Boat Trip on the Guadalquivir from Sanlúcar de Barrameda

The other gateway to Doñana is on the opposite bank, in Sanlúcar de Barrameda. The Real Fernando boat, or the Los Cristóbal, sails up the Guadalquivir with the national park on one side and the Bonanza salt pans on the other, and lands for an hour at the Poblado de la Plancha, a group of huts of the former inhabitants of the reserve, for a short guided walk through the pine wood. Allow about two and a half hours.

What you will see

The boat leaves from Bajo de Guía beach and heads about 6 km up the river. It lands at the Poblado de la Plancha, a former settlement of huts inside the National Park, already in the province of Huelva. There you walk a linear trail of one kilometre each way, on a wooden boardwalk and sand, which passes through the pine wood, the huts and the Velázquez flats. The guides explain the mammals, birds and plants you meet along the way.

The return is again by water, with explanations of the marsh, the Natural Park and the Bonanza salt pans. In all it takes two and a half hours or three quarters, depending on the tides and currents, with an hour's stop in the park.

Times and prices

There is a departure at 10:00 all year. In the afternoon, at 16:00 from 1 March to 30 April and from 15 September to 30 October, and at 17:00 from 1 May to 14 September. From 1 November to 28 February it only sails in the morning. It costs €30 for adults, €25 for over-65s, students and people with disabilities, and €20 for ages 5 to 12.

Always by advance reservation and subject to a minimum number of people. There are no departures on 24, 25 and 31 December, 1, 5 and 6 January, Sundays in July and August, during the El Rocío pilgrimage or during Sanlúcar's Feria de la Manzanilla; in January it is worth checking the closure. The meeting point is the Fábrica de Hielo visitor centre, in Sanlúcar, 30 minutes before departure. Suitcases, large bags and parasols are not allowed.

From El Rocío

They are two banks of the same park, but between El Rocío and Sanlúcar there is no bridge or direct road: via Seville it is more than two hours. This boat is the plan if you come from Cádiz, Jerez or Seville along the A-4, or if you are sleeping in Sanlúcar. From the Huelva bank, the alternative way into the park is the 4x4 tour from El Acebuche.