Getaways from Cádiz: day trips and destinations close by.

Almost everything by car and in three directions

Almost everything that leaves Cádiz is done by car and in three directions. To the south, the A-48 drops along the Costa de la Luz to Vejer de la Frontera in about 45 minutes, with El Palmar and Cape Trafalgar a quarter of an hour from the town. To the north, via El Puerto de Santa María, you reach Sanlúcar de Barrameda in 50 minutes, at the mouth of the Guadalquivir, with Doñana on the opposite bank. To the east, the Arcos road climbs to the Sierra de Grazalema and, beyond, to the mountains of Ronda and Setenil de las Bodegas, where the last kilometres are winding.

Without a car, the clearest exit is Sanlúcar: train to Jerez and a Monbus bus to the town, and once there everything is done on foot. For the sierra and the Vejer coast, in practice, you need a car.

Vejer and Sanlúcar, the two coastal plans

Under an hour are the two coastal plans. Vejer (45 minutes), with the walled old town and the castle, and El Palmar beach and the Trafalgar lighthouse for the afternoon. Sanlúcar (50), with Santiago castle, Barbadillo manzanilla and the walk along Bajo de Guía.

The sierra and countryside are between an hour and a half and two hours away. Zahara, the Puerto de las Palomas and the Majaceite river, in Grazalema, are an hour and a half away, as is Carmona, with its Roman necropolis, on the other side of Seville. About two hours away are Ronda and Setenil, which combine in one day, and Doñana, which from Cádiz means going through Seville: the boat along the Guadalquivir from Sanlúcar is more practical.

Further away the trip calls for a night: the Caminito del Rey, about two and a half hours away, and Sierra Nevada in two nights, a little over four hours away, for the snow.

Vejer also works with a coat on, and the beach almost empty

In winter, the countryside and the cities. Carmona on a Sunday is an October to May plan, with the necropolis and the Alcázar open in the morning only; Doñana by 4x4 from El Acebuche is an autumn-to-spring one, with the marshes full of water. Vejer also works with a coat on, and the beach is almost empty.

Spring is the season for the sierra. The Setenil stream carries water and the walk through the mills is at its best; Zahara and the Majaceite are at their peak, and in Ronda the Sunday of the Puente Nuevo and tapas is done without the summer heat.

In summer the coast rules. Vejer and El Palmar, from April to October, with one caveat: in August parking is hard, and with a strong levante wind it is better to swap the beach for the Torre del Tajo, among the pines. The sierra, in July and August, only first thing.

In autumn, from the end of October to early December, the Genal chestnut woods turn copper. There is a Sunday in the Copper Forest, two hours away, and a weekend in Ronda with the Genal to see it at leisure.

Prawns at Casa Bigote, which closes on Sunday

• Without a car, on a Saturday: Sanlúcar de Barrameda. Santiago castle first thing, the visit with a tasting at Barbadillo, prawns at Casa Bigote, which closes on Sunday, and sunset at Bajo de Guía with Doñana opposite.
• Along the coast: Vejer, El Palmar and Trafalgar. The walls in the morning, fish opposite the beach and the lighthouse with the sun going down; back in Cádiz around eight.
• With one night: the Sierra de Grazalema. An hour and a half away, to do the Pinsapar or the Garganta Verde with a permit and the rest unhurried: Zahara, the Puerto de las Palomas and the Majaceite.