Date of publication 06/05/2024
What movie should you watch based on where you’re heading for your next vacation?
Some destinations are meant to be experienced twice: once in person and once on screen. In a way, travel resembles filmmaking. As you move from place to place, you step into different settings, becoming part of new scenes and shaping a story that goes beyond your everyday script. At the same time, cinema has the power to carry you across the world without ever leaving the couch. Through these stories, you slip into other lives, feeling what the characters feel. What better way to spark ideas for your next trip than by getting lost in a film? Start by choosing a movie that connects with your upcoming destination and let it set the tone for your journey. At Iberostar hotels, the story continues long after the credits roll.
Lanzarote: Broken Embraces
Lanzarote served as one of the main backdrops for Broken Embraces (Los abrazos rotos), Pedro Almodóvar’s 2009 film starring Penélope Cruz alongside Ángela Molina, Lluís Homar, and Blanca Portillo. The story was inspired by a photograph the director took in the late 1990s at Playa del Golfo, a striking coastline of red sand and powerful waves beside Charco de los Clicos. In the image, an unknown couple embraces. From that moment came a layered thriller about love, jealousy, and secrets, unfolding across shifting timelines in Almodóvar’s unmistakable style.
Filming also took place in Yaiza, with its vineyards and natural pools, as well as in Timanfaya National Park and on the northern beaches of Caletón Blanco and Famara. One of the most memorable scenes was shot in the Cactus Garden in Guatiza, designed by César Manrique, the same visionary behind Iberostar Selection Lanzarote Park. This five-star hotel in Playa Blanca reflects the island’s volcanic identity and opens onto the sea through three semicircular terraces, offering a perfect base for exploring these cinematic landscapes.
Ibiza: Chaotic Ana
Julio Medem’s Chaotic Ana (2007) is a dreamlike, feminist-leaning story set between Ibiza and Madrid. Ana, played by Manuela Vellés, leaves the island to study art, only to discover, through hypnosis, fragments of past lives that reveal a shared destiny among women who all died at the age of 22. The film opens in Ibiza, where Ana says goodbye to her father in a rocky cove where they live inside a sea cave. The mystical islet of Es Vedrà also appears at sunset.
These locations, along with Ibiza’s lesser-known coves, can be explored during a stay at Iberostar Selection Santa Eulalia Ibiza. This adults-focused hotel sits directly on Playa s’Argamassa, surrounded by pine forests and native vegetation that shelter species such as the Ibizan wall lizard. The area is ideal for hiking and outdoor activities that connect you with the island’s natural energy while encouraging a respectful, sustainable approach to travel. Remember to leave the environment better than you found it: its human and non-human inhabitants will thank you.
Costa de la Luz: 007: Die Another Day
Few scenes are as iconic as Halle Berry emerging from the sea in an orange bikini in Die Another Day (2002), set against Cádiz’s La Caleta beach. Directed by Lee Tamahori and starring Pierce Brosnan as James Bond, the moment pays tribute to Ursula Andress’s unforgettable entrance in Dr. No (1962), a scene that became a symbol of feminine strength.
Cádiz’s coastline, known as the Costa de la Luz, offers the same cinematic beauty even off-screen. In Chiclana de la Frontera, Iberostar Selection Andalucía Playa overlooks La Barrosa beach, celebrated for its environmental quality. The hotel’s Cataria restaurant, awarded a Sol Repsol in 2023, reinterprets traditional seafood grilling with a contemporary approach. Its tasting menu explores the marine ecosystems of the region, including the Bay of Cádiz Natural Park.
Greek Islands: Mamma Mia!
The Mediterranean, carefree spirit of Mamma Mia!, filmed in Skopelos under the direction of Phyllida Lloyd, will follow you on your journey to the Greek Islands, leading you to an equally captivating destination: Crete. This feel-good film, released in 2008, reimagines the stage musical built around ABBA’s songs. Sophie Sheridan, played by Amanda Seyfried, sets out to discover the identity of her father, something her mother, Donna (Meryl Streep), has never revealed. As her wedding approaches, three possible candidates unexpectedly arrive.
At Iberostar Selection Creta Marine, you’ll have access to a private beach, three seawater pools, and four restaurants and bars where you can enjoy the best of Cretan cuisine, along with an Underwater Music Club for dancing to the rhythm of your own romantic comedy. Here, golden sandy coves meet the turquoise waters of the Aegean Sea, while the countryside unfolds with pines, fruit trees, vineyards, and olive groves. Archaeological sites still carry the charm of a time when mythology flourished alongside daily life, and white villages climb the mountainsides, echoing the scenery seen in Mamma Mia!.
Tunisia: Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope
The first installment of the original trilogy, Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, was largely filmed on the island of Djerba in Tunisia. Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) is beginning to discover the Force within him when he is drawn into an unavoidable mission: rescuing Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), leader of the resistance, from the Galactic Empire. Alongside smuggler and space captain Han Solo (Harrison Ford), his co-pilot Chewbacca, and the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO, they take on the emperor’s dark plans and his enigmatic enforcer, Darth Vader. The stolen plans of the Death Star, the Empire’s planet-destroying weapon, keep their hope alive.
This iconic film, directed by George Lucas and released in 1977, features locations that feel truly otherworldly. Some exterior scenes of the Mos Eisley Cantina were filmed at the fishing port of Ajim, while the house where Obi-Wan Kenobi lived in exile can be found on the outskirts of the town. Iberostar Waves Mehari Djerba, set across 80,000 square meters (around 20 acres) of gardens and palm groves overlooking Sidi Akkour Beach, brings you close to the atmosphere of the saga. There’s no need to board the Millennium Falcon to experience adventure across sea and desert, with the added pleasure of unwinding at the spa or enjoying a cocktail by the pool at the end of the day.
Brazil: Rio
Rio, an entertaining choice for a family vacation, is an animated film by Carlos Saldanha that premiered in 2011, produced by Blue Sky Studios and 20th Century Fox Animation. It features the voices of well-known actors such as Anne Hathaway, Jesse Eisenberg, and Jamie Foxx. When Blu, a blue macaw raised in captivity who cannot fly and believes he is the last of his kind, is taken to Rio de Janeiro to meet Jewel, a wild macaw, his world is completely transformed. Together, they set off on a lively journey toward freedom, joined along the way by a cast of eccentric companions.
The blue macaw is considered extinct in the wild, although conservation efforts have helped some individuals survive in protected environments. Other species also face serious threats, such as the red macaw, which is endangered in Mexico. Themes of friendship, love, joy, justice, and empathy toward animals run throughout Rio, set against the vibrant backdrop of Carnival. From the Iberostar Bahía resort in Praia do Forte, families can discover more about local wildlife. This sustainability-focused property includes a sea turtle monitoring station with facilities dedicated to the care and protection of these remarkable animals. Up to five protected species inhabit the beach, where they can be observed responsibly.
Jamaica: The Blue Lagoon
Set in the Victorian era, The Blue Lagoon (1980) tells the story of two young survivors stranded on a deserted island. While the film stirred controversy at the time, its enduring appeal lies in its unforgettable natural settings, including locations in Fiji, the Dominican Republic, and Jamaica.
In Montego Bay, an idyllic bay in northwestern Jamaica, you’ll feel as though you’ve stepped into a great adventure film as you soak up the sun and the beauty of its coastline, surrounded by tropical vegetation and protected by coral reefs. Here, Iberostar Waves Rose Hall Beach, a family-friendly hotel within an all-inclusive resort, invites you to lose yourself among pristine beaches, jungles, caves, lakes, and waterfalls. Put the compass away, or switch your phone to airplane mode, and get ready for an expedition. After all, if these cinematic destinations have one thing in common, it is their ability to lead you off course and into a world map filled with excitement.
