Description
Guided Holidays for paragliding pilots at Algodonales, southern Spain
We offer paragliding tours at Algodonales and the surrounded areas; a paragliding guide service and thermal tuition which will allow you to maximise your time flying the best sites.
You won't waste time trying to find the best places to fly every day.
There are more than twelve different flight spots on our radio of action and we fly not only in the mountains, but also on the coast, and we don't mind driving two hours to the place with the best weather if necessary!
We don’t want to be a simple “taxi driver”
We don't want to be just a driver and to show you where the landing field and the takeoff spot are. There are already some people who can do that... We want to go beyond and do it better.
In the daily briefings, we check together with the best weather forecast websites in the giant screen of our classroom, we visit the landing areas before flying and we advise you about the local flying in each site.
Our guided tours are run by experienced instructors who’s interest is not just with those pilots that fly the furthest, but they take an active interest in the ability and progress of everyone in the group.
You will benefit from the local knowledge of the instructors.
Most of the paragliding foreign guides and instructors come here just for a few months, during the winter season, and after that, they go back home... but our staff are Spanish. We were born here and we have learned to fly in these mountains. We know our place.
INCLUDES
WE OFFER YOU IN THE PACKAGE...
- Daily meteo briefing and site briefings.
- Shuttle to the flying sites & retrieves: we can fly in more than 10 different spots.
REQUIREMENTS
WHAT YOU NEED TO BE AND TO BRING
- You should have a Flight License and Third Party Insurance specific for paragliding.
- Bring your Flight Equipment, with a reserve parachute, helmet and Walkie VHF 2m
- Despite it is not mandatory, we highly recommend you have a Travel Accident Insurance with full rescue/repatriation cover. If you are a citizen of the EU, bring your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). This entitles you to reduced-cost, sometimes free, medical treatment.
⚠ This Guided Tour is for pilots 100% autonomous. If you are a novice or a rusty pilot and you still need help and supervision of instructors, then please book the Paragliding Coaching course for Low air-time Pilots.
⚠ This Guided Tour is more for flying locally in different spots. We also organise XC Camps which are focused on cross-country flights. The logistics are different, especially the retrievals after landing. If you like to fly cross-country please consider booking an XC Camp week instead.
The briefings are in English or Spanish. You must understand at least one of these languages.
GPS LIVE TRACKING
YOU JUST FLY; WE WILL BE WATCHING
ALGODONALES, SPAIN
YOU SIMPLY MUST COME!
Why you should choose Spain? Because we have the best climate conditions for paragliding the whole year round, even in autumn and winter while the rest of Europe is frozen we can fly great thermals at 18-20ºC. And not only will you be flying but you will be enjoying the culture and the real people of Spain.
At southern Spain, we can paraglide all year round!
During winter, the flights are particularly calm, it is not too cold and there are smooth thermals. It could rain, but generally not too many consecutive days. In the Spring and early Autumn, the thermals offer especially high and long flights, the landscape becomes beautiful and the temperature is perfect. In summer it is hot!... but the conditions are not too strong to fly, especially in the morning, and we can enjoy smooth flights during the long evenings until sunset.
The mountains around Algodonales are one of the best paragliding spots in southern Spain and one of the most popular in Europe. During the spring it is a great thermal site and has good cross-country potential, even for your first XC flight. But it is also an easy place for beginners, full of big landing areas. The coast is just one hour away and offers two other easy coastal flying sites above sand dunes.
Despite Algodonales is not a big town, you will find all you need for a comfortable holiday: there are supermarkets, local shops, several banks with cash machines, pharmacies and a health centre.
The village is full of restaurants and cafes, and they are open from early morning to midnight: you cannot miss tasting the fantastic local food and tapas at low prices: coffee or beer from 1.2€, tapas from 2€ and a daily menu by only 8-10€.
Algodonales is also ideally situated for visiting the surrounding great cities and sights of interest such as Ronda, Grazalema, Sevilla, Granada, Cordoba, Cadiz, Jerez de la Frontera, Costa de la Luz and Costa del Sol.
EXTRAS
Accommodation and Airport Shuttle are not included in the prices of our courses or tours. Why not? Well, because we don't like to increase the price of our package with something that maybe you don't need; you might be travelling in your camping car, or you want to look for a room by yourself.
But if you like, you can add an accommodation and/or an airport shuttle online.
Plan your trip
We cooperate with the best local hosts, at the best prices and in the best location, close to our School. We are happy to arrange your accommodation; you can book online your accommodation with us at any moment before your arrival. Most of the accommodations that you can find in the town are based on rooms in self-catering houses. All the houses have wifi, bed sheets, towels and kitchen facilities We offer a variety of options to fit all needs at different prices The dates of your booking are starting and finishing dates. You should arrive on the day before the starting date, at any time, and depart on the day after the finishing date. i.e. If your reservation is Sept 22th - Sept 27th you should arrive on the 21st. We start on the 22nd morning and finish on the 27th evening. You must check-out on the 28th. The shuttle service departs from Malaga airport on the arrival date (the day before the starting date, normally on Saturdays) at 13:00 h, and arrives at Algodonales approx. at 15:00 h On the check-out day (the day after the finishing date, normally on Saturdays) the shuttle departs from Algodonales approx. at 10:00 h and arrives at Malaga airport at approx. 12:00 h Please keep this time in mind when you book your flights. If you need to use our shuttle, please notice that it is absolutely necessary that you book a place online at least 72 hours in advance to guarantee you have a seat in the minibus. RENT A CAR: Hiring a car could be the best option and sometimes is cheaper than taking a bus. There are several Rental Car Companies in the airports which offer very good prices. You can find cheap offers on their websites. Please check the fuel policies (we always recommend full to full) and insurance options/costs for deposit or top-up insurance policies. TAXI: There is a taxi service at Algodonales and they offer the airport shuttle. The price from Malaga or Sevilla to Algodonales is approx. 120€. Sometimes, there are more people taking the same taxi and you can share the price with them. Ask for sharing the taxi when you make your booking. You can also take any other taxi at the airport, but ask for the price first!; it will be often much much expensive than the local taxi. You can book your taxi here: Algodonales Taxi driver's contact phone number: +34 695 39 66 34 (WhatsApp available) BUS: There are Bus Companies that make the route to Algodonales from Malaga or Sevilla. You may take a bus or a taxi from the airport to the main Bus Station in the town, then take a bus to Algodonales. If you can't find a direct line to Algodonales you can try to Ronda or to Olvera, which are close to Algodonales and change to another bus to Algodonales. Malaga Bus Station (Paseo de los Tilos, s/n. 29006 Malaga, Spain). Website: http://estabus.malaga.eu/ Sevilla Bus Station (Plaza Prado San Sebastián, s/n. 41004 Sevilla, Spain). Website:
ACCOMMODATION
ADD A ROOM TO YOUR PACKAGE
NEAREST AIRPORTS
WHERE AND WHEN TO ARRIVE AND DEPART?
AIRPORT SHUTTLE
LOW COST TRANSFER
HOW TO GET HERE
OUR ADDRESS: Calle Ronda, 10. Algodonales. 11680. Spain
Frequently Asked Questions
Accommodation and Airport Shuttle are not included in the prices of our courses or tours but, if you like, you can add these services to your package when booking online. Breakfasts and other meals are not included in the prices. Our paragliding school is recognized by several associations and federations (APPI, BHPA, FAI, RFAE). This means that you will qualify for a paragliding license with them upon completing your course with us. The fee to join any of these organizations are not included in the price of the course. Joining a federation is not mandatory. Paragliding is weather dependent activity so we have to be flexible when making plans. We try to seize the time to optimize the training practices, but on a normal day you can expect the following plan: We start at 9:00h-9:30h with theory lessons at the school, and there is a briefing with the students, pilots, and instructors around 10:30h. After the daily briefing, we go flying. We provide transport to the flying sites; you don't need to drive your own car. The flight sites are around 30 minutes to one hour by car from Algodonales. Some days, if the weather is not good for flying in our area, we move to a different flying site; this could take one or two hours by car. If the conditions to fly are good, we can spend the whole day flying in the mountains (or the coast), up to sunset. But if part of the day is not good for flying we can organize theory lessons, ground-handling practices or just time off for you to relax or for visiting the areas around. We normally have a pack-lunch with us, but if there is a time we prefer to have lunch in a local restaurant to taste real Spanish food. On our return to the town, most of the people like to have dinner together. In the case of bad weather, we spend more time in theory lessons and we can organize an alternative activity for the group, or anyone can do whatever they want, as a touristic tour, hiking,… or just resting for the next day. Pack adequate comfortable clothing: warm clothes if your course is in winter. You will need a jacket in spring; it can be cold at the top of a mountain. Bring walking boots (ideally with ankle support), a sun hat, sun cream, sunglasses and also a swimming costume as there is a lake that you can canoe or swim. For students enrolled in a beginner's course, a long-sleeved t-shirt is a good idea for ground handling practice. Long pants will avoid scratches on your legs. We provide towels in accommodation. Bring your reusable bottle and help reduce single-use plastic. There are good water fountains here and you can also refill your bottle from the tap. Beginners Paragliding courses: Max. 7 students on a group with 2-3 instructors. Guided tours: Max. 8 pilots per instructor. XC Camps: Max. 7 pilots per instructor, and a driver who tracks the pilots with GPS. Only the students signed up in any of our beginner's courses have a basic accident and third-party insurances included in the price. Anyway, buying your own accident and travel insurance is recommended. Read here the terms and conditions of the accident insurance. Qualified pilots signed up for holidays or tours should have their own accident insurance, full rescue/repatriation cover – specific to paragliding. For citizens members of EU, the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) entitles you to reduced-cost, sometimes free, medical treatment that becomes necessary while you’re in a European Economic Area (EEA) country or Switzerland. EHIC full info here. You can be sure that we never give up! If the weather is bad in our area, we are going to move to a different one, with better weather. There are more than ten different flying spots in a radio of 150 km around Algodonales, at the coast or inland. The bad weather days can be also used for ground-handling practices or for theory lessons, and not only for the students but also we organize masterclasses for more experienced pilots. If some tasks of a course are not completed, because of bad weather, it is possible to complete on a different day. Some people extend their days. Some people prefer to stay in the area for a few more days so they have more chance to complete the course or to fly and, in any case, they can spend this extra time on tourism. Anyway, in the very unlikely event that due to bad weather we have to cancel some days during a weekly course or tour, we will give you credit that will be discounted from the price of your next booking with us. All are welcome. Algodonales is a beautiful area; There are massive amounts to keep everyone busy while you are flying. horse riding to kitesurfing. picnics & canoeing and beautiful white hillside villages of Andalucia, everything is out there to do and explore. We can organized tandem flights to non-flyers. They will need a car because we cannot guarantee a place for them in our vehicle. In the rare event of bad weather and the inability to fly, we have some alternative activities to keep you entertained: Touristic Routes, throughout typical white villages all over the Sierra, with visits to museums, Natural Parks, Gastronomic Stops,… You don’t. We provide transport to flying sites and for the retrieve. But if you want, you can hire a car for visiting the surrounding areas, for your non-flying partners or if you cannot take on time our airport shuttle. Our shop is fully stocked with all the equipment you may wish to purchase for flying and all at good Spanish prices. If you are interested in buying a glider please contact us in advance due to it could take weeks to get the items here. Please, read our answer to this question on this webpage https://www.paraglidingspain.eu/beginners-paragliding-courses/ It’s not so much about how old you are, it is more about your general level of fitness, health and mental state. Although no medical examinations are officially required to learn to paraglide, you should be in generally good health. You should be fit and active and have good coordination. You must be able to run a bit for around 5-15 meters on take-off and landing and you could be walking up hills carrying a 15-20kg rucksack full of paragliding equipment. If you suffer from any medical condition such as epilepsy, giddiness, heart condition, osteoporosis or diabetes you should ask your Doctor’s advice before taking part in a paragliding course. The student's maximum weight must be 120 Kgr.
Restaurants and shops at Algodonales are really cheap; for example, a coffee costs 1,20€, a beer 1,5-2€, a breakfast by 2,5€, a dinner by 10€. The accommodation has a shared kitchen with all facilities, so you can also cook your own food if you wish.
Visits to the nearest cities: Cadiz, Sevilla, Ronda, all of the great touristic interest.
Archeologic tours. In the nearby areas, there are many remains of ancient cultures such as Phoenicians, Romans, Moors…
Trekking: There are a lot of routes through Grazalema’s Natural Park with amazing landscapes, animals and forests.
Mountain bike: You can hire bikes to cross the routes through the Natural Park. One of which is an old disused railway with tunnels, bridges, stations,… and of course, always a restaurant to end your ride!
Canoe: You can also rent canoes enjoying the nearby lakes of Zahara.
WE GUARANTEE YOU WILL FLY
Spain has one of the best weather to fly but, you know, we can't control the weather!
We always try to fly and we don't mind driving hundreds of kilometres around our base to find a place with good conditions to fly, if necessary.
But if we have to cancel more than 3 days in a week due to bad weather then we will give you credit for each day missed, starting on the second day, to be discounted in your next booking with us within the next 12 months.
ARE THE DATES YOU LIKE FULLY BOOKED ALREADY?
Well, don't give up! ... Contact us and we will put your name on a waiting list; there are often some cancellations and we will let you know when a place turns available.
LIMITED PLACES. BOOK NOW!
You are only 3 steps away to fly!
1. Book and secure your place with a deposit. Pay the remaining on arrival. Free cancellation up to 30 days before.
2. Book online your ACCOMMODATION with us!
3. Look for flight tickets and make your other travel arrangements. You can also book the AIRPORT SHUTTLE with us.
