If I have to choose between El Puerto de Santa Maria and Sanlucar de Barrameda due to time constraints, which one should I pick?

Kindly advise! Gracias!

I've never been to Sanlucar although I love their Manzanilla. It may depend on your budget. El Puerto has a great Hotel: el Monasterio de San Miguel, the beach is adequate but it's a 'hike' from the center of town, and it has some nightlife. Also: the rail line Sevilla-Cadiz has a stop in el Puerto and there is some Bus service (no bus station - they stop at the Renfe station). I have stayed at the Hotel Santa Maria in el Puerto several times. Last year on this date (Virgen de Carmen - 16 Jul) I watched the Procession on the river from the rooftop of the Hotel Santa Maria (where the swimming pool is).

I like el Puerto because it has a ferryboat that takes you across the bay to Cadiz (people only, no vehicles) and it is well communicated with Cadiz, Jerez and Sevilla.

I also liked El Puerto...my children and I spent 8 days there at Casa Nº6. It was a wonderful place to stay. The wife is from El puerto and is very helpful and her husband is from England. They have two nice kids and the price includes a continental breakfast.

I prefer El Puerto also,and while I'm at it,I would like to ask Sel about info on Casa#6. Is there a web site or brochures that I can get?
Thanks!

http://www.puertodenoche.com/casa6/index.htm

I found the link. I have written about this place previously so you could also do a search on this site. It is very plain from the outside and opens up into a gorgeous hacienda style house with a light and airy interior courtyard.

I stayed there with two of my kids and would return in a minute. We were there in early July so things were still quiet. My daughter spent one day golfing with Allan, the owner and they had a wonderful day. We did the Osbourne bodega tour which my kids are still laughing about. They gave our group 6 bottles to taste at the end of the tour and said if we needed more to let them know. There were only 6 adults on the tour!! My son wants to return for a new shirt because he has outgrown his, but we could not find time this summer to go. Allan and Penny treated us wonderfully and we loved our huge two bedroom area.

The beach north of town is exceptional, we took the little ferry to Cadiz, we took the train to Jerez one day and Sevilla another. It was 42º+ in Sevilla so we were happy to get back to El Puerto where there was a nice breeze. It is well located to visit lots of nearby places.

Thanks Sel.You should have seen El Puerto 45years ago.I was stationed at Rota,and my favorite town was Puerto.The stories I could tell!

Thanks, everyone! Very helpful--keep it up!

Thanks, everyone! Very helpful--keep it up!

We went to Rota to each Chinese food and eat ice cream. It was a fun outing. The town had many Happy 4th of July signs which we found interesting.