Visitors Information

Accommodation and Food:

The Retreat Centre is our main accommodation space for courses and retreats. You will be provided with all organic meals (including teas, coffees and beverages) prepared by our professional chefs. There are comfortable beds in shared rooms, (mostly 2 per room but some 3 or 4), with all bedding, towels, etc. There is wifi and a laundry service in the centre. Please only bring organic soaps and bathing products, as all water is recycled onto the land.

Meals are served in the communal eating area. They are mainly vegetarian, using fresh organic produce from our garden wherever possible or from local producers. (Meat or fish options are offered on certain workshops). Those with restricted diets must inform us beforehand and you may have to bring some of your own food supplies as it is difficult to cater for many variations.  

What to bring for courses:

  • Good walking/working shoes and some shoes for indoors (dirty boots to be kept outside of rooms).

  • Practical working clothes for that season:

    May-Oct: is mostly hot so you will want to protect yourself from getting burned. Long trousers and a long sleeved shirt are always useful (rough terrain).

    Nov-Apr: are colder months, so bring warm working clothes, a windbreaker or raincoat and something warm to sleep in (there is no real central heating).

  • A hat, sunscreen and sunglasses. (It is hot and sunny here most days!)

  • A water bottle for when you are out on the field.

  • Swimming gear (in warmer months May-Oct)

  • Notebook and stationery.

  • A laptop or memory stick for exchanging data.

  • Gardening gloves if needed (for the internship, volunteers and practical workshops)

  • ONLY ORGANIC SHOWER PRODUCTS

  • There are no shops nearby (so if you need extra snacks bring them)

  • Bite cream, antihistamines, allergy creams where needed (it is a farm)

getting to La Loma

La Loma is fairly off the beaten track but there are convenient buses to our local towns and we can arrange transport for you from there. Alternatively there is affordable car rental in Malaga and Granada, which you can arrange to share with other students.

COMING BY CAR:

We are located about 2 km outside the village of Gualchos on the coast of Granada, in southern Spain. (Nearest towns are Motril and Castell de Ferro). From the village it is a 6min drive up a dirt track.

It is roughly 1.5hours drive from Malaga, Granada and Almeria. You will take the autovia del Mediterráneo ( A-7/N-340 highway) to Motril or Castell de Ferro and up to Gualchos village from there. There is then a 10 minute drive up a dirt track to the farm from the GR-5209 road (between km´s 15-16). Detailed directions will be sent to you when booking.

Public transport: Coming by bus

It is really important to check the bus timetables to co-ordinate with your flights and ensure that you can arrive here at the designated time!

There are buses from Malaga, Granada and Almeria to our nearest town of Motril. There is no public transport all the way to the village of Gualchos. From Motril we can either arrange a group pickup (5€ each way) or you can get a taxi to Gualchos (30-40€ plus a walk up the hill).  Please arrange the group pickup with us in advance so we can organise vehicles.

From Malaga: at Airport you can take a bus or train into Malaga centre, station Maria Zambrano (it takes 20mins but give yourself 45mins to walk, wait for train etc) and get the bus to Motril -  see http://www.alsa.es/rutas/malaga-almeria.htm for bus times and prices. There are buses approximately every 2 hours from Malaga and it takes around 2hrs and costs 11€

From Granada: there are regular buses to Motril. From the airport there are some direct buses or you can change in the centre of Granada. For these and other bus routes please see: www.alsa.es

We look forward to welcoming you to La Loma and trust that you will have a pleasant and productive experience here!

General policies:

  • La Loma Viva is a private residence. All visits need to be arranged beforehand.

  • We ask our guests to be mindful of their environment while here on the farm - being respectful towards plants, animals and people. (Please also drive slowly.)

  • Please do not use or bring any products which may contaminate or be harmful to our water or soil.

  • No pets!

  • Smoking is ONLY allowed in designated areas (HIGH FIRE RISK!)

  • Our nearest recycling/rubbish dump is 20 mins drive so be aware of not bringing unnecesary packaging and garbage onto the site

  • Apologies but we cannot accommodate children here during workshops (we can recommend accommodation in our local village).

  • Make sure you have the necessary travel/health insurance as La Loma Viva is not liable for any injuries incurred by you or illness

  • A cancellation policy is applied to courses (see specific course info for details).

Any person who does not behave with respect towards our policies, to others or to the farm will be asked to leave without notice.