Hotels in El Puerto de Santa María

El Puerto de Santa María sits across the bay from Cádiz, on the sherry triangle alongside Jerez and Sanlúcar, and its bodegas (Osborne is the big name) are the main reason to come. It's a working port town with a genuine fish market and marisquerías along the Ribera del Marisco where you eat prawns and tuna standing up at a counter, which feels far more authentic than the resort strips elsewhere on the Costa de la Luz.

The beaches, Playa de la Puntilla especially, are decent but not exceptional by Andalusian standards. The town centre can feel a little sleepy outside summer weekends and Feria time, and public transport links mean a car helps if you want to tour the sherry bodegas properly. With only 15 hotels listed here, choice is limited rather than overwhelming. Stay near the old town and Ribera del Marisco rather than out by the beach, so you can walk to the seafood bars and the ferry across to Cádiz.