La Herradura & the Andrés Segovia Competition: a guitarist's travel guide
Certamen Internacional Andrés Segovia · La Herradura, Spain
On the Costa Tropical, where Andrés Segovia was made an adopted son, the Certamen Internacional Andrés Segovia has honoured the father of the modern classical guitar since the mid-1980s. Held each November in the seaside village of La Herradura, near Almuñécar in Granada province, it is one of the longest-running guitar competitions in the world and a warm, low-key place to hear it.
Getting there
This stretch of coast has no train station, so most visitors fly into Málaga (AGP) or Granada (GRX) and continue by bus or car, roughly an hour and a half from Málaga along the coast. The drive itself, between the mountains and the Mediterranean, is part of the pleasure.
Compare trains, buses & flights to La Herradura on Omio →
Where to stay
La Herradura is a small, unhurried beach village, easy to settle into for the competition days. Stay near the bay and everything is walkable, with Almuñécar a few kilometres east if you want a slightly larger base.
An interactive map of hotels, apartments and B&Bs across Booking, Expedia, Airbnb and more, centred on La Herradura.
See stays in La Herradura →What you'll hear
The competition runs through qualifying rounds to a final in which the finalists play a Rodrigo concerto with orchestra, the very repertoire Segovia helped bring to the concert hall. It is open to players under thirty-five, and Queen Sofía of Spain has held its honorary presidency for decades, a mark of how seriously it is taken. Past winners such as Joaquín Clerch and Franz Halász went on to major careers and often return to sit on the jury.
If you play as well as listen, explore Manuel Ponce, Segovia's own composer on Sheet Music Plus →
Where to eat
This is the Costa Tropical, so eat by the water: espetos of sardines grilled over driftwood fires, fried fish, grilled octopus, and the region's own avocados, mangoes and custard apples. A drink usually comes with a free tapa, as it should in Granada province.
While you're there
The coast rewards a wander: Nerja with its caves and Balcón de Europa lies west, while inland the Alhambra at Granada is close enough for a full day. The white villages of the Alpujarras make another fine excursion into the hills. A rental car makes the day trips simple, and GetYourGuide lists guided tours and tickets across the region.
Enter the pieces you play, and GuitarComp shows how your programme maps to this competition's rounds and which other events you qualify for.
See full competition details →Competition dates, deadlines and the current compulsory work change each edition, so always confirm at the official site: certamenandressegovia.com.