LOCATION
Casas Karen is located in Los Caños de Meca on the Costa de la Luz, one of the least spoiled and most spectacular coastlines in Spain. You won´t find big hotels or high-rise buildings here, rather a pretty seaside village arranged along the cliff tops with one of the most unspoiled beaches in Andalucía just a 5-10 minute walk away.
The Trafalgar lighthouse separates the main bay of Caños from the more open water of the Atlantic on the other side (a sublime place to watch the sunset). The area itself is famous for its surfing, swimming and deep-sea-diving, and breathtaking countryside is perfect for walks, bicycle-tours and horse-riding through the hills and meadows of the Natural Park of the Breña y Marismas del Barbate.
The style of our houses, chozas and apartment take their inspiration from our surroundings and the history of this part of Spain. This means looking to both Andalucia and Morocco (the Rif Mountains are clearly visible across the water on fine days) and the legacy left behind by the Moors. Set in nearly 8,000 m2 of native gardens, you’ll find it a magical place to relax in quiet privacy.
we can provide additional information about the area, ranging from local restaurants to secret walks that take you to waterfalls and cooling springs.
“A rare piece of Eden if your idea of a proper holiday is to read, relax and take long walks on the beach. It’s a unique campo of straw houses (chozas) Andalucían cottages and a restored farmhouse, all surrounded by unruly gardens.”
Directions to Casas Karen by car
Taking the A-48 dual carriageway from Cadiz towards Tarifa, come off at exit 36, signposted Vejer de la Frontera and Los Caños de Meca.
At the first roundabout turn right and follow the signs to Los Caños de Meca and El Palmar. After about 10 km you will see a petrol station on your right – turn left at the roundabout here.
Approximately 4km further on you will see the road leading to Cape Trafalgar and the lighthouse on your right, and to the left, the Hostal Cafetería Mini-golf. This is the start of Los Caños de Meca. Continue for approximately 500 metres and at the fourth street on your left you will see the Artesanía Levante, Café & Restaurante. Turn left here into the tarmacked Calle Levante with two tiled signs at the entrance. One reads ‘Apartamentos and Bungalows’, the other ‘Trafalgar’.
You will see a gate saying “Residencial Cabo de Trafalgar”. Please contact us for to open it.
Follow this road for about 400 metres and turn right at Camino del Monte (a dirt road). After about 50 metres you will see a white well on the left – you have arrived at Casas Karen!
Parking
You will find space to park a short distance up this road for the office, Casa Karen 1, Casa Karen 2 and the Choza Grande. (Twenty metres further on from the office entrance you will find a small, rustic gate which is the private entrance to the Choza Grande.)
For the Casa del Monte, Casita del Medio, Estudio del Madroño, Estudio Trafalgar, Choza Pequeña and the Chozita, take the Calle Fuente del Madroño, which is the next turning on your right after the Camino del Monte.
Within 50 metres down this road, turn right onto a dirt road and you will see parking on your immediate left for the Casa del Monte, the Estudio Trafalgar and
Estudio del Madroño. There are spaces for three cars here. You will find your respective accommodation to the left or to the right of your parking space.
For Casa del Monte there is a little entrance on your left and the house is the first one on your right.
For Estudio Trafalgar the entrance is to the right of the parking space.
For Estudio del Madroño, head to your right, open the entrance with a chain and then walk to the left. The Estudio del Madroño is the second studio on your left.
For the Choza Pequeña, the Chozita and the Casita del Medio, the parking space is on the right, in front of “Casas La Meca” on the Calle Fuente del Madroño.
To get to the Chozita, Casita del Medio, and the Estudio del Madroño please use the entrance just before the parking space so as not to disturb the guests staying in the Choza Pequeña.
For The Casita del Medio, look to your right for the double blue doors of the patio. Go through the doors and you will see two doors to your left. This is the Casita del Medio.
To get to the Estudio Madroño, walk past the double blue doors of The Casita del Medio to the end of the building and turn right. You will see a stable door with a small window – this is the Estudio Madroño.
There is a plan of the houses within the grounds on the notice board by the office.
TRANSPORT
Always double check transport details, in case of changes!
Indicated Travel times are by car, approximations, and caalculations without traffic.
Airports
Closest places to fly to are:
• Jerez de la Frontera (85 km, 1 hour)
• Gibraltar (105 km, 1.15 hours)
• Sevilla (170 km, 1.30 to 2 hours)
• Malaga (210 km, 2.30 hours)
• Faro (Algarve), Portugal (360 km, 4 hours)
• Lisbon (604 km, 5.75 hours)
• Tangiers, Morocco (North Africa): Tangier Boukhalef (TNG) airport / 35 min. by fast boat to Tarifa, then 50 min. by car to Los Caños de Meca. Boats go with the appropriate weather conditions only: http://www.frs.es
Airlines
• http://www.ryanair.com
• https://en.tuifly.com
• http://www.brusselsairlines.com
• http://www.easyjet.com to Gibraltar, Malaga and check for other possibilities
• http://www.britishairways.com
• http://www.lastminute.com
• http://www.iberia.com
• http://www.rumbo.es
• http://www.vueling.es
For more information on how to purchase affordable flights in Europe see: http://www.goeuro.com/flights/cheap-flights-to-europe#time-of-year
Taxis
• Taxi Jose Ramon Galindo (+34) 659 273 111
• El Nene (+34) 630 227 657 (6 Seats)
Car sharing
Trains
http://www.renfe.com – Tel. (+34) 91 232 0320
Renfe is the National Network of Spanish Railways.
You can buy directly from the Renfe site, however some credit cards from the United States and Australia cannot be processed.
Tickets may be booked up to 62 days ahead for high-speed trains and may be pre-reserved for 24-48 hours.
More information regarding the Renfe purchase issues:
• 91 things to note when buying from Renfe http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g187514-c80518/Madrid:Spain:Buying.Renfe.Tickets.Online.html
Nearest Train Stations
• San Fernando Bahia Sur (45 km, 35 min.)
– There are no buses from this train station.
• Cadiz (60 km, 54 mins)
• Jerez de la Frontera (76 km, 1 hour)
• Algeciras (85 km, 1 hour)
Please see Buses section below and the corresponding web sites for options to Los Caños de Meca and area.
Buses
Always double check transport details, in case of changes!
Comes Bus Company (Cádiz, Andalusia, Murcia)
http://www.tgcomes.es
• Tel. (+34) 956 291 168
• Cadiz office: (+34) 956 807 059
• Time Table for Seville through Los Caños de Meca, Barbate, Zahara de los Atunes, Atlanterra http://www.tgcomes.es/horarios_17.htm
Movelia 902 64 64 28 movelia.es
• Telephone number from Spain only. (The cost of the phone call is 0.09€ plus an added 0.08€ per minute.
• Movelia is a purchasing center for bus tickets. They have a relationship with TG Comes and many other bus companies.
• They provide both routes in Spain and internationally.
• BE AWARE *If you type Caños de Meca, or another destination into the “Destino” section, it will most probably not recognize the destination.
You need to select the place name from the lists/ Listados.
• Do not type anything in.
• Seville to Los Caños de Meca/ usually only in high season
• Seville to Cadiz
• Cadiz to Los Caños de Meca (usually not on weekends or festives in low season, please check)
• Seville to La Barca de Vejer (there are usually taxis here), Conil town, or Cruce de Conil/ all year round (each 15 to 20 min. drive away)
Nearest Bus Stations/Stops
• Los Caños de Meca
• Barbate (7 km, 10 min.)
• Vejer de la Frontera (14 km, 15-20 min.)
• Cruce de Conil (15 km, 15-20 min.) On the N-340, 1 km from Conil town
• Conil de la Frontera (town) (17 km, 15 min.)
• La Barca de Vejer (18 km, 15-20 min.)
To buy bus tickets and see schedules, please visit movelia.es and/or tgcomes.es
For buses from Malaga to La Barca de Vejer please see http://portillo.avanzabus.com/es or call Tel. (+34) 955 038 665. If there is no direct bus, try Malaga to Algeciras and then Algeciras to La Barca de Vejer.
There are direct buses from Seville to Los Caños de Meca, usually only in high season.
There are also buses from La Linea de la Concepción, just outside Gibraltar. Taxis can be found in La Linea after exiting customs. The bus station is about a 5-10 minute walk. After customs turn left onto Avenida Principe de Asurias, and then take road to the right onto Avenida Europa.
Bus stations
Sevilla: Estacion Prado de San Sebastian Tel (+34) 954 416 858
Jerez: Plaza de La Estación, 11401 Jerez de la Frontera Tel (+34) 956 321 464
Algeciras: Estación San Bernardo, 1 Tel. (+34) 956 653 456
Malaga: Paseo de los Tilos, 29006 Málaga Tel (+34) 952 35 00 61
Tarifa: Batalla del Salado,19 Tel. (+34) 956 684 038
La Linea: Calle de 20 de Abril, 31, 11300 La Línea de la Concepción 956 17 00 93
Faro, Portugal: Av. da República 1, 8000-078 Faro, Portugal Tel (+351) 289 899 760
Tangiers, Morocco: Place Al Jamia Al Arabia, Tangier 90060, Morocco Tel (+212) 655-802005
Boats
For more information on sightseeing by boat and boats trips within the area, check out the links below!
For Travel
• Tarifa to Tangiers http://www.frs.es
• Spain & International http://www.clickferry.com/en/
• Bay of Cadiz, Cadiz to Puerto de Santa Maria & Rota Commuter Boats/Local Transport http://siu.cmtbc.es/es/lineas.php
• General http://www.navieraarmas.com/es/inicio
For Sightseeing
• https://el-puerto-de-santa-maria.costasur.com/es/navegar-en-el-vaporcito.html
• Seville, Río Guadalquivir to Sanlucar de Barrameda & Monumental Sevilla http://www.crucerostorredeloro.com
• Ferry between Spain and Vila Real de Santo Antonio, Portugal http://www.rioguadiana.net/home
