Med Mooring. Again !!

Steruth1

Steruth1

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Ok, I have been looking at the marinas in Spain to moor my prestige next year, a lot has been said about SCM which sounds great, but looking around there is one nearer Barcelona called port forum, has anyone been here or has any info on it.

Thanks:o
 
Why do you want to be near Barcelona? Lovely city but really poor cruising ground. SCM is very popular with a bunch of lovely Brits and close (relatively) to the Balearics. We prefer the north in Empuriabrava which is a few minutes from the fabulous cruising grounds of Cap de Creus (kind of where the Pyrenees dips into the sea)
If you want the city location then Port Vell is the answer, Port Olympic too noisy. Port Forum ok but bleak. Have a look at Badalona, cheaper and good train connection to the city.
Best of luck
 
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Hi David.


I have no firm places to base myself at present, I have been looking at SCm but port forum was closer to the airport. I don't know the areas well at all so thanks for the info regarding the cruising is not so good further north around Barcelona.
Are there any marinas near Alicante for example, as this again would be easier to commute for long weekends?

Majorca looks great so have looked at cal'dor also.

thanks
 
DavidJ said:
Why do you want to be near Barcelona? Lovely city but really poor cruising ground.
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Agree with that. We were in Port Vell in Barcelona for a few days some years ago and there is nowhere in terms of sheltered anchorages or attractive harbours in either direction for miles. IIRC its about 30-40nm before you get to a more scenic coastline at the start of the Costa Brava. I'm not sure I'd want to leave a boat unattended for long periods anywhere near a big city like Barcelona anyway for security reasons
 
Try Denia, got a great deal for 15 meter motor boat for around 4500 Euros.
Its easy to Alicante and just 50 miles to Ibiza PM if you want.
 
I've not heard of port forum? There is Port Aventura? Never been there anyway, but several other marinas between BCN and SCM.
Yes the trip from Barcelona to SCM is a pain, it's at least 2 hours by train or car. Which means when I travel to SCM it takes 5-6 hours from Gatwick to the marina with waiting times etc. you can spend an hour getting your hire car even if you have pre-booked? Spainish are never fast!
There is always Barcelona marina? But I think you will find SCM is competitively priced?
 
There are loads of marinas near Alicante, Alicante harbour has two marinas. Alicante harbour is 15 mins by taxi from the airport.
Going North Campomanes, Villa Joyoisa, Altea-has a pool, Calpe, Moraira, Javea, Denia. For some reason I can't understand there isn't a marina in Benidorm.
Going South, Santa Pola, Guardamar (Marina Las Dunas), Torrevieja has three main marinas, (International Marina- can use hotel pool in marina, Club Real, Marina Salinas-has a pool), Cabo Roig, Pilar de Horodada, Thomas Maestre, Lo Pagan, San Javier, Los Alcazares
contact these guys for prices etc
www.navicularia.com - not related just happy with the service
 
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Truro Ex Pat said:
Try Denia, got a great deal for 15 meter motor boat for around 4500 Euros.
Its easy to Alicante and just 50 miles to Ibiza PM if you want.
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Yes but its not easy to Alicante as we found when we had a season there in 2004. Its the best part of 1.5hrs drive from Denia marina to Alicante airport and because the journey is that long, a taxi was too expensive and we always rented a car which added another layer of hassle. Another characteristic of Denia is that it seems to have its own microclimate in that it was often windier there than anywhere else. We used to cruise to Ibiza regularly and often left Ibiza in a flat calm to arrive in Denia in half a gale. But the marina itself was very nice and there was a super steak restaurant in town as well. We left Denia in October 2004 to cruise around Majorca for a few days and never went back as by chance we moored in Club de Mar in Palma and they offered us a permanent mooring

Yes there are relatively cheap marinas like Denia dotted all along the Costa Blanca but if you're going to spend most of that saved money cruising to the Balearics several times a year, you might as well be in the Balearics permanently which is the conclusion we came to. Yes the marinas are more expensive but the Balearics as a cruising area is probably the best in the W Med IMHO and flying to/from Palma is so easy
 
So if Denia is 1.5hrs from Alicante, SCm is about the same from Barcelona which is the best marina?

What is Alicante marina like in comparison to both of these?

Thanks for all the info thus far
 
Steruth1 said:
So if Denia is 1.5hrs from Alicante, SCm is about the same from Barcelona which is the best marina?

What is Alicante marina like in comparison to both of these?

Thanks for all the info thus far
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no it's two hours on the motorways 25euros and 2.4 hours on the scenic route which is free!
two hours on the train but you have to wait for it! There is no station in SC so you need a cab (25e) from Aldea Station.
 
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Alicante is a big city, Marina is large and modern with all the usuals. lots of places to visit by boat, sheltered bays etc easy to find. loads of flights all year. If you have teenagers etc lots for them to do. Or if you want history and culture you can do that too. Wide variety of nationalities around. easy taxi ride so you won't need a car
Denia is a lovely marina and town,but the prevailing winds on this coast come from the NE so it tends to get it. Go a bit further south to javea and further down and a lot of the bays are more sheltered. need a car or long bus ride to get there
Barcelona lovely city, big marinas but quite a way from anywhere else by boat. loads of flights all year as a popular destination. Great night life but marina can get noisy until late. Airport a taxi ride or car
San Carles - long way from airports (in comparison to Alicante or Barcelona) and fewer flights.
try looking at google earth to get a feel for the different places.
 
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Hi Steruth1
This is an interesting thread for me as I am currently going through the very same process and trying to get my head around all the options. Im flying out to Mallorca for a couple of days next week to have a look at (at the very least), the Palma marinas and also Cala d'Or.
Im then flying into Barcelona to spend two days on the mainland, heading principally for Sant Carles. I will probably also look at Denia.
Although mindful of 'information overload' if any of the Med experts have any useful pointers for my week of exploration, please do let me know. Are there any 'must-see' marinas in mainland Spain or in the South or East of Mallorca that I may otherwise miss?
Thanks
Rick
 
There are two main determinants ( for me anyway). Price and distance from the airport.

Bear in mind that a marina is a car park for boats. Speaking personally I don't really spend that much time in my home marina, so whilst I would not seek out a dive, equally it is not somewhere I am going to spend huge amounts of time or I would simply buy a house!

Mallorca - is is all basically nice. I am in Cala Dor as this suits me from a Boats.co.uk support perspective as the boat is under warranty. I prefer Palma. Cost wise there are a few expensive marinas on the island - Cala Dor, Portals and Adriano. They are all roughly the same but the pecking order price wise is Adriano ( most ) Portals, Cala Dor. The rest are a relatively similar give or take ( read 40% cheaper).

I rented my first berth in Palma for a year unseen.

Advice. Pick a spot, take a berth, don't like it then just move on. At this time of year you will find berths in ready supply until about May.

I have never been to SCM, but reports are is it astoundingly cheap and has a decent community. Again, don't like it move .... which is the whole point of a boat as opposed to a house!

As above Palma gets my vote, reasonable prices, close to the airport and life all year round.

In any of these places you get sun and warm sea which is about 90% of the objective.
 
I think the previous post is spot on.
Price for me was main factor as do not spend that much time on the boat so why pay large amount of cash for a few days as when we get there we want to go exploring.
Distance to airport can be an issue if you are going to do frequently.
We tried all options Cal D Or was good in the season July August but was very quite even in May.
Very expensive so went to mainland for cheaper option and then just commute to the islands, it really does not matter where you chose as you can keep moving on.
 
Hi Rick,

That sounds a great few days, I would be great full of your findings once you have been to them all, I think cala d'or and scm were my 2 favourites.
 
CLOUD9 said:
Hi Steruth1
This is an interesting thread for me as I am currently going through the very same process and trying to get my head around all the options. Im flying out to Mallorca for a couple of days next week to have a look at (at the very least), the Palma marinas and also Cala d'Or.
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Its a few years since I left Palma but as far as I remember there are 3 main marinas in Palma itself which you could consider, Club de Mar, Marina Port de Majorca and Real Club Nautico. One issue in Palma is swell coming from all the commercial and leisure vessels moving in the harbour and Marina Port de Majorca suffers the most from that so for that reason alone I would knock it off your list. We spent 5 seasons in Club de Mar and it is what you'd call a full service marina ie good security, shops/bars/maintenance on site plus a swimming pool and clubhouse. The only downside is that it is a bit of a hike from Palma Old Town where you'll probably end up going in the evenings but you can always get a taxi. Club Nautico had a bit more of a run down feel when we were in Palma and fewer facilities but it is much closer to the Old Town. All the Palma marinas are a 10-15min taxi ride from the airport which makes them very convenient for short visits

You didn't mention SW Majorca but you could take a look at Santa Ponsa and Andraitx. Both were pretty full when we were in Majorca but I understand they are less crowded now. I'm not a fan of Portals (too much bling and too many orange coloured Germans) or Adriano (too much concrete)
 
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