Andy Symington - Cádiz & Costa de la Luz. Includes Jerez, Tarifa, & Gibraltar

Andaluca has one of mainland Europes most agreeable climates. Winters are mild with some rain, but plenty of sunshine; coastal temperatures in January average 15-17C. It is colder inland, particularly in the mountains.

Summers are hot, especially inland, but the coast benefits from pleasant seabreezes, particularly along the stretch from Gibraltar to Cdiz, where the strong levante wind can last for days on end, much to the joy of windsurfers. In summer, it can seem like most of Spain and half of Europe are lined up along Andalucas beaches. While the atmosphere is good, the crowding and overpriced accommodation might induce you to pick the June or September shoulder season, when theres still plenty of sun. In high summer, inland temperatures soar.

Spring and autumn, are ideal seasons to visit Andaluca. Spring is the best time for birdwatching and wildflowers, temperatures are warm but not extreme, and there are many important festivals. Easter week itself is a major holiday in Spain and accommodation prices are very high. In autumn, the sea is still pleasantly warm and hiking conditions in the hills are at their best.

Cdizs Carnaval in February or March is an unforgettable experience (), but youll have to book accommodation well ahead. The city is at its liveliest in summer, when the beaches are packed day and night.

The growth of the budget sector means that there are now numerous options for reaching Andaluca. Five airports in the region (Sevilla, Mlaga, Almera, and Jerez de la Frontera, as well as Gibraltar) are served regularly by flights from a wide variety of European cities; add in all the standard and charter flights, and its one of Europes easiest destinations to reach.

Charter flights are cheaper and are run by package holiday firms. You can find bargains through travel agencies or online. The drawback of these flights is that they usually have a fixed return flight, often no more than four weeks, and they frequently depart at antisocial hours. An upside is that charter flights operate from many regional airports.

Before booking, its worth doing a bit of online research. Two of the best search engines for flight comparisons are www.opodo.com and www.kayak.com, which compare prices from a range of agencies. To keep yourself up to date with the ever-changing routes of the bewildering number of budget airlines, www.whichbudget.com is handy. Flightchecker (http://flightchecker.moneysavingexpert.com) is handy for checking multiple dates for budget airline deals.

Flights from the UK Competition has benefited travellers in recent years. Budget operators have taken a significant slice of the market and forced other airlines to compete.

Budget: There are numerous budget connections from the UK to Mlaga. Easyjet and Ryanair connect Mlaga with over a dozen UK airports, while other budget airlines running various routes from the UK to Mlaga include Flybe, Aer Lingus, Norwegian, BMIBaby, Jet2, and Monarch. Sevilla is served by Ryanair from London, East Midlands, Liverpool and Bristol, and by Vueling and Easyjet from London Gatwick. Ryanair also flies to Jerez de la Frontera from Stansted. Monarch flies to Gibraltar from London Luton and Manchester, while Easyjet flies there from Gatwick and Liverpool.

Charter: There are numerous charter flights to Mlaga (and some to Almera) from many British and Irish airports. Avro (www.avro.co.uk) and First Choice (www.firstchoice.co.uk) are a couple of the best charter flight providers, but its also worth checking the travel pages of newspapers for cheap deals. The website www.flightsdirect.com is also a good tool to search for charter flights.

Non-budget flights: Mlaga again has the most scheduled flights, with several airlines including Iberia and British Airways flying direct from London airports. There are daily direct flights to Sevilla with Iberia from London Heathrow and Gatwick, as well as numerous opportunities for connections via Madrid and Barcelona.

Flights from the rest of Europe There are numerous budget airlines operating from European and Spanish cities to Mlaga. The website www.whichbudget.com is an essential tool to keep track of these services, as the market changes frequently.

Numerous charter flights operate to Mlaga from Germany, Scandinavia, France, the Netherlands and Belgium.

There are non-stop flights to Mlaga with non-budget airlines from many major European cities. There are daily non-stop flights to Sevilla from Paris and Brussels. Flying from these or other western European cities via Madrid or Barcelona usually costs about the same.

Flights from North America and Canada There are fortnightly charter flights from Montreal and Toronto with Air Transat. Otherwise, youll have to connect via Madrid, Barcelona, London or another European city to Andalucan airports. Although some airlines throw in a free connecting flight to Mlaga or Sevilla, you can usually save considerably by flying to Madrid and getting the bus down south (or book a domestic connection on the local no-frills airline Vueling, www.vueling.com).

Flights from Australia and New Zealand There are no direct flights to Spain from Australia or New Zealand; the cheapest and quickest way is to connect via Frankfurt, Paris or London. It might turn out cheaper to book the EuropeSpain leg separately via a budget operator.

Unless youve got a railpass or you arent too keen on planes, forget about getting to Andaluca by train from anywhere further than France; youll save no money over the plane fare and use up days of time better spent in tapas bars. Youll have to connect via either Barcelona or Madrid. Getting to Madrid/Barcelona from London takes about a day using Eurostarwww.eurostar.com, 75-200 return to Paris, and another 130 or more return to reach Madrid/Barcelona from there.