Whenever you come to an area you are not familiar with, local knowledge is invaluable. In this respect we offer our local knowledge and are pleased to give links below. Please note that we are not responsible for the services of third parties that we have listed on this page.
Getting here
Flights to Almería airport from the UK often change according to season but generally can be booked through the following:
EasyJet (from Stansted and Gatwick)
Monarch (from Luton, Manchester and Birmingham)
MyTravel Lite (from Birmingham)
Ryan Air (from Stansted, Dublin)
Sometimes it’s possible to get better deals flying with Iberia travelling via Madrid airport. Please see Iberia.com for further details.
Car hire
For competitive car hire, we suggest that you try any of the following:
AutoEurope
Car Hire Spain
Goldcar Rental
Rhino Car Hire
Accommodation – please note that some hotels, hostals & campsites are seasonal.
We are based in San José and would encourage clients to stay close for logistical reasons. There is a very good standard of accommodation available in San José, here is a selection of the best.
Self-catering:
Home Management Services
San José Rentals
San José Spain
Hostals:
Caroline y Vanessa Aparthotel
Hostal Aloha
Hostal Las Dunas
Hostal Puerto Genoves
Hotels:
Hotel Cortijo el Sotillo
Hotel Don Ignacio
Hotel MC
Backpacking / Camping:
Albergue San José
Camping Tau
For staying elsewhere along the Costa Almería, i.e. not necessarily in the Parque Natural de Cabo de Gata:
Self-catering:
Direct Rentals Spain
Cortijos / Casa Rurales:
Cortijo el Campillo
Cortijo del Sevillano
Food & Drink
There are numerous options for food around Parque Natural de Cabo de Gata including some amazing sea food restaurants. Please bear in mind that ownership does occasionally change hands and what might be good one day may not be good the next. San José has many great places to eat but some are very expensive and frankly not worth the money. Here is a list of the ones we currently favour, a tip though when you go for tapas, ask what is available as what you see written on the board might not necessarily be what they have!
Tapas (main meals available in most but tapas recommended):
Arrecife – good traditional tapas, seasonal opening.
Cafe Andrea – good but only cold tapas, open all year round.
Cafe Calilla – nice traditional tapas, open all year round.
El Duende – excellent and sometimes different, open all year round. Often have regional specialties from Jaén.
El Valero – excellent, traditional and open all year round. Try their Bolivian Empanadas and Choriza al Infierno!
La Raspa – excellent, traditional but seasonal opening. Fish tapas superb.
Local 12 – good, traditional but seasonal opening.
Restaurants (avoid ALL along the way to the port except Mediterraneo):
Aniceto – very good but expensive, seasonal opening.
Atalaya – good food, service sometimes a bit “iffy”, seasonal opening.
Bla-Bla-Bla – excellent value burgers & pizzas, open all year round.
Casa Pepé – good value food, fantastic views, seasonal opening.
El Otro Parque – nice, mostly Italian food, on the expensive side, seasonal opening.
Il Brigantino – very good value for money, seasonal and random opening.
Mediterraneo – good food, often Moroccan specialties and open all year round.
Mesón el Pescador – a bit hit & miss, when it’s good it’s great, seasonal opening.
Yamina – nice “basic” pizza & pasta restaurant, good value, seasonal opening.
Restaurants (a little out of San José):
Alba, Los Albaricoques – a must for Spaghetti Western fans, good food, not sure of opening times.
El Refugio, Cala Higuera – fantastic food, even better views, seasonal opening.
Las Forcas (Casa Maria), Boca de los Frailes – best value food, open all year.
Rincón del Castillo, Retamar – good value food, rapid service – sometimes too fast, seasonal opening.
There is an almost unlimited number of fantastic traditional places to eat in the various villages around the Almería province and we have been to quite a few of these villages. If you are taking a photography experience with us and would like to sample a true taste of Spain, let us know and we will arrange a combined photography & culinary experience you will remember forever 
Bars:
Generally the quality of the bar is defined by the quality of the tapas and all the places listed under the Tapas heading above are also good bars. There are a number of nice bars however that don’t sell tapas (or quality of tapas not worthy of note) that are worth mentioning.
Casa Sebastian – service a bit “iffy”, nice views, seasonal opening.
Iruña – quirky bar, occasional DJ playing really nice music, open all year round.
Jo Bar – biker’s bar sometimes live music @ weekends & BBQ, open all year round.
Kalimba de Luna – lovely pancakes – come here for your desert, seasonal opening.
Maimono (El Pirata) – nice vibe & music, open all year round.
If anyone has had a good experience of any restaurant in San José that isn’t mentioned above and feels it should be, please let us know, contact – martyn@martynthompson.net.
There is no shortage of supermarkets in Cabo de Gata though some of the better ones are located in Almería. There is also an excellent Sunday market for fruit & veg in El Alquián, near Almería airport.
Excursions
We are very environmentally focused and do not promote activities such as quad biking, motor-cross, etc… There are a number of alternative activities to become involved with in the Parque Natural de Cabo de Gata and a good source of knowledge is our very good friend Jesus Contreras. Please visit his Facebook page to see what he can offer. We are hoping to be working with Jesus more and more as time goes on. Please also see the website for Unique Almería which offers some great ideas of things to do.
Other companies / individuals offering good eco-friendly activities are:
Almería Touren
Cortijo el Campillo
Cortijo del Sevillano
Hotel Cortijo el Sotillo
geoGata
Pita Escuela
Rutas por Almería
