This was a very different type of holiday for me as it was the first time I’d been away on my own and also the first time I’d taken a language course since my University days. Here’s a summary of what I got up to.
The Journey
I flew direct from East Midlands to Malaga with Jet2 and there were no problems with either the inbound or the outbound flights but I did have to queue for over 40 mins to get through passport control at East Midlands. I had been unsure as to the best way to get from Malaga airport to my hotel in Malaga city as I didn’t fancy lugging my suitcase around on the bus but I also didn’t want to pay a fortune for a private transfer. In the end, I was recommended to try booking a shared transfer via Travel Republic. This only cost £8.10 and I was met in arrivals along with 3 other travellers and then dropped outside my hotel with the minimum of delay. I would definitely use this service again if I was staying in a hotel as my return taxi transfer from my host family in Pedregalego to the airport cost 30 euros!
The Weather
Given the forecasts over the preceding weeks, I was hoping it would be warm and sunny while I was there. Unfortunately a storm blew in half way through the week and turned the Costa del Sol into the Costa Del Flooding, but luckily Malaga escaped the worst and I was still able to do some sightseeing.
Accommodation – Hotel Carlos V, Malaga - http://www.hotel-carlosvmalaga.com
I decided to start my trip off with an extra night in the city centre so I could do a bit of sightseeing. I was after a central hotel in a safe area as I was travelling by myself and wanted to be close to local attractions and restaurants etc. I knew that my single room probably wouldn’t be great but for 42 euros for the night I wasn’t expecting the Ritz and it was fine for one night. The location couldn’t have been better though – in the pedestrianized area with cafes literally on the doorstep and just round the corner from the Alcazaba. It was so nice to be able to pop in and out the hotel during the day and they were happy to store my luggage after I’d checked out. I’d definitely stay there again.
Bars & Restaurants
There are loads of bars and restaurants to choose from – the two I would recommend are:
Garum (INVALID URL – directly opposite the Alcazaba, great views, very friendly staff, menus in various languages and lovely food. Highly recommended!
Café Valor (http://www.chocolateriasvalor.es/localizacion/provincia/malaga/28) – just round the corner from the Alcazaba and pretty much opposite the Hotel Carlos V where I was staying. Lovely tostadas and the best chocolate con churros I found in Malaga. I went back 3 times in a week!
Sightseeing
Before I started planning this trip, I imagined that Malaga would just be another built up tourist resort and was pleasantly surprised to discover that this wasn’t the case. I was even more surprised to see just how nice it was when I finally arrived there – lots of lovely old buildings, museums and other tourist sights – definitely more than enough to keep you occupied for a long weekend and possibly longer. On top of buying a 24 hr ticket for the City Sightseeing bus (convenient, but not cheap at 17 euros), the places I managed to visit were as follows:
Jardin Botanico – My City Sightseeing ticket included a second route which went direct to the Botanical Garden so thought I might as well go and have a look. It’s certainly not the biggest or best botanical garden that I’ve ever visited but I spent an enjoyable couple of hours wandering around in the sun and looking at the various trees and plants they have there. There was also a very odd exhibition on the story of the family who owned the Gardens – which used Barbie dolls to illustrate various moments in the family’s history. There is a little café there and also a very small shop. It’s too far out of town to walk to but there is a local bus that runs on certain days if you don’t want to use the City Sightseeing bus.
Castillo de Gibralfaro/Alcazaba – it’s worth getting a joint ticket for both of these as it only costs a couple of euros more than an individual ticket for either. Definitely worth going up on a clear day for the views, also best to go up in the morning (if you want to walk) as it’s cooler or alternatively you can take a local bus or the City Sightseeing bus. I spent an enjoyable couple of hours waking around the ramparts and looking at the information boards and artefacts on display.
Roman Theatre – despite being next to the Alcazaba, this has shorter opening hours but also has a free and interactive visitor’s centre which would be good on a rainy day.
Museo Interactivo de la Música – the entrance to this is easy to miss – it’s in an underground car park opposite the tourist office. At first I didn’t think much of it – the first room was stiflingly hot and a lot of the information was only in Spanish, but things improved the further round I went and I ended up having a really good time. As the name suggests, it’s an interactive museum so there are lots of instruments to try out along with some video stations where you can watch films of various odd instruments being played. It only cost a few euros and I spent over an hour there so I’d definitely recommend it, especially in bad weather.
Museo Picasso – To be honest, I was a bit disappointed by this. Compared to the other museums I went to it was much busier (I queued for about half an hour to get in) and more expensive. I’m not really a fan of Picasso though so I guess I wasn’t really their target audience. There were some nice pieces but overall I was underwhelmed although I did enjoy looking at the old town walls in the basement.
Centro de Arte Contemporaneo – I’m not usually a big fan of modern art and nearly didn’t bother going to the CAC but I was really glad I did! It’s a really great space for art, especially large scale art, and there were some amazing exhibitions by Vik Muniz and Erwin Wurm. I ended up spending nearly 3 hours there; looking at the various works of art and reading the catalogue descriptions (English translations were available at reception). Entry was free too!
There are loads of bars and restaurants to choose from – the two I would recommend are:
Garum (INVALID URL – directly opposite the Alcazaba, great views, very friendly staff, menus in various languages and lovely food. Highly recommended!
Café Valor (http://www.chocolateriasvalor.es/localizacion/provincia/malaga/28) – just round the corner from the Alcazaba and pretty much opposite the Hotel Carlos V where I was staying. Lovely tostadas and the best chocolate con churros I found in Malaga. I went back 3 times in a week!
Sightseeing
Before I started planning this trip, I imagined that Malaga would just be another built up tourist resort and was pleasantly surprised to discover that this wasn’t the case. I was even more surprised to see just how nice it was when I finally arrived there – lots of lovely old buildings, museums and other tourist sights – definitely more than enough to keep you occupied for a long weekend and possibly longer. On top of buying a 24 hr ticket for the City Sightseeing bus (convenient, but not cheap at 17 euros), the places I managed to visit were as follows:
Jardin Botanico – My City Sightseeing ticket included a second route which went direct to the Botanical Garden so thought I might as well go and have a look. It’s certainly not the biggest or best botanical garden that I’ve ever visited but I spent an enjoyable couple of hours wandering around in the sun and looking at the various trees and plants they have there. There was also a very odd exhibition on the story of the family who owned the Gardens – which used Barbie dolls to illustrate various moments in the family’s history. There is a little café there and also a very small shop. It’s too far out of town to walk to but there is a local bus that runs on certain days if you don’t want to use the City Sightseeing bus.
Castillo de Gibralfaro/Alcazaba – it’s worth getting a joint ticket for both of these as it only costs a couple of euros more than an individual ticket for either. Definitely worth going up on a clear day for the views, also best to go up in the morning (if you want to walk) as it’s cooler or alternatively you can take a local bus or the City Sightseeing bus. I spent an enjoyable couple of hours waking around the ramparts and looking at the information boards and artefacts on display.
Roman Theatre – despite being next to the Alcazaba, this has shorter opening hours but also has a free and interactive visitor’s centre which would be good on a rainy day.
Museo Interactivo de la Música – the entrance to this is easy to miss – it’s in an underground car park opposite the tourist office. At first I didn’t think much of it – the first room was stiflingly hot and a lot of the information was only in Spanish, but things improved the further round I went and I ended up having a really good time. As the name suggests, it’s an interactive museum so there are lots of instruments to try out along with some video stations where you can watch films of various odd instruments being played. It only cost a few euros and I spent over an hour there so I’d definitely recommend it, especially in bad weather.
Museo Picasso – To be honest, I was a bit disappointed by this. Compared to the other museums I went to it was much busier (I queued for about half an hour to get in) and more expensive. I’m not really a fan of Picasso though so I guess I wasn’t really their target audience. There were some nice pieces but overall I was underwhelmed although I did enjoy looking at the old town walls in the basement.
Centro de Arte Contemporaneo – I’m not usually a big fan of modern art and nearly didn’t bother going to the CAC but I was really glad I did! It’s a really great space for art, especially large scale art, and there were some amazing exhibitions by Vik Muniz and Erwin Wurm. I ended up spending nearly 3 hours there; looking at the various works of art and reading the catalogue descriptions (English translations were available at reception). Entry was free too!
Language Course/Host Accommodation
Although I had done language courses abroad before, these were whilst I was a student and my university had done all of the leg work for me, so this time I had to do all the research and make all the decisions myself! I quickly came across Cactus (http://www.cactuslanguage.com/en) who offered a wide choice of courses in various locations for what seemed like a reasonable price. They were very helpful when I emailed them with questions so in the end I booked a 5 day language course in Malaga, staying with a family for 6 nights at a total cost of £379 (plus £200 for flights).
At the ripe old age of 35, it had been well over a decade since I’d lived with ‘strangers’ so I was a little bit worried about whether I would like it or not – but I also knew that it would be the best way to improve my Spanish. I had noticed that Cactus offered ‘Executive’ host accommodation (i.e. with en-suite bathroom) in other cities and had asked if this would also be possible in Malaga. I was assured many times that this would not be a problem and so I made it a condition of my booking. You can imagine how disappointed I was to find out just before departure that this condition could not be met! I was also disappointed to find out on arrival that the family smoked, as I had also asked for a non-smoking placement. In the end, I did enjoy the placement as the family were really nice and made me feel very much at home. I think I would have to ask for further assurances about the nature of my host accommodation if I were to book another holiday through Cactus though.
As for the course, it consisted of 4 hours teaching every morning for a week at the La Brisa language school, which is a small offshoot of the nearby Malacca Instituto. The teachers were great and I really enjoyed the lessons but there were not many students there so I ended up being put into a group that was really too advanced for me so I don’t think I learned as much as I could have done. Also, nearly all the students were young and/or German so there weren’t many opportunities for me to socialise after class. I did go on a wine and tapas evening with some of the Malacca Instituto students but most people just talked to other students of the same nationality so it wasn’t very successful from my point of view. Apparently they have much bigger intakes over the summer months (I went in late September) so I think it would have been better if I had gone at a busier time. If I were to book a future language course, I would definitely want to study somewhere bigger, with more out of class activities. But overall, it was a really good experience and I’m glad I went!
Although I had done language courses abroad before, these were whilst I was a student and my university had done all of the leg work for me, so this time I had to do all the research and make all the decisions myself! I quickly came across Cactus (http://www.cactuslanguage.com/en) who offered a wide choice of courses in various locations for what seemed like a reasonable price. They were very helpful when I emailed them with questions so in the end I booked a 5 day language course in Malaga, staying with a family for 6 nights at a total cost of £379 (plus £200 for flights).
At the ripe old age of 35, it had been well over a decade since I’d lived with ‘strangers’ so I was a little bit worried about whether I would like it or not – but I also knew that it would be the best way to improve my Spanish. I had noticed that Cactus offered ‘Executive’ host accommodation (i.e. with en-suite bathroom) in other cities and had asked if this would also be possible in Malaga. I was assured many times that this would not be a problem and so I made it a condition of my booking. You can imagine how disappointed I was to find out just before departure that this condition could not be met! I was also disappointed to find out on arrival that the family smoked, as I had also asked for a non-smoking placement. In the end, I did enjoy the placement as the family were really nice and made me feel very much at home. I think I would have to ask for further assurances about the nature of my host accommodation if I were to book another holiday through Cactus though.
As for the course, it consisted of 4 hours teaching every morning for a week at the La Brisa language school, which is a small offshoot of the nearby Malacca Instituto. The teachers were great and I really enjoyed the lessons but there were not many students there so I ended up being put into a group that was really too advanced for me so I don’t think I learned as much as I could have done. Also, nearly all the students were young and/or German so there weren’t many opportunities for me to socialise after class. I did go on a wine and tapas evening with some of the Malacca Instituto students but most people just talked to other students of the same nationality so it wasn’t very successful from my point of view. Apparently they have much bigger intakes over the summer months (I went in late September) so I think it would have been better if I had gone at a busier time. If I were to book a future language course, I would definitely want to study somewhere bigger, with more out of class activities. But overall, it was a really good experience and I’m glad I went!
Corinne
Despite being placed in a class that you felt was a bit too advanced have you noticed an improvement in your Spanish.? I've thought of taking a class in Italy to improve my basic Italian.
Did you eat all of your meals with the family?
Sounds similar to my experience when I came to Germany to live though I attended a language Institut for two months, living as a guest with a family.
Despite being placed in a class that you felt was a bit too advanced have you noticed an improvement in your Spanish.? I've thought of taking a class in Italy to improve my basic Italian.
Did you eat all of your meals with the family?
Sounds similar to my experience when I came to Germany to live though I attended a language Institut for two months, living as a guest with a family.
Many thanks Corinne very informative posts 
Hi Judith
The online language assessment tests I had done suggested that I should be in level A2, but I ended up being put in a B1 group. The main disadvantage of this was that I hadn't covered all the 'basic' tenses (future, preterite, conditional) but we were learning stuff like the conditional perfect and the pluperfect. I only had about 5 private lessons in the UK before I went - the last time I had studied Spanish was when I took my GCSEs in 1993 so there were some huge gaps in my memory. I suppose I could have asked to be put in the A1 group but some of them were complete beginners so I think I would have been bored. It also didn't help that the most of my group had been there for a couple of weeks already so they put us on the 3rd module of B1. But the course was well taught and I did enjoy the challenge and my vocab and comprehension definitely improved while I was there - my UK teacher commented on this when I came back too.
As for the host family - breakfast and lunch were included in my 'package' but not dinner, but the family just told me to help myself to food for dinner as well - I was usually so full after lunch that I didn't want much more than a sandwich for dinner anyway. I'd class myself as a fussy eater and specified that I didn't eat fish, seafood or peppers but none of this was a problem and I liked all the food I was give.
When I was at Uni, I spent 4 months living with other UK students in a flat in France and 5 months with a lady in Russia and my Russian was way, way better than my French when I came back for my final year so I knew that the only way to improve my Spanish was to live with the locals. I'm not sure I would have done that if my Spanish was very basic though - I'd also like to learn German but I think living with a German family as a complete beginner would be too much of a baptism of fire! You'll have to let us know if you do end up going to Italy.
The online language assessment tests I had done suggested that I should be in level A2, but I ended up being put in a B1 group. The main disadvantage of this was that I hadn't covered all the 'basic' tenses (future, preterite, conditional) but we were learning stuff like the conditional perfect and the pluperfect. I only had about 5 private lessons in the UK before I went - the last time I had studied Spanish was when I took my GCSEs in 1993 so there were some huge gaps in my memory. I suppose I could have asked to be put in the A1 group but some of them were complete beginners so I think I would have been bored. It also didn't help that the most of my group had been there for a couple of weeks already so they put us on the 3rd module of B1. But the course was well taught and I did enjoy the challenge and my vocab and comprehension definitely improved while I was there - my UK teacher commented on this when I came back too.
As for the host family - breakfast and lunch were included in my 'package' but not dinner, but the family just told me to help myself to food for dinner as well - I was usually so full after lunch that I didn't want much more than a sandwich for dinner anyway. I'd class myself as a fussy eater and specified that I didn't eat fish, seafood or peppers but none of this was a problem and I liked all the food I was give.
When I was at Uni, I spent 4 months living with other UK students in a flat in France and 5 months with a lady in Russia and my Russian was way, way better than my French when I came back for my final year so I knew that the only way to improve my Spanish was to live with the locals. I'm not sure I would have done that if my Spanish was very basic though - I'd also like to learn German but I think living with a German family as a complete beginner would be too much of a baptism of fire! You'll have to let us know if you do end up going to Italy.
Thanks Corinne
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