My Solo Trip to the Spanish Town: Setenil de Las Bodegas 🇪🇸
Setenil de Las Bodegas is a small town located in the province of Cádiz in the south of Spain, it is known as the town that is located under a rock. I found that it is quite an underrated place to visit in Spain, I even found out that there are people in Spain that don't know it even exists! I know it's a shocker. It's whitewashed houses that are builded to surround the cliffs which makes it magical.
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My trip to Setenil didn't start off well at all. At the time I was living in Madrid and the easiest and shortest way for me to get there was from Málaga, so I booked a train from Madrid to Málaga and then a bus from Málaga to Setenil and then back. It sounds simple, but sadly it wasn't. My plan was to go to Málaga in the morning, spend a few hours there and then take a bus to Setenil spend the rest of the day there as well as the next day, and then the day after I would go back to Málaga in the morning and go back to Madrid at night.
Check Why You Should Visit Spain: 10 Reasons Why You Should Visit Spain
I woke up in the morning existed, walked from my apartment to the metro station to go to the train station. It took me ages to find the train since it was my first time going to the train station and it was bigger than I thought it would be, I had to ask a lot of people and each time they would give me different directions which made it harder. Luckily I always arrive super early to avoid any issues, at the end I found the platform where my train was on time. I took the train to Málaga and arrived there to a super sunny and warm city. I had about 5 hours to kill before I have to catch my bus; so I wondered around the city and then found a park and relaxed there a bit before heading to the bus station 2 hours early.
I made it to the bus station, and I had already booked my tickets online cause it makes it easier to plan the trip that way. I had also booked an Airbnb for 2 nights in Setenil since this is where I would be staying and not Málaga. To know which platform the bus would be I went and asked at the ticket booth of the bus company I booked through and they told me which platform, and I sat in the bench in front of the platform for the remaining time. Usually the bus would arrive a few minutes early, my bus was supposed to leave at 16:15 and it was 16:00 and there was no bus, I went to the ticket booth again to double check and they told me to wait a bit more since this is the correct platform. I waited until it was 16:15 but there was no bus, I went again to the ticket booth and this time they told me that I should wait a few more minutes but I refused so they called the driver to see where he was, and he told them that he had already left!
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At that moment I was pissed cause I asked more than once about the platform and was waiting for 2 hours and then they tell me at the end that the bus had left! I was fuming and I was talking to them to see what should I do, and then at the end it turned out that they were confused about the platform so I was standing at the wrong one even though I asked twice. They refused to admit that they were wrong and kept telling me that it was my fault. Now don't get me wrong Spanish people are really nice and friendly but at that situation the person I was dealing with wasn't, after a debate she then told me to go to the information desk and ask for help to see what can I do next.
Check Setenil de Las Bodegas Travel Guide: 6 Top Things to do in Setenil, Spain
I went to the information desk and told them the situation and was looking for another bus going to Setenil to take, turns out that this bus was the only one that goes from Málaga to Setenil every day! At that point I didn't even get mad I just booked another ticket for the next day and left the bus station to look for a place in Málaga to stay the night. I found a cute Airbnb that was 20 minutes away from the station and started walking to it. I was laughing at that point because there was no point in being pissed because I can't change what happened, so I called my mum on the way to tell her what happened and she was as well was laughing because somehow we found the situation funny.
Check Setenil de Las Bodegas Travel Guide: 24 Hours in Setenil, Spain - A Complete 1 Day Itinerary
After a long and tiring day in the sun I made it to the Airbnb and at that point I was exhausted so I wanted to spend the day there and didn't feel like going out and exploring Málaga. I was waiting for my host to arrive, when he did he showed me the Airbnb and we chatted for a bit and then he left. I honestly spent the rest of the day at the Airbnb and didn't leave. I also contacted the woman that I booked her place in Setenil to tell her what happened and that I will be arriving the next day, she was super nice and she told me that she will wait for me at the bus station the next day in Setenil. I woke up the next day and went out to explore Málaga a bit more and then made to the bus station and this I was able to catch the bus since I now know in which platform it was.
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The bus ride was about an hour or so, I made it to Setenil and my host was waiting for me there with her car. Setenil is a very small town which makes it hard to go around it by car most of the time, but we made to the Airbnb and it was super nice! The Airbnb is located on top of a hill and from a small window I could see the whole town, it was simply magical and worth it.
Check Why You Should Visit Setenil de Las Bodegas: 5 Reasons Why You Should Visit Setenil, Spain
The sad part was that I only had half a day cause I had already booked my bus for the next day at 09:00 and a train from Málaga to Madrid in the afternoon, and if I was to change all that I wouldn't be able to get a refund. But I looked on the bright side and decided to enjoy the beautiful town while I'm there. I left my backpack at the place and then left to go explore. Now as I said this is a small town so it is easy to explore it on foot, I didn't have to use a map I was simply walking and taking it all in. Magical is the perfect word for it.
At the end of the day I found a store near the place I booked and got a few snacks and drinks for the night. I have to say the people in Setenil are so friendly and nice, and since it was a small town everyone knew each other and it was easy to tell it you were a tourist. So, I went back to the Airbnb and enjoyed the night, woke up early the next morning and left to go to the bus station, I found another couple there that were taking the same bus as me so that was a relieve that I won't be missing my bus again.
When I made it to Málaga; I spent the majority of the day walking and exploring, until I made it to the train station (Early of course) and got some food and then got on the train and made it to Madrid. Overall I enjoyed my trip even though I faced a few obstacles but overall it was fun and enjoyable. I probably told everyone I know about Setenil because it is a place that is worth visiting, so if you're ever in Spain you have to visit Setenil de Las Bodegas.
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How to Get to Setenil de Las Bodegas
You can get to Setenil de Las Bodegas easily when in AndalucÃa, I went there from Malaga which takes 1h 20 min by bus. Setenil is located in the area surrounding Ronda so you can get there from Ronda which takes 30 mins, you can also get there from Sevilla which takes 1h 45 mins as well as from Cádiz. You can buy bus tickets from the ticket counters at the bus stations. If you are staying in AndalucÃa for a while, you can rent a car and easily get there.
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How to Move Around Setenil de Las Bodegas
Setenil is a really small town so it is better to move around on foot since it will be hard to use a car with the amount of narrow streets available, but there is a lot of hill hiking involved since the whole town is build on a rock and into the surrounding cliffs so you will be going up and down a lot.