El Puerto de Santa Maria is a lively, picturesque town with, at its heart, a bustling market and a range of small shops. The Castle where Christopher Columbus stayed before setting sail for America is just one of a number of historic buildings to be found within the town centre. The Bull Ring is one of the oldest in Spain.
El Puerto is surrounded by 2 natural parks and others within the region include Donana on the Guadalquivir delta.
There are plenty of sports facilities in the area - golf at Vistahermosa and Golf el Puerto plus several other courses nearby; sailing, diving and windsurfing at Puerto Sherry; horse riding; swimming at the beach, pool and Aquapark.
Public transport is very good - bus, train and ferry - so there are endless possibilities to explore the area, in fact a trip across the bay to Cadiz on the Vaporcito is a must! Other places to explore include Jerez, Rota and Arcos de la Frontera. A day out in Seville is also possible as the journey is only just over an hour by train. Car hire is readily available.
The town has several Sherry Bodegas, including Osborne and Terry, which you can visit to learn about the solera system used to produce the wine and brandy and of course sample the finished product!
El Puerto has countless tapas bars and restaurants and naturally the local cuisine centres on fish and shellfish.