October to May
A villa you can
actually use in winter
Central heating in all nine houses, and nobody else about
Most people come to this valley in August, when it is hot and the pool is the whole day. That works, and it is what nearly everyone books.
But from October to May the Guadalhorce valley is a different place. The sierra turns green after the first rain, you can walk the hills without dying of heat, the golf courses are empty, the villages belong to the people who live in them, and you can get tickets for the Caminito del Rey without booking months ahead.
The problem with winter in an Andalusian rental is rarely the place. It is the house. Almost everything here is built for August and freezing in January.
All nine houses are heated
Central heating
In all nine, no exceptions
Throughout the house, bedrooms included. Not a single plug-in radiator in the sitting room.
A fireplace
In the lounges
Which is a different thing from heating, and half the reason for coming in November at all.
Wifi and air conditioning
In every house
For anyone extending the stay and working a few days, and for the months when cold is not the problem.
The pools are not heated: November to April they are cold. What you do get is a warm house to come back to.
What there is to do
43 km · about 55 min
The Caminito del Rey
November to February is when tickets are available without booking months ahead, and walking a gorge is better without thirty-five degrees on your back.
6 courses within 22 km
Golf without the queues
This is the good season in Andalusia: the courses in better condition and half empty. The six courses →
From 12 min to 1 h 25
The villages, empty
Mijas without the coach parties, Ronda without a queue at the Puente Nuevo, and somewhere to park when you arrive.
21 km · about 31 min
The coast out of season
Fuengirola in half an hour. Not swimming weather, but an empty seafront and a table in any restaurant you like.
At the gate
Walking in the sierra
The Sierra de Mijas starts behind the estate. October to May is when you can go up without setting off at dawn.
All year
Simply stopping
The reason most people who come in November come back in November: quiet, a fire, and nobody around.
Out of season the estate is quiet
What is a party in August is a large estate with very few people on it in November. If that is what you are after, this is the time.