Huelva/Merida. You come past (both on your left) the RTE television mast and then an enormous bizarre globe that is the Christopher Columbus monument and then you reach the only tricky bit of the route. You pass the Olympic Stadium (huge sports ground, again on your left), and immediately there is a badly sign-posted roundabout where the sign to follow is a blue motorway sign “TODOS DIRECCIONES”. After that you must follow the MERIDA A66/E803 signs in blue. Ignore the Merida N630 signs in red as they are for the old single lane route. You will cross the river (2 streams) and then take the right hand option – YOU ARE NOW IGNORING the HUELVA signs unless you have a pathological need to visit Sevilla's IKEA store. Once on the A66/E803 it's very simple…after 35km you will get to the end of the motorway, it just narrows down to a two lane highway, there is no turning off or anything. 2 km after that you will be given a turn right option signposted PORTUGAL /ARACENA N433, which you should take. Thereafter it is very easy, the only thing to watch for is when you get to Aracena (85km sign) DO NOT go into the town. When you get to the first roundabout take the first exit which is marked Portugal, which will take you on the Ring Road around the town ( a spectacular option which is sure to make you want to visit the town later during your stay) to the top roundabout where again follow the Portugal sign. After a further 6 km you will see a signpost for Los Marines/Cortelazor, turn right and then immediately (150 metres) turn sharp right again. Please note that the bit of road at this last turn is being worked on at the moment and that the Cortelazor direction sign has been taken down, but the turn off itself is still quite obvious. Once you have successfully negotiated that turn you are on the road to our house. On reaching the village take the left fork, which is signed “BAJO”, then 300 metres later take the right fork signed “CENTRO DE POBLACION” under a magnificent ceramic plaque with our village's full title on it – Cortelazor La Real - after 100 metres take the left fork and in another 100 metres you are at a T-junction and the house immediately in front of you is ours, welcome!! By Car from Jerez AirportWhen you leave the Airport you would imagine that you should be following the directions for Sevilla. However you have a choice of roads, either the NIV (red sign posts) or the A4/E05 (blue signs). The latter is the Toll motorway (the cost from the Airport to just south of Sevilla is 5.40 euros) while the former was the old main road. The choice which you have is a familiar one. The new road is very much better surfaced, is much more direct and is very much quieter, but you pay for the privilege of using it. The old one meanders a lot more, is not so rigourously maintained, but it is free – to a Scot this is a very serious consideration. In the event that you wish to take the old road, at the roundabout leaving the Airport you should simply turn right following the signs for SEVILLA. However should you decide to take the Toll motorway you must turn left following the signs for JEREZ travelling southwards. After a couple of kilometers however you come across the signs directing you left again and transferring you on to the Toll motorway to SEVILLA. When the motorway ends or when you reach the end of the NIV, you will be signposted to SEVILLA A30 – this is the ring road around the city and you should looking for the directions for HUELVA and MERIDA. It is best NOT to follow the CORDOBA and GRANADA signs, although if you do, it is not really serious, as you are on a circular road and you just keep following the HUELVA and MERIDA (do not take any of the CORDOBA and GRANADA turn-offs) signs when they eventually appear. It just adds to the length of the journey. After approximately 5 km the road divides again. At this point you should follow the signs for MERIDA A66/E803 signs in blue. Ignore the Merida N630 signs in red, they are for the old single lane route. This is a much easier decision, even for Scots, as this motorway is free!!! YOU ARE NOW IGNORING the HUELVA signs unless you have a pathological need to visit Sevilla's IKEA store. Once on the A66/E803 it's very simple…after 35km you will get to the end of the motorway, it just narrows down to a two lane highway, there is no turning off or anything. 2 km after that you will be given a turn right option signposted PORTUGAL /ARACENA N433, which you should take. Thereafter it is very easy. The only thing to watch for is when you get to Aracena (85km sign) DO NOT go into the town. When you get to the first roundabout take the first exit which is marked Portugal, which will take you on the Ring Road around the town ( a spectacular option which is sure to make you want to visit the town later during your stay) to the top roundabout where again follow the Portugal sign. After a further 6 km you will see a signpost for Los Marines/Cortelazor, turn right and then immediately (150 metres) turn sharp right again. Please note that the bit of road at this last turn is being worked on at the moment and that the Cortelazor direction sign has been taken down, but the turn off itself is still quite obvious. Once you have successfully negotiated that turn you are on the road to our house. On reaching the village take the left fork, which is signed “BAJO”, then 300 metres later take the right fork signed “CENTRO DE POBLACION” under a magnificent ceramic plaque with our village's full title on it – Cortelazor La Real - after 100 metres take the left fork and in another 100 metres you are at a T-junction and the house immediately in front of you is ours, welcome!! By Car from Malaga AirportLeave the Airport following the signs for MALAGA , which will take you on to the Malaga Ring Road the E15. Due to the vagaries of Spanish motorway signing you will find that the direction to follow at this point will be shown as ANTEQUERA. After 5 km you pass round Malaga and at the 241 km sign you must turn off following the signs to the N331 – ANTEQUERA/SEVILLA/GRANADA. After a wonderful 35 km ascent through spectacular gorges you will be offered the choice of those last 2 cities by way of the A92.....we want to see you, so follow the SEVILLA signs. The A92 brings you on to the Seville ring road, the A30, around the city and you should be looking for the direction signs for MERIDA . This route will take you in an anti-clockwise trip around the city. At this point you should follow the signs for MERIDA A66/E803 - signs in BLUE. Ignore the Merida N630 signs in RED, because they are for the old single lane route, which will get you here but may add a couple of days to your trip. Arriving by Car From ElsewhereIf you are arriving by car from the direction of Sevilla then you should follow the directions given for arrival from any of the airports from the point where we recommend joining the A66/E803, signposted for Merida . If you are arriving from the north or west then it is most likely that you will come via the N435 and the interchange at Jabugo/Galaroza. At this junction follow the signs for Sevilla/Aracena by way of the N433, which will bring you through the pretty town of Galaroza and past the entrances to Valdelarco, Navahermosa and Fuenteheridos. 3 km after Fuenteheridos you should turn off the road to the left following the signposts for Los Marines/Cortelazor. You should stay on the road as it curves to the right 200 metres after the turn-off and do not be enticed into the town itself. After a further 200 metres you will see a turn-off to the left signposted Cortelazor. Once you have successfully negotiated that turn you are on the road to our house. On reaching the village take the left fork, which is signed “BAJO”, then 300 metres later take the right fork signed “CENTRO DE POBLACION” under a magnificent ceramic plaque with our village's full title on it – Cortelazor La Real - after 100 metres take the left fork and in another 100 metres you are at a T-junction and the house immediately in front of you is ours, welcome!! By Bus from Sevilla AirportFor those of you who have never done it before, arriving at Sevilla Airport is a very pleasurable experience. We understand that it was modernised and enlarged for the 1992 EXPO, but due to the administrators' refusal to offer cheap landing charges, it never took advantage of its momentary high profile to become a hub for Northern Andalucia in competition to Malaga . This extreme position seems to be softening now, with the arrival of Air Berlin and Ryanair, but at the moment your impression on arrival is, primarily, of space, so that you never feel hassled, combined with easy access to the car-hire company offices or the taxis or buses to take you into the heart of the city. As at 01/02/2005 from Monday-Friday the bus runs every 30 minutes between the Airport and the Puerto de Jerez. The buses start from both locations at 06:15 and the trip takes 30 minutes and costs 2.30 euros. The service takes a pause for lunch/siesta at 14:45 before starting up again at 17:00 until 23:00. On Saturday, Sunday & Holidays the service is basically the same except it runs hourly. If you need them we can provide a copy of the timetable by e-mail. The Operating Company is Amarillos Tour S.A. Telephone : 902 21 03 17. Unfortunately the buses heading in our direction leave not from the Puerto de Jerez, but from the Plaza de Armas Bus Station, which, happily, is very central. It is right on the river, about 5 minutes (all of these timings are based on a fairly brisk walk, with minimal luggage) from Maestranza (Bull Ring), 10 minutes from the Torre del Oro, and 15 minutes from the Giralda, the Alcazar and most crucially, the Puerto de Jerez, where the airport bus drops you. Self-evidently, if you are carrying a lot of luggage, are strapped for time or just can't be bothered, then a taxi trip to the Plaza de Armas Bus Station is the answer, but otherwise the walk, either by way of the river front, along past the Torre de Oro and the Maestranza, or along Avenida de La Constitucion, past the Giralda, down the southwest or Max Mara (the Plaza is “blessed”with a number of Designer outlets) side of the Plaza Nueva and thence along Calles Zaragoza and Marques de Paradas to the Bus Station. If you arrive at the Bus Station and book your tickets with time to spare before the bus leaves, the Shopping Centre in the old Plaza de Armas station includes a very acceptable brew pub where you can sample artisan beers which are generally quite difficult to get in Spain . The brew pub also has a limited number of tables with fonts so that dangerously enough you can pour your own!!!! Arriving by Train in SevillaIn the event that you are arriving in Sevilla at Santa Justa railway station, then the foot option does involve a tricky 30 minute slog through the centre of the city to the bus station. As with the route from Puerta de Jerez, if you are overburdened with luggage then a taxi would seem to be the obvious alternative. See previous paragraph re: Brew Pub. Buses to Cortelazor from SevillaThe buses in the general direction of Cortelazor leave from the PLAZA DE ARMAS BUS STATION. There are 2 buses per day, Monday to Saturday, and they leave at either 09:00 or 16:00 hours. On Sunday, only the earlier bus runs. The ticket booths are in the entrance hall of the Bus Station ranged along the left hand wall. Your booth is number 10 and the operator is CASAL. The early bus goes from Platform 28, the later from Platform 27. The ticket price for a single to Aracena is (at 01/02/2005) 5.47 euros. The buses do stop at both Los Marines and Fuenteheridos, which are marginally closer to us, but Aracena is definitely the hub of the Sierra and is a breathtakingly beautiful town and so seems to us to be the best place to start your visit. Arriving by TrainThe local train network in Andalucia is not vast but the Sierra is served by the Zafra to Huelva line. The nearest station to us is at El Repilado, which lies approximately 15km west of Cortelazor. We would be happy to collect any intrepid travellers from there. |
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