Sant Carles or bust

Last time we went to Spain we stayed in the Hotel Ramblas, Avenida Rambla Méndez Núñez, 9, 03002 Alacant, Spain. This was right on the ramblas that ran down to the marina. Parking is not on site but they tell you where to go. Right in the middle of what is going on.
 
Latest plan for a first reconnaissance trip...

Fly from Bristol to Alicante on Thursday 11th May. We'll arrive 11:20; and just find somewhere near the airport to crash.

Friday we'll hire a car - and take a road trip to Denia taking in Altea, Calp, Moraira, Xabia on the way. Friday night we will spend in Denia.

Saturday - we'll wing it a bit.. depending which of Denia, Altea, Calp Moraira we want to see more of; before heading back to Alicante for Saturday night.

Sunday - its my wife's birthday; and will have a day spoiling her in Alicante.. then fly back to Bristol on Monday.

Anywhere to add? Anywhere to skip? Any recommended hotels / restaurants?

Thanks
Daz

Excellent food and atmosphere (9pm onwards) close to marina http://www.elportaltaberna.com/

and a few hundred metres away this hotel is v good (but don't bother with there restaurant) http://www.hospes.com/es/alicante-amerigo/

one thing to note with Alicante marina is whilst it definitely ticks your vibe requirement, in the summer motnhs that could be a slight problem if your berth is too close to the restaurants bars and you want to be asleep at midnight !
 
Latest plan for a first reconnaissance trip...

Fly from Bristol to Alicante on Thursday 11th May. We'll arrive 11:20; and just find somewhere near the airport to crash.

Friday we'll hire a car - and take a road trip to Denia taking in Altea, Calp, Moraira, Xabia on the way. Friday night we will spend in Denia.

Saturday - we'll wing it a bit.. depending which of Denia, Altea, Calp Moraira we want to see more of; before heading back to Alicante for Saturday night.

Sunday - its my wife's birthday; and will have a day spoiling her in Alicante.. then fly back to Bristol on Monday.

Anywhere to add? Anywhere to skip? Any recommended hotels / restaurants?

Thanks
Daz

When in Altea there's plenty of parking by the entrance to the marina. I'd also recommend having lunch in Sabor which is directly opposite the marina entrance. It's €17 for the 3 course menu del dia, and the best we've had in Spain!��
 
Next DAQ... Security. It appears as though pretty much anyone an walk up to the boats in Denia and Valencia. Is this correct; or access to the marina via some sort of secure entrance?

Thanks once again
Daz

I can answer that one for Denia. The marina at Denia has free public access to the sales and eating areas, but has locked access gates at each pontoon with fob access. You can however walk up to a few of the very largest yachts that are too big for the pontoons and are obliged to moor against the main landside.

As for public transport access from the airports: I know about Valencia. Denia is a 10 Euro bus ride from Valencia, or you can train to Gandia then taxi. Car hire at Valencia airport is so cheap and easy I'd suggest you do that.
 
Just to add my bit to this I have spent the last 10 years in these Marina's we used Valencia for 2 seasons just parking the boat in winter and heading to Mallorca etc east summer, Valencia is cheap and never had a problem with theft as security is good as its a city, what you find is that City marinas are guarded as their is more potential problems with them. We found Valencia limited as its a long walk to any kind of bar or restaurant but if its parking in winter then its fine.

Alicante, did 2 seasons here as well, link to airport is a bus ride or 20 euros in a Taxi in 15 mins, guarded and car parking and good city with options on the doorstep. Cost wise is more expensive than the other 2.

Denia have spent 4 years there now and been in El Portet and Marina De Denia.
Managed to get a deal and price wise its in between the 2 and has by fair the better selection of restaurants and is close to Javea which has even more on offer as well, its also closer to Mallorca Etc and has more Uk owners if thats your thing.
Their is a direct bus to Benidorm and another bus direct to Denia and a rail option as well. Its just over an hour by car from either Alicante or Valencia Airports.

I have a house close to Altea and would say its quite basic but again is closer to airport and also have a large number of superb restaurants and its a cheaper area for food and drinks. Cot wise slightly more than Denia and slightly further away from Mallorca etc so for me either Altea or Denia would be really good choices.

The others in the area we found to be much more expensive like Javea and Calpe.
 
I think this seems like a great strategy. (Mike your boat looks amazing btw). But I think you have more time on your hands than we do, and you have a boat much more equiped for prolonged stays than we are likely to be able to afford. We currently visit the boat pretty much every week between April and October.

We're lucky - we both get loads of holiday, and can usually work at home on a Friday and/ or Monday - which helps. But overall we will be making lots of shorter trips, with a maybe a 2 week break + a 1 week break. I think for us transfers and a larger town might be a better option. Having said that - I havent completely ruled out SC - as it is almost impossible to get feel for these things just by reading forums and looking at videos.

thanks
Daz

Ok
Taken all your pointts.
Good luck with your search - I mean that sincerely.
But I suggest that you keel SC up your sleeve.
It is a great place and the mozziies can be controllable.
When our kids were little, we used to holiday between Valencia and SC - there are mozzies all along the coast.
IMO, SC has an unfair reputation for mozzies - it is not that much worse than other places.
Marina fouling is a more significant problem IMO
 
We've amended our Ferry booking to leave on Friday the 7th rather than the 9th as it felt like we were trying to squeeze in too much. Depending on how we get on we may well have to seek out some accommodation as past experience has shown that meeting up with fellow forumites can get, well, a bit messy :cool:

Just checked our return ferry is on the 10th April so pop in if you are out there and we will open a bottle of that Spanish Cava.
We are berthed next to SammyB.
 
In Empuriabrava at the moment, absolutely lovely weather hitting 23 degrees today with a nice breeze (we do breezes well up here!)
Lovely to see snow still up on the mountains.
Fitting new turbos tomorrow then hopefully taking the boat out.
Hope your trip goes well Dazzy.
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Regarding our bike trip where San Carlos was on the itinerary, we arrived in Valencia yesterday afternoon from Pamplona and tomorrow we're going to continue West to Portugal where we can just hang out for a few days before heading North to catch the Santander ferry back to Pompey on weekend after next.
A big Thank You to Andy Bav for offering us hospitality and advice on the local area.

Colin
 
A couple of weeks ago we spent a touring the coast between Alicante /Dernia. Brief thoughts below.

Flights:
– dirt cheap & in theory convenient (Bristol to Alicante)
– flights were full of stag/ hen parties
– Ryan Air seem to go out of their way to ensure passengers are treated like cattle
– There was no food available on the plane (in either direction due to one cock up or another)
– On the way out we were delayed on the tarmac for over 2 hours on the way out. – which meant we didn’t arrive at hotel til after midnight; which was too late to get food.

Car Hire
– Hired a Fiat 500 – cheap and fun
– 3 couples in queueing when we arrived at midnight – this took about 15 mins (fk how, as we were processed in a about 3 mins). I did notice on departure (c8pm) that the queues were more like 20 couples deep – so this would take an hour.
– Roads / driving – good roads, good drivers – piece of cake.

The area
- We loved the area. Great food, great people, great climate.

The marina’s
- We preferred the larger towns. It felt like there would be enough going on to keep you entertained all year round or when the weather was bad.
- Our top 3 (in order) were: Dernia, Calpe, Alicante
- Alicante is the best town – but the marina seems enormous and a bit impersonal

Conclusions
- fantastic area;
- too much hassle for us to do on a long weekend basis
- somewhere we would explore when we reach a semi-retirement state.

In other news; a good friend of mine might be wintering in Sante Carles (he’s just about to cross back across the Atlantic). He has a 49ft Oyster. PM me if anyone is looking to sell a winter berth.
DW
 
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