Islantilla

There is a small seaside area in Andalusia called Islantilla, where my boyfriend’s family has a holiday house. Therefore, we always spend at least a couple of days there in the summer. Islantilla lies between the municipalities of Isla Cristina and Lepe and was founded a little bit more than 20 years ago with the aim of creating a touristic destination for the province of Huelva. What this means is that the place is basically full of holiday apartments and flats, and is maintained by the tourism.

From the windows of the house we stay at, you can see the ocean. It’s amazing! It has always been my dream to have a place like that where I can escape from the busy everyday life and write a book – or something like that… But that’s a matter of the future.

So the family of my boyfriend comes here every summer to reunite the big family, as most of the cousins, uncles and aunts live in Sevilla, which is considerably close to Islantilla.

I would like to say that we spend all the time in the ocean, but it wouldn’t be true. The thing is that so far, every single time I have visited this place, I was welcomed by the worst weather of the summer: extremely windy and not with a very strong sunshine. It’s actually quite typical of me. So instead of swimming in the water the whole time, we spend a part of our time on the beach playing volleyball or we go to the house of the cousins to play table tennis or watch a movie. My boyfriend and I also like to go to centre for the night, have something to eat, visit our favorite cocktail bar or just have a walk along the ocean.

I would like to talk a little bit more about the cocktail bar I have mentioned previously, because it is without doubt the best place in Islantilla. That’s one thing that they have a great variety of delicious cocktails – with alcohol and without alcohol as well – but they have three huge king beds offered to the consumers. I remember being a little bit reluctant about it for the first time; we were not sure if one is only supposed to sit on it properly or can actually lie down and enjoy their cocktails. But as soon as we discovered that it is allowed, we didn’t hesitate a bit to use it as an actual bed. We are able to spend there hours: they have very nice staff and the best relaxing music. I forgot the name of the place, but in case someone is interested, it can be found in the commercial centre, on the first floor next to a little book store.

Also, you can find many other things in the commercial centre: restaurants, tapas bars, 100 Montaditos and Cervecería La Sureña, cafés and any type of clothes shops. So while people spend their day on the beach or resting in their houses, in the evening everyone attacks the commercial centre.

Another interesting detail is that I tried my first paella and crema catalana in Islantilla in one of the restaurants.

I think Islantilla is a quite calm place advised for people who want to avoid the disadvantages of a famous touristic destination. Additionally, it can be a good choice for those ones as well, who plan on on visiting Portugal – being an hour-long drive away – or visiting Sevilla for a day, but wish to return to the beach afterwards. If you want to visit Islantilla, but you don't like to stay in a hotel, ypu can also go camping. With this post about the best camping sites in Huelva you can find out more about it.

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