Getaways from Almería: day trips and destinations close by.

Almost everything leaves by the A-7

Almost everything leaves by the A-7. To the east, on the way to Murcia, the San José exit and the AL-3108 drop to Cabo de Gata in about 40 minutes; the Rodalquilar road leads to the centre of the park, and the AL-3115 skirts the salt pans to the lighthouse, where it ends. Continuing on the A-7 towards Lorca you reach Caravaca de la Cruz and, beyond, Cartagena and Calblanque and the Ricote Valley.

To the west, the A-7 towards Motril and the climb via Órgiva lead to the Alpujarra, to the Poqueira gorge. To the north, the motorway to Granada and the A-395 climb to Sierra Nevada, and the A-92N to Baza and the A-315 via Pozo Alcón enter the Sierra de Cazorla from the south.

From Almería, in practice, you go by car. The bus lines to the Alpujarra and Sierra Nevada leave from Granada, not Almería, and at Cabo de Gata, in summer, there is a bus from San José to the beaches of Genoveses and Mónsul.

Only Cabo de Gata is less than an hour away

Under an hour there is only Cabo de Gata, and it provides for many Sundays: the Genoveses trail, Mónsul, the Rodalquilar gold mines, the walk from Los Escullos to La Isleta del Moro and the lighthouse with the Sirenas reef.

Around two hours are almost all the others. Caravaca de la Cruz (125 minutes), with the basilica inside the castle and the Fuentes del Marqués; the Poqueira villages (125) and Capileira with Trevélez (135), and Cartagena (135). These are long Sundays, with an early start.

From two and a half hours the trip calls for a night: Sierra Nevada (150), the Sierra de Cazorla (165), the Archena Spa (170) and the Caminito del Rey, at about three hours.

Sierra Nevada, two and a half hours away, for a snow weekend

In winter, the snow is two and a half hours away: a weekend in Sierra Nevada with one day on the slopes and another snowshoeing to the Veleta. It is also the season for hot water, with a thermal getaway to Archena and Ricote, at its best from October to April. Cabo de Gata stays open without kayaking: the beaches are empty and Casa Miguel, in San José, opens on Sunday at midday all year.

Spring, from April to June, is the season of the park's beaches with room to spare and good water, of the three Poqueira villages on foot and of Caravaca de la Cruz, whose museums on a Sunday are open from 10:30 to 14:00. From 1 to 5 May, the Caballos del Vino festival changes everything.

In summer, Cabo de Gata requires organising: the track from San José to Genoveses and Mónsul is closed to cars without authorisation (in 2025, from 21 June to 28 September), and you enter on foot from San José or on the bus. Kayaking runs from the end of April to mid-October. Caravaca is not recommended in July.

In autumn, September and the first half of October are good for the sea; October and November, for Cazorla, the Alpujarra and Cartagena with Calblanque.

Genoveses, Mónsul and the lighthouse in an unhurried day

• In a day, unhurried: Genoveses, Mónsul and the lighthouse. The 2.3 km trail to the Genoveses, a swim at Mónsul, a fish-market lunch in San José and the lighthouse at sundown.
• On the water: Rodalquilar, La Isleta del Moro and kayaking. The ruins of the gold mines in the morning and three hours of guided kayaking among caves in the afternoon.
• With two nights: Cabo de Gata from San José. The western beaches on foot, kayaking or a try-dive on Saturday and Sunday for Rodalquilar and La Isleta.