Camping El Sur

El Sur is a family campsite with twenty-five years of history at kilometre 1.5 of the Ronda to Algeciras road, the A-369, on the southern exit of the city. You reach it from the ring road without crossing the centre, and the old town is a kilometre's walk away. It is a cheap, quiet alternative to the hotels of the Mercadillo for anyone travelling by car, by van, with a tent or with children.

One hundred and twenty-four pitches among olive trees

The campsite has 124 pitches of 70 to 100 m², with shade and electricity hook-up, spread along asphalted lanes among olive trees, centuries-old holm oaks and almond trees. There are two toilet blocks with free hot showers and an adapted facility, sinks and laundry sinks with hot water, a service station for caravans and motorhomes, a laundry, a minimarket, left-luggage, a safe, wifi throughout the site and an electric car charging point.

The published rate per night is €15 for a pitch with a car and tent or €25 with a caravan or motorhome, plus €6 per adult, €5 per child, €6 for electricity and €1.80 per dog. The campsite warns that the price changes with the season, and at Easter, the Ronda Fair and the 101 km you must ask beforehand.

Studios, apartments and a little wooden house

For those without a tent there are built accommodations, of current design. Two 25 m² studios for two people, one with a double bed and the other with two beds; a 50 m² apartment for four, with two bedrooms and a living room-kitchen; and a little wooden house for two with a living room and bedroom. All have an open-plan kitchen with utensils, a bathroom with shower, a furnished terrace, bed linen and towels, wifi, television, microwave, air conditioning, heating and the car parked alongside. They cost from €80 for the two-person one, €100 for the three-person one and €140 for the four-person one. Animals are not admitted in the apartments.

Check-in is from 15:00 and check-out before 12:00; going over the time is charged as an extra night. The campsite asks for payment seven days before arrival and warns that all payments are non-refundable.

Pool in summer, restaurant since 1992

The pool is open from 1 June to 30 September. For children there is a playground, table tennis, giant chess, minigolf and a basketball hoop. The restaurant, open since 1992, has a mesón-bar, two dining rooms and a large terrace, with a menu of tapas, raciones and set menus in four languages. Its website announces the bar restaurant opening on 9 April, so in winter it may be closed: confirm it if you are counting on it.

On foot to the Puente Nuevo

The kilometre to the old town is uphill on the way there. From there you reach the Puente Nuevo and go down to the Arab Baths. For dinner in the centre, the bar at Tragatá opens every day. In autumn, the same A-369 continues to the Genal valley and its copper forest.