Huelva Cruise Holidays
Huelva is a relatively small city in the southwest of Spain where its location close to the entry in the Mediterranean and its naturally sheltered rias on the Gulf of Cadiz has made it a popular port for seafarers down the ages.
That has made it an important settlement for everyone from the Phoenicians to the Romans and it is from its past that many of the cities modern tourist attractions come from as there are a number of historical sites found throughout.
The city also offers some beautiful beaches that are much quieter than those found in the major seaside resorts found throughout the Andalusian region which makes them a great place to unwind, relax and enjoy the beautiful Med weather.
Unfortunately, as a port of call without the cruise infrastructure needed to welcome big ships and without the attractions of nearby destinations, it can be difficult to reach the port on a cruise with only a few itineraries offering a stop in the port and it is often the case that you need to choose a smaller and more luxurious line and ship to be able to visit the city.
Cruises To Huelva
Huelva Cruise Guide
If you are in the fortunate position to have already booked a cruise holiday with a stop in the city, our guide gives you all of the information that you need to make the most of your time onshore whilst if you are still in the planning stage of your next cruise, our guide will help you to decide whether a stop in the city is worth you finding an itinerary that does just that or not.
Type of Cruises Available
When it comes to cruises calling into the port of Huelva, the choices are sadly limited.
As mentioned above, if you are wanting to visit Huelva, you will find it a difficult search for a cruise ship calling in there as the majority of mass market lines will head to nearby ports including Cadiz, Gibraltar, and Malaga.
That leaves the smaller and more luxurious ships offered by premium cruise lines as the major providers of itineraries with a stop in the city and even then it will only be specialised itineraries offering holidays of the more historic Mediterranean ports that will include a stop.
Those limitations also impact the choice of where you start and end your cruise with the opportunities for No Fly cruises almost non-existent.
That leaves holidaymakers needing to fly to the bigger ports of the Mediterranean, including Barcelona, to start their holiday.
It is also possible to enjoy a hybrid river/sea cruise from the nearby city of Sevilla.
Huelva Cruise Port Location
Cruises ships that do visit the port arrive at the Muelle Sur’s berths of the cities outer port which means it is just under a 10 mile journey from where you dock to the city centre although the majority of cruise lines will offer a shuttle.
Huelva Attractions
One of the newer highlights of the city is the beautiful Paseo Maritimo de la Rio which is a multi-million Euro investment in the waterfront that now offers a long promenade style river front that makes for a great place to enjoy a stroll, take in the natural beauty of the city, and enjoy a quiet drink or bite to eat.
It is over a kilometre in length and around 80 metres in width with the ‘boulevard’ linking a number of the cities attractions including 4 amphitheatres.
The city centre offers a good mix of historical buildings, points of interest including the beautiful Plaza De Las Monjas fountain whilst the Centro Comercial Holea is the place to head for those wanting to partake in some shopping.
Huelva Shorex
The city is some distance from other tourist destinations so the excursions offered by lines tend to head to the edges of the city to enjoy the natural beauty of this part of Spain with bird watching a great option.
If you are a motor racing fan, especially motorcycle racing, the iconic racetrack at Jerez de la Frontera is relatively close to the city and can be reached via Seville or if you organise a private transfer on your own.
Although a number of cruises do, if you haven’t started your holiday in Sevilla, it is relatively straight forward to get a coach from Huelva to Sevilla and explore all that the popular holiday destination has to offer, with the journey taking around an hour.
Despite been close to the Portugal border, the city sits a spur with no train connection heading to Portugal and even trains to Spain are limited to mostly commuter routes as the city has been quite forgotten about over the past few decades as the country has focussed on high speed rail between major urban areas.
Best Time To Visit
With such a limited amount of cruises stopping off their it is probably fair to say that the best time to visit is whenever a ship calls in their but if you are flexible and you are interested in one of the smaller lines that stop there, the best time to visit is in the summer months when you can really make the most of the cities river front.
It can be very hot in August and it is also a popular destination for locals to visit during the school holiday which often makes it busy.
Transport
The public transportation in the city is limited and is focussed on commuter routes for locals but with Huelva easily explored on foot, that is not too much of a concern.
Huelva Cruises From UK
If you are wanting to visit the city on a direct cruise from the United Kingdom, you will need to be incredibly flexible and hope that one of the exploration style cruise lines decide to offer a re-positioning cruise from these shores to the med but that is unlikely so if you want to visit the city, you will likely have to fly to the med to start your holiday.
Huelva Cruise From Southampton
If you would like to cruise to Huelva from the UK, the port of Southampton is the place to sail from as it offers the widest range of cruise lines, cruise ships and itineraries that head from these shores to the port of Huelva.
