Getaways from Seville: day trips and destinations close by.

Carmona along the A-4, Doñana along the A-49

Every motorway leaving Seville leads to a different landscape. The A-4, towards Córdoba, reaches Carmona in half an hour. The A-49, towards Huelva, leads to Doñana and El Rocío via Bollullos and Almonte and, once across the Guadiana, to the Algarve, with Tavira two hours away; in Portugal, an hour earlier. The A-66, the Ruta de la Plata, climbs to Extremadura: along the N-433 you turn off to the Sierra de Aracena and, straight on, continue to Zafra and Mérida. The AP-4 goes down towards Jerez and Cádiz, on the way to Sanlúcar de Barrameda and, via the A-48, Vejer. Via Utrera and Morón you go to the sierras: Ronda, Setenil de las Bodegas and the Sierra de Grazalema. And the A-92, to the east, leads to Antequera.

There are also routes without a car. The Casal bus goes to Carmona from the Prado de San Sebastián. Sanlúcar is reached by train to Jerez and a Monbus bus. The rest of the plans are, in practice, car trips.

The Gruta de las Maravillas and Aracena ham

Less than an hour away are Carmona (30 minutes), with the free Roman necropolis and the Torre del Oro of its Alcázar, and Doñana (55), with the official concession's 4x4 from El Acebuche.

Between an hour and an hour and a half are the Sierra de Aracena (75 minutes), with the Gruta de las Maravillas, the castle and Jabugo ham, and Sanlúcar (80), with the castle of Santiago, its wineries and Bajo de Guía.

Most of the long Sundays are between an hour and a half and two hours: Zafra (97 minutes), Antequera (100), Zahara and the Majaceite in Grazalema and Vejer with El Palmar (105), Setenil (111), Ronda, the Genal valley and the Caminito del Rey (115), and Tavira with its island and Praia do Barril (119).

More than two hours away are Jerez de los Caballeros with a guide (129 minutes) and Mérida on a Sunday (131), which fit into a day, and the longer getaways: the Costa Vicentina, a little over three hours away, Cazorla, Sierra Nevada, the Alpujarra and Monfragüe and its birds, almost four.

The interior is not recommended in July and August

From October to May is the season of the interior: Carmona, Antequera, Ronda, Setenil and Grazalema are not recommended in July and August. It is also the season for Doñana: the concession does not run on Sundays from June to September, and in autumn and winter the marsh has water and birds. With one night you see the sunset: Doñana and El Rocío in a weekend. In winter, too, the afternoon at the El Raposo spa in Zafra.

In spring, Grazalema and the sierras are green; for the permit routes, the Pinsapar or the Garganta Verde, there is a weekend in the sierra. It is also a good time for the Saturday in Sanlúcar, which is a Saturday because Casa Bigote is closed on Sunday.

In summer you head for the coast: Vejer, fish at El Palmar and sunset at Trafalgar, best outside August; Tavira and the boat to the island, or Barril and Cacela Velha, with lifeguards from June to September.

In autumn, from late October to November, the chestnut trees turn yellow in the Sierra de Aracena and the Iberian pig is in the montanera: a Sunday among the chestnut woods or two nights in Aracena. To the south-east, the chestnut trees of the Genal turn copper, on a Sunday with tapas in Ronda.

Carmona's necropolis first thing

• Without a car, in a day: Carmona on a Sunday. Bus from the Prado de San Sebastián, the necropolis first thing, the Alcázar tower and lunch at the Molino de la Romera before the monuments close at 15:00.
• Less than an hour away: Doñana by 4x4 from El Acebuche. The morning departure through the reserve, lunch in El Rocío and the marsh at sunset.
• Towards the north: the Sierra de Aracena. A ham cellar in Jabugo, the Gruta de las Maravillas with a ticket already bought and the castle. To the south-east, the alternative is Setenil and Ronda in a day.