Guadiaro village

GUADIARO

Guadiaro is village in the municipal district of San Roque, a few kilometres inland from the western bank of the Guadiaro river. The village takes its name from the river and has a population of about 2,000. Once a more popular destination, nowadays Guadiaro is missed by most tourists driving along the coastal road.

Iron Bridge

The village is connected to the coastal highway A-7 by the A-2103. This local road was the original coastal highway before the concrete bridge over the Guadiaro (current A-7) was constructed in 1969, shaving 15 minutes off the coastal route. The old coast road looped inland near Torreguadiaro in order to cross the Guadiaro river on an iron girder truss double-span bridge built in 1929, by Engineer Eduardo Torroja y Miret. Before this bridge there was a ferry and the journey from La Linea to Estepona took a whole day. The Estepona to La Linea bus still takes the old road (but manages the journey in considerably less time!).

Roman Barbesula

Guadiaro is the site of a small Roman town called Barbésula which was dedicated mainly to the fish salting industry. Kilns used in the manufacture of amphoras (clay vessels) for the export of Garum have been discovered here.   More> 

Festivals

Local festivals are held in Guadiaro during the first week of July.

Industries

The two important industries in the town are citrus fruit growing on the floodplains of the Guadiaro river and tourism, given its proximity to the Sotogrande resort and the coast.

The parish church in Guadiaro is the modern Parroquia de Nuestra Señora del Rosario.

RESTAURANTS

Antigua Venta Toledo, Calle Carretera, 6. Tel:  956 61 42 48. A rustic restaurant, cafe and bar with an open terrace in the centre of the village. Well priced and offering good value for money. As the name suggests, the restaurant has a long history; it was founded in 1918 when Antonio Toledo Sevillano, from  Olvera, fell in love with a girl from Guadiaro and decided to set up a Venta for passing stage-coaches to stop at, and to offer their horses water from the well. It was also a stop for the smugglers who passed by on the way to Ronda, and the 'maquis' during and after the civil war used to come down for provisions.   The current owner, Salvador Fernández Ocaña, remembers the arrival of Sotogrande's founders: "The first office - at the beginning of the 60s - was in a room in the Venta. They met in the Venta and made the purchase of the land". Read Sotogrande history.

La Terraza de Teo, Calle Carretera, 48. Tel: 956 61 42 19. Unassuming looking restaurant set on a terrace in front of a garden.  Noted for the excellent selection of tapas with about 30 different dishes on offer.

Si Siam Thai Restaurant, Calle Francisco Amado, 4. Tel: 956 61 42 37. Authentic Thai restaurant, with lots of vegetarian options.

BUS SERVICES

  • M-240 Estepona to La Linea
  • M-271 Tesorillo to La Linea
  • San Roque Municipal Bus - Line 2 - San Roque Centre to Torreguadiaro

Next Villages

Guadiaro village is traversed by the A-2103, which links with Enrique de Guadiaro via the Iron Bridge. Guadiaro, via the A-2102, also meets the A-7 at Pueblo Nuevo de Guadiaro. The A-2100 road leads from Guadiaro to Castellar de la Frontera.

Destinations