Sustainable holiday home in Andalusia – no official label, just conscious choices. Are you looking for a sustainable holiday home in Andalusia? You might automatically think of accommodation with a Green Key, Travelife, EU Ecolabel or Biosphere certification.

At Finca Las Nuevas, we don’t have an official sustainability label. Not because sustainability isn’t important to us. Quite the opposite. We simply believe that sustainable tourism is ultimately about what you actually do. Using water and energy responsibly, producing less waste, reusing things, supporting local people and businesses, and taking care of the place where you live and work. That’s what we try to do every day at our small-scale finca in the hills of Álora, in the province of Málaga.

Is Finca Las Nuevas a sustainable place to stay?

We try to run Finca Las Nuevas as sustainably as possible, without an official sustainability certification. Our holiday homes are largely powered by solar energy, we save water, separate waste, reduce single-use plastics, reuse materials and don’t use chemical pesticides on our land. We also deliberately choose small-scale tourism.

Finca Las Nuevas has just five holiday homes, surrounded by olive and almond trees. No mass tourism here, but peace, nature and personal attention.

What makes a holiday home sustainable?

Sustainable accommodation is about much more than simply saving energy. It can include reducing water and energy consumption, limiting waste, using environmentally friendly cleaning products, buying locally, protecting biodiversity and supporting the local community. Well-known sustainability certifications for tourist accommodation include Green Key, Travelife and Biosphere. We have consciously chosen not to apply for one of these certificates. We prefer to spend the time and money involved directly on our finca and on practical measures that help us reduce our energy and water consumption and produce less waste.

So, what do we do for a sustainable holiday home in Andalusia?

1. Solar panels for our holiday homes

In Andalusia, there is one sustainable source of energy we have in abundance: sunshine. That’s why we have installed solar panels that generate a large part of the electricity used by our holiday homes. On sunny days, a considerable amount of the electricity used at the finca comes directly from our own solar panels. With all that Andalusian sunshine, it would be a shame not to make use of it, wouldn’t it?

2. Using water responsibly

Water is precious in southern Spain. Especially during dry periods, we try to use it as responsibly as possible. Our garden is filled with succulents, cacti and other plants that are well adapted to Andalusia’s dry climate. This means they require much less watering. We also ask our guests to be mindful of their water use. Not because a holiday shouldn’t feel like a holiday, but because lots of small choices can make a difference.

3. Separating waste and reducing plastic

We have several recycling containers at the finca so that both we and our guests can separate waste. We also try to reduce single-use plastics wherever possible. In our bathrooms, for example, you won’t find tiny shampoo and soap bottles that are thrown away after one stay. Instead, we use refillable dispensers.

You’ll also find reusable shopping bags and cool bags in the holiday homes. Handy for a trip to the supermarket or a day at the beach – and no need to keep buying plastic bags.

4. Reducing food waste

When you’re on holiday, it’s surprisingly easy to buy too much food. A bottle of oil, some herbs, a few groceries for the last evening… and then suddenly there’s no room left in the suitcase. That’s why you’ll find a selection of herbs and oil in our kitchens for guests to use.

If food or drinks are left behind at the end of a holiday and are still perfectly good, we try to find someone in the village who can use them. Because throwing away perfectly good food just seems such a waste.

5. Reusing: giving old things a second life

Not everything that’s old needs to be thrown away. In fact, we enjoy finding new uses for things. The swing bench at Casa Maria Abajo, for example, was made from an old double bed. Several of the games on our large communal terrace are homemade too. Our Dominoes, Jenga and Yahtzee sets were made from leftover pieces of wood.

And the little wooden wheelbarrow holding the Jenga blocks? That once came from a Christmas game where everyone had to bring something they no longer wanted. It found a second life here.

6. Drying our sheets under the Andalusian sun

Why use a tumble dryer when the sun can do the job for free? Thanks to Andalusia’s many sunny days, we can dry much of our laundry naturally outside. It saves electricity and comes with another bonus: bed linen dried outdoors smells wonderfully fresh. Sometimes sustainable living can be surprisingly simple.

7. No pesticides or chemical weedkillers

Our finca is home to more than a hundred olive trees, plenty of almond trees and several fig and plum trees. We use no pesticides or artificial fertilisers on our trees. And when it comes to weeds, we don’t use Roundup or other chemical weedkillers either. Instead, it means hoeing, pulling, bending down and filling wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow with weeds. Not always the easiest option. But it’s one we feel good about.

8. Walking straight from your holiday home

You don’t need to get in the car before you can enjoy a beautiful walk here. From Finca Las Nuevas, you can walk straight into the Andalusian countryside. Unpaved tracks and walking routes lead through the hills surrounding the finca. We’ve also created our own e-book for guests with walks and routes in the surrounding area. Leave the car behind, put on your walking shoes and off you go.

9. Small-scale tourism instead of mass tourism

For us, sustainability isn’t just about solar panels, water and waste. It’s also about the way you approach tourism. Finca Las Nuevas has deliberately remained small. We have five holiday homes and no ambition to become a large holiday resort. We get to know our guests, share our personal tips about the area and, wherever possible, work with local businesses and activity providers. We want our guests to discover Andalusia while respecting its nature, villages and the people who live here.

Can you stay sustainably without an official sustainability label?

Yes, accommodation can take many sustainable measures without having an official sustainability certification. A recognised label can help travellers compare accommodation and often comes with clear sustainability criteria. But not having a certificate doesn’t automatically mean that an accommodation isn’t making sustainable choices.

That’s why we’d rather tell you exactly what we do. No green plaque on the wall, but solar panels on the roof. No fancy words about saving water, but plants that genuinely need less of it. No single-use bottles in the bathrooms and no chemical pesticides between our olive trees. That way, you can decide for yourself whether our approach fits your idea of sustainable travel.

A sustainable holiday home in Andalusia – our way

Are we perfectly sustainable? No. Every holiday has an impact. Travelling to Andalusia requires energy, our guests use water and electricity, and there are still things we can improve. But we don’t think that’s a reason to do nothing. Instead, we keep looking for ways to do things better: wasting less, reusing more, generating our own electricity and taking care of the beautiful place we’re lucky enough to call home. Because for us, sustainability isn’t ultimately about having a certificate. It’s about making conscious choices, every single day.

Frequently asked questions about sustainable stays at Finca Las Nuevas

Does Finca Las Nuevas have a sustainability certification?

No. Finca Las Nuevas does not have Green Key, Travelife, EU Ecolabel or Biosphere certification. Instead, we choose to invest directly in sustainable measures at our finca.

Do the holiday homes use solar energy?

Yes. Our own solar panels generate a large part of the electricity used at the finca. How do you save water? Among other things, we choose plants that need little water and encourage our guests to use water responsibly.

Can I go walking directly from Finca Las Nuevas without using a car?

Yes. You can walk straight from the finca into the surrounding hills. We also provide our guests with information about walking routes in the area.

Do you use pesticides at the finca?

No. We don’t use pesticides or artificial fertilisers on our olive, almond and fruit trees. We don’t use chemical weedkillers either.

Looking for a sustainable, small-scale holiday home in Andalusia?

Would you like to discover Andalusia while staying somewhere peaceful, surrounded by nature? At Finca Las Nuevas in Álora, you can stay in one of our five small-scale holiday homes among the olive and almond trees.

Away from the large holiday resorts, yet centrally located for day trips to places such as Málaga, Caminito del Rey, Ronda and the beautiful countryside of inland Andalusia. Come and enjoy the peace, space and outdoor life of Andalusia.

P.S. We know: staying at home is even more sustainable. But if you are coming to Andalusia anyway, we’ll do our best to make your stay here as conscious as possible.