We visited on a boat trip from Sanluca de Barameda, (I think this now means that all the main routes into the park are covered in reviews here) it was an enjoyable trip that gave a good over view of the importance of the park. It landed once in the National Park (WHS) for an hour tour and it landed once in the Natural Park (WHS buffer zone) for a spot of bird watching.

Like I said I enjoyed the day out but I could only really guess at the importance of the site. From the various hides in the national park we only managed to see one horse and a deer from a great distance. I guess that this is what is normal for visiting wildlife destinations, being brought up on David Attenborough documentaries you sometimes get spoilt and assume you will see the main attractions every time. In the natural park we managed to see quite a variety of birds: Herons, Spoonbills and Flamingos. This was nice although ornithology would not be one of my big passions so I perhaps didn’t get the most out of it.

The boat trip lasted about 3.5 hours and cost €17 (2008), it runs from the Donana Visitors centre in Sanluca which has some interesting exhibits on the park as well as some on the local sea faring traditions, Columbus and Magellan both set sail from here. Sanluca is also famous for its seafood and Manzanilla wine, though the town itself was nothing particularly special.

This was an enjoyable trip, mostly for the boat journey along the river. I am sure that the National Park is of great significance and is a key spot for many animals especially birds.