Why we chose El Puerto de Santa Maria as a base instead of Cadiz.
When we planned our 2 weeks in the Cádiz area, we originally considered the city of Cádiz as our base. That didn’t work out (for reasons I’ll tell you) and we instead chose to stay in El Puerto de Santa Maria. It was the best thing that could have happened.
In this post I’ll tell you why El Puerto de Santa Maria makes for a great base (I think better than the city of Cádiz) in the region.
Why we ruled out the city of Cádiz
When I searched for a 2-week apartment in the city, I was shocked by the pricing. Prices for an apartment averaged about $250 CAD/night (over 155 Euros/night). It could be because it overlapped Carnaval. I’m not sure the reason, but it was more than I was willing to pay for a long stay.
For the same period, we found an apartment in El Puerto de Santa Maria that averaged 65 Euros/night. It was exactly what we were looking for.
But besides price, we ended up happy that we weren’t based in Cádiz.
The charms of “El Puerto”
In the 16th and 17th centuries, El Puerto de Santa Maria was one of the major trading ports (along with Seville and Cádiz) for cargo heading to the Americas. It became rich, a city full of mansions owned by merchants: in fact, the city is known as “the city of 100 Palaces”. So there’s history here and I really recommend starting your visit at the Palacio de Araníbar: it is El Puerto’s oldest palace (built in 1660), the home of the tourist office and the site of a very interesting interpretive center where you can learn about the city’s history. Next to the Palacio de Araníbar/tourist office, is the city’s main historical site: the Castillo de San Marcos. The other “must-see” site is the church (a Minor Basilica), the Iglesia Mayor Prioral (which is very impressive despite undergoing exterior renovations when we visited)
Most people won’t find El Puerto de Santa Maria beautiful. It’s not Seville, it’s not Cádiz either (although I was underwhelmed by Cádiz to be honest). When I was thinking of what to compare El Puerto to,I kept thinking of Havana (Cuba). Some might find that insulting. But there’s a beauty to El Puerto’s faded old palaces, some abandoned and crumbling.
El Puerto de Santa Maria is known for its beaches. But truth be told, it’s not a beach town. The town is built along a river, the Guadalete river. The beaches are out of town and best accessed by car or bus. If you want a beach town I’d recommend Rota further up the coast.
So then what are the charms of El Puerto?
El Puerto de Santa Maria is a “real” Spanish town with history that hasn’t been repackaged to cater to mass tourism. The perfect example is the main square, where the above mentioned Iglesia Mayor Prioral (built in 1486) looks every bit its 500+ years. On its roofs storks nest, the clack-clack-clacks of their beaks sounding like pre-historic dinosaurs. The square is where locals congregate and kids play at night. It all makes El Puerto de Santa Maria a very genuine place.
There are some nice restaurants here, we had one of our best meals in recent memory in Spain at a place called La Micaela (the “Entrecot de Ternera morucha” is fantastic and the “Muerte por chocolate” out of this world). We enjoyed sitting on the main square having drinks at Apriori, Sherry behind the castle at Ojú Qué Alegría and breakfast/coffee at Cafetería El Trotamundos. All really great places with affordable pricing and friendly proprietors.
The vibe is relaxed, the streets wide. It’s all a far cry from overbuilt, busy and tightly packed Cádiz.
Why El Puerto de Santa Maria is the perfect base for day trips in the region
If you want to explore the region, there is no better base than El Puerto de Santa Maria. That’s because: 1) El Puerto is right across the bay from Cádiz and is connected by a regular ferry (Catamaran). Not only is it handy, it is a great way to see the bay. 2) El Puerto is on the Cercanias commuter train line that runs from Cádiz in one direction to Jerez airport in the other.
El Puerto’s position on the mainland makes it easy to visit inland destinations, while its location on the bay makes it easy to reach Cádiz. Really ideal to getting around.
- To Cádiz. A very pleasant 30-minute ride by Catamaran across the bay. Cost of a 1-way ride 2.90 Euros*. The ferry terminal is steps from the castle, right in the heart of El Puerto. Ferry schedule. If the ferry isn’t running (it can happen due to bad weather) you can take the Cercanias train which runs roughly every hour and takes 35 – 40 minutes. Cost 3.40 Euro. We did the El Puerto de Santa Maria – Cádiz trip 3 times and it was always easy.
*All prices listed are from February 2026.
- To Jerez de la Frontera. The same train mentioned above (but going in the opposite direction) takes you to Jerez in 10 minutes and costs 1 Euro. Jerez is a very pretty city, one of our favorites in Cádiz province.
- To Arcos de la Frontera. Take the train to Jerez, then catch a bus at the bus station (which is right next to the train station in Jerez). In our case, we took the 9:30 train in El Puerto, arrived 10 minutes later in Jerez, then took the 10:00 bus to Arcos de la Frontera (see the M-951 bus schedule). Coming back, buses leave at the top of the hour almost every hour. An easy day trip to one of Cádiz’s most famous white villages.
- To Rota. One of the most beautiful beach towns we’ve seen in Spain, we loved Rota. Getting there by public transport was a bit trickier. Buses M-062, M-061, M-060 do the route from El Puerto’s Plaza de Toros. Cost 2.10 Euros, takes about 35 minutes. I took a photo of the schedule here.
We didn’t have a car and were able to do all the above day trips very easily using public transport. If you do have a car, it’s even easier and you can add destinations such as Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Vejer de la Frontera, Conil de la Frontera and Tarifa to that list. You can even go slightly further and see Zahara de la Sierra, Olvera and Setenil de los Bodegas (all 3 can be done in one day if you have a car).
Where to Stay in El Puerto de Santa Maria
We stayed in one of Daniel and John’s apartments for 2 weeks while in El Puerto. Spacy, well-equipped and comfortable. If coming in winter, I’d recommend asking for the upstairs modern apartment.
If more interested in a hotel for a few days, I’d suggest Casa Palacio de Los Leones if you want to experience life in one of El Puerto’s old mansions or the Sercotel Puerto de Santa Maria if wanting something modern.
Tours in the region that might interest you
This day tour picks you up in El Puerto and takes you to Some of Cádiz’s white villages: Zahara de la Sierra (one of our favorites), Grazalema and Arcos de la Frontera. Lots of wonderful geography along the way.
This other day tour takes you to Vejer de la Frontera as well as Conil de la Frontera, two beautiful white villages down the coast from Cádiz.
Related: What to See and Do in Nerja
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