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.
Opening Hours
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, at least 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.
Payments
It is best to plan on doing your daily shopping with cash although the larger food stores and clothing shops accept credit cards. Obviously shops that deal in high value goods will normally accept card payment but many of the smaller shops may not. Be sure to check first. If you need cash you’ll find a number of cashpoints around, nearly always attached to a bank.
Banks
There are plenty of banks in the area though most are concentrated in Almuñécar on the seafront (Paseo del Altillo) and round the corner in the Avenida Andalucia. 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).
Post Office
Principal post office for the whole municipality is in Almuñécar (Calle Tetuan in the P4 area, infront of the sports stadium). The office provides all 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 office. There may or may not be a waiting list. 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)
Pharmacy/ Chemist
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.
Markets
The Municipal Market (Avenida de la Cala) sells all the basics – Meat, fish, fruit & vegetables, bread, health foods, herbs, flowers and an assortment of Municipal Market 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.
During most of the 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, jewelry and small presents.
Wines and Spirits
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.
Gifts and Souvenirs
Ceramics made in Almuñécar 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 is especially busy.
