Travelers flying into this region will arrive at Jerez Airport (IATA code XRY), 7 miles northeast of Jerez de la Frontera, one of the three principal cities in the Sherry Triangle. If you are arriving at this airport and self-driving, you will pick up your car at the rental car area near Parking Lot 1.

Driving directions to Jerez de la Frontera: Take the N-346 motorway out of the airport and keep left to merge onto the A-4 at exit 628. The exits for Jerez are exits 632 and 635. Exit 632 takes you on the Carretera Madrid-Cadiz to a roundabout, which you can keep straight on as you continue on Avenida Tío Pepe (after a couple of roundabouts and keeping straight, this road becomes Avenida de Andalucía). Exit 635 takes you into town via the Carretera de Lebrija and Avenida de Lebrija.

Driving directions to Sanlúcar de Barrameda: Get on the A-4 motorway as described above, and exit the A-4 at exit 641A. Keep right and join the A-480 motorway. Keep going straight past exit 10, after which the road becomes the CA-624 motorway. Keep going straight for as long as possible, at which time you will see the Glorieta de la Igualidad sculpture. The city sits to the north and northeast and you can access it from the first exit at the roundabout (Calle San Anton).

Driving directions to El Puerto de Santa María: Take the A-4 motorway to exit 649. Keep right and stay straight at all roundabouts as you join the A-491 motorway. Take exit 25, and the Carretera de Sanlúcar will take you into the center of town.

The public transport in this area varies by city. Jerez de la Frontera has a very robust bus system run by Comujesa (www.comujesa.es/autobuses-urbanos, website in Spanish). Buses 1-3 travel into the heart of town, while the circular buses (Buses 8 and 9) stop at every point along the periphery of the city, making it very easy to walk to wherever you want with the help of the bus.

The Cercanías Cádiz commuter rail system links Jerez and El Puerto de Santa María (two stops from one another), but transport connections to Sanlúcar are more difficult. You must get off the train in El Puerto de Santa María, cross the street and walk to the bus station, because from there you will take the M-967 bus (run by CMTBC, www.cmtbc.es) that goes toward Chipiona. You will want to get off at the bus station in Sanlúcar that is opposite the Estadio El Palmar (written down on signs and timetables as "Avda. Pto. Sta. Mª (El Palmar) V"). The most expensive bus trip on this route will cost under €10 round-trip. We recommend this way to visit Sanlúcar because the buses from Jerez require a stopover and a 15-minute walk in Rota which is less convenient.

Jerez operates a number of taxi companies, with the best-known being TeleTaxi Jerez (+34 956 344 860) and the Jerez Airport Taxi (+34 645 329 748). The two main taxi companies in Sanlúcar de Barrameda are Servitaxi Sanlúcar (+34 666 380 000) and Radiotaxi Sanlúcar (+34 956 360 004). El Puerto de Santa María is serviced by Puerto Taxi (+34 956 858 584). There are eight taxi stands scattered across Jerez, with two in El Puerto de Santa María (near the train station and near Valdelagrana). Sanlúcar doesn't have a formal stand as such, but the area near and south of the Plaza de la Victoria is known to have taxis idling or driving through the streets. Taxis will be white (unless they are large, such as minivans, in which case they may be black as well) with a green stripe on the car door or the hood. Note that Jerez Airport taxis have more or less fixed fares, meaning you will pay in the neighborhood of €40 for up to three passengers to get to anywhere you want in either Jerez or El Puerto de Santa María. The fares go up to €60-€70 for one-way trips to Sanlúcar.

It's very easy to do; all you have to do is call ahead and check for availability. Many, but not all, take walk-ins as well.

The Sherry Triangle is home to 53 bodegas, with more than half of that number in Jerez alone. The vast majority of the remainder are located in Sanlúcar, and five bodegas call El Puerto de Santa María home. The beauty about there being so many bodegas (wine cellars) in Jerez is that you don't have to leave town to go to the countryside to enjoy a tour. Many of these bodegas have been storing sherry for centuries, and here you can learn how sherry is made, how it is stored, and yes, you can get a tasting of the sherry varieties on offer at each bodega. These tours typically cost anywhere from €15 to €30 per person, with prices being slightly higher on weekends.

Some of the most popular bodegas in Jerez include Bodegas Fundador (Calle Puerta de Rota, +34 956 151 552), Bodegas Tradicion (Calle Cordobeses 3, +34 956 168 628), and Bodega Tio Pepe (Calle Manuel María González 12, +34 956 357 016), among many others. Hands-down the best bodega in El Puerto de Santa María is the Bodegas Osborne (Calle los Moros 7, +34 956 869 100). In Sanlúcar, call ahead for tour availability at Bodegas Barbadillo (Calle Sevilla 6, +34 956 385 500) and Bodegas Hidalgo "La Gitana" (Calle Banda Playa 42, +34 956 385 304).

All three cities are fairly safe for tourists, but do keep common-sense precautions in mind as you are traveling. Walk with purpose, duck into a café or side street if you need to get your bearings, and make sure you are aware of all of your surroundings. Theft with tourists as the victims is very rare, with the most common stolen item being bicycles, so if you are renting a bicycle from a shop or from a kiosk on the street, make sure you have a bike lock with you and make sure your bike is properly secured.

Before we get into souvenirs other than sherry, let us note that it is very easy to buy sherry you like for consumption at home. Many bodegas will take care of the shipping for you, and all you need to do is fill out a form once you purchase your bottles which will include your shipping information. From there the sales associate at the bodega will calculate the tax, import duties, and shipping costs, and you can pay for all of that at the bodega, with a fairly fast shipping time (typically 5-10 business days from Spain using DHL or a similar international carrier). Did you know that you can also purchase brandy and, on the non-alcoholic end, vinegar for cooking and personal consumption? These can also be purchased and mailed home at the bodegas.

Since Jerez is well-known for its flamenco music and dancing, and also for its dancing horses, you can buy many authentic souvenirs relating to these topics. The Royal School of Equestrian Art is home to a couple of souvenir shops, and ExpoFlamenco (Calle Diego Fernandez Herrera) is THE place to go for all flamenco-related souvenirs. For handmade souvenirs in Sanlúcar, head to Stilo Regalos (Calle Santo Domingo 36), where you can buy precious glassware and figurines (think in the vein of Lladro) which can also be mailed home. For more traditional souvenirs of the magnet-and-keychain variety, visit Lo + Original (Avenida Doctor Fleming). Souvenirs las Milagros (Calle Doctor Muñoz Seca) is a one-stop shop in El Puerto de Santa María which stocks handmade fans, dinnerware, and leather products alongside the typical magnets and keychains.

The currency of Spain is the Euro (€) and U.S. dollars are not accepted for payment. Please be sure to have the correct currency on hand or be prepared to exchange your dollars for euros upon arrival. Currency exchange desks and ATMs can be found at your arrival airport and at many locations throughout the region.

Spanish is of course the official language in the Sherry Triangle as it is the rest of Spain, but these areas also see quite a bit of tourism from the UK and the USA, meaning English should be spoken in many tourist areas, and nearly all tourist areas in Jerez. However, we still suggest you get a good English-Spanish dictionary and familiarize yourself with common phrases such as hello, goodbye, excuse me and numbers 1-10. To ask someone if they speak English, say `¿Habla inglés?`.