This following is a brief shopping guide to Almuñécar and La Herradura, containing the most important information that anyone new to the area is likely to need.

If you want more detailed information then visit our Commercial Directory for a complete list of shops and suppliers in the area.

First thing you'll notice is that opening hours are very different in Andalucia to most of the rest of Europe. Most businesses close for lunch between 14.00-16.00 hr as a minimum, longer in summer, and many places, especially tourist shops, may be seen open until midnight at the height of the season. In winter, many places are closed Saturdays after midday but open in summer. On Sundays everything closes except souvenir shops although there's always somewhere to buy a loaf of bread and a few essentials.

National holidays are treated like a Sunday and if the holiday falls close to a weekend then often it is treated as an extended weekend or puente (literally, bridge) which is normally three or four days long. Most tourist-orientated shops in Almuñécar and La Herradura, however, stay open on holidays if they can.

Local fiestas will normally see some essential shops open, atleast in the morning. During the town's main annual holiday in the second week of August, many places close early at lunchtimes and in the evening.

The following times are intended as a guide only, so please check with the business first if it is important.

There are plenty of banks in the area though most are concentrated in Almuñécar on the seafront (Paseo del Altillo). There are three in La Herradura, also on the beach. Some are called Cajas de Ahorros (Savings Banks) but essentially they can provide the same foreign exchange and transfer services as a normal bank.

Banks actually work less hours in summer than in winter, closing on Saturdays throughout the season - just when everyone wants to change their money. Very thoughtful. Fortunately there are numerous cashpoint machines which accept all the usual cards. Most terminals are multi-language. See table above for bank opening hours..

International bank-to-bank money transfers to Almuñécar are usually quick using the SWIFT method, but even so they should be followed up if the credit is not confirmed within 3 days. Be sure to notify the bank before the money is changed to euros if it is to be used as part of a notarised payment (for a property purchase, for example).

  / Banks

Principal post office for the whole municipality is in Almuñécar (Calle Livry Gargán, end of Paseo del Altillo). Parcel collection and Post Boxes are in a separate office in the side of the same building. The parcels window will also provide standard post office services for those in wheelchairs and others who can't climb the steep steps to the main entrance.

The office provides all the normal postal services including a poste restante if you ever need a temporary address. (The full address would be: Poste Restante, Oficina de Correos, Almuñécar 18690, Granada, Spain.) Post boxes can be rented on an annual basis by applying in the main office. See table above for opening times of the Almuñécar office.

La Herradura's postal services are limited to a small sub-office at the end of the municipal market, open 9.00-12.00 (Mon-Fri) and 9.00-11.30 (Saturdays)

Estancos are state-owned tobacconists strategically located in every Spanish town and village. Apart from cigarettes and cigars, they also sell postage stamps, government stationery and phonecards for public payphones. Prices are regulated and are the same in each estanco. If you buy tobacco from anywhere else, prices cannot be increased by more than 15cts from those in the estanco.

There is always a duty chemist available 24hrs for emergency prescriptions, working on a weekly rota basis between pharmacies in the area. The one on current duty for the week is indicated by the entrances to all the other pharmacies. You may have to ring a bell to get someone out of bed, but you will always get served. Chemists are marked by a green cross on a white background. See table above for opening hours.

  / Pharmacies

The Municipal Market (Avenida de la Cala) sells all the basics - Meat, fish, fruit & vegetables, bread, health foods, herbs, flowers and an assortment of local goodies from mountain honey to pickled olives. It opens six days a week from 9.00-14.00 hrs.

There is a weekly market - Mercadillo - held on Fridays in the fairground (beside the arch at the entrance to town) which hosts about 150 stalls offering everything from Moroccan carpets.to discount socks. Quality, like prices, is pretty cheap but there are still some good bargains to be had. Stalls start to open from 9.00 hr onwards, closing around 13.30/ 14.00 hr. Go early to miss the crowds (and heat) in high season.

More popular with visitors is the monthly Rastro, or fleamarket, held in the same place as the Mercadillo on the first Saturday of each month. The market is held in aid of the Spanish Cancer Association and anyone can put up a stall after paying a small fee. You'll find a fascinating array of junk and treasure on display, worthy of a good inspection.

During the whole year there is a handicraft market held daily in the Plaza de Abderramán, below the cross. Out of season can be very quiet but it gets really busy during the high season when stalls often stay open into the early hours. This is a great place to buy souvenirs, jewellery and small presents.

You'll find a wide range of wines and spirits sold in most food shops, restaurants and bars in the area. You can also buy local wines from the barrel in a couple of bodegas.

If you want to know about Spanish wines, visit our Wine Pages.
Or see our Commercial Directory for a list of wine and liquor shops:

  / Wines and Spirits

There's a handful of herbolarios around the town, traditionally selling dietetic supplements and herbal remedies but now also into health foods and prepared organic products. Fresh organic food is very hard to find. Traditional medicinal herb preparations are sold by the daily market and include remedies for a remarkable array of ailments from flatulance to housemaid's knee. They also sell spices and culinary herbs.

  / Health Foods

A wide mixture of shops sell sports equipment in the area. They range from sports boutiques selling mainly clothes, running shoes and the occasional tennis ball, to professional sports centres which stock everything you might need from tennis racket to windsurf board. Some shops sell live bait for fishing.

  / Sports Supplies

One hour film processing and printing is available, along with most types of film and camera supplies. Normally processing costs include a free replacement film.

  / Photographic Processing & Supplies

Most important European daily newspapers are available in Almuñécar and La Herradura, usually on the day of publication.

See our list of shops selling international newspapers or details of local media publications, both Spanish and English:

  / International Newspapers
/ Local Media

There are dozens of shops, stalls and holes-in-the-wall where you can find almost any type of trinket or handicraft jewellery from the weird to the wonderful. In summer, the streets are packed with stalls until the early hours and the artesan's market (see Markets above) is especially busy.

Only a few authentic handicraft workshops are operating in the area, mostly producing ceramics or leather goods.

  / Handicrafts