Sant Carles or bust

colhel said:
We (Wife and I) could be down that way about Easter'ish time, is it worth a visit for lunch?
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Unfortunately, we will probably be back in the UK during Easter.
We are driving out via Santander for the first week in April and back again for JW's annual lift at the beginning of May for 3 weeks.
The boat will probably only be in the boatyard for a few days so we will be enjoying Sant Carles for the rest of the time.
There is always lots to do with all our friends that we know in SC.
We certainly won't be short of things to do.
 
We'll be in StMalo with the bike on Monday 10th April and catching the Santander back to Pompey on the 22nd. Where go inbetween largely depends on how much distance we can ride per day without it becoming too uncomfortable, but Barcelona and Valencia are on the hit list. Sorry our paths won't cross this time.
 
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colhel said:
We'll be in StMalo with the bike on Monday 10th April and catching the Santander back to Pompey on the 22nd. Where go inbetween largely depends on how much distance we can ride per day without it becoming too uncomfortable, but Barcelona and Valencia are on the hit list. Sorry our paths won't cross this time.
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If you are around SCM between the 13th and 18th we will be around, as I am sure many others will be. If you need some alcoholic / non-alcoholic sustenance let me know nearer the time.
 
Brenny said:
.... I kept my boat for 2 weeks in Sant Carles - the marina facility is excellent but the mosquitos were unbearable. It is a good walk into the town and I found it unattractive and totally lacking in decent bars and restaurants....
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Clearly two weeks was not enough time for you to find the decent local restaurants, there are quite a few. Including the Michelin star one's in Alcanar and Vineros.

I too really do like Denia: You can get good value berths, far more busier than SCM and fine if you like Med mooring, hop over to Ibiza, or around the corner to Moraira. I personally prefer finger berths, to be able to walk down the side of your boat. I must take issue with the length of walk into town though, Denia is twice or thrice that of SCM.....!

I agree that we have mozzies but they are, well as far as we are concerned, easily managed.
 
To add weight to many positive comments regarding SCM we kept boats for 2 plus years in the Golfe de Lyon - Port Leucate and found our boating curtailed on a number of occasions due to high winds.
As we spend most of our time in the South West of France we decided to try SCM which looked like good value for money.
We are currently on third year there and I can honestly say we have had some fantastic boating times, made loads of new friends and thoroughly enjoy the town and it's people.
We will be down there over Easter so more than happy to meet up!
 
SammyB said:
We will be down there over Easter so more than happy to meet up!
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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:
 
I've been re-reading the forum posts and PMs - thanks for all the advice. I've also been trawling through Youtube for video's (Hurricane has some v.good ones :)

Obviously what it right for person x is not always right for person y. Having reflected on the feedback, I think the things that will be important for us are:

#1 - relatively Mozzy free. I have twice been hospitalised for more than a week due to a bad reaction to bites. I cant mess around with this. I've been Spain / Turkey since - and they are not generally THAT bad; but I think for me it will rule out SC

#2. Short transfers. We both work; keeping transfers to a minimum will be important.

#3. Vibe - we spent some time cruising round N. Spain last summer. Tbh - we found the smaller towns and ports a bit quiet. I think we would prefer somewhere more built up.

For these reasons - I think for us the short-short list might be
1. Denia
2. Valencia

There are plenty of video for Denia and Valencia, and plenty of videos for the Costa Brava (which looks amazing)

longjohnsilver said:
And there's also the marina in Altea town, which is where we keep our boat, very convenient for the town and protected from all weather, but not quite the same upmarket feel that Greenwich has, but the prices are much lower. Further up the coast there's also marinas at Calpe, Javea and Moraira. We like Calpe, lots of bars etc, and a beautiful sandy beach.
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The long list might include: Roses / Rosas, Altea Town (Greenwich looks a bit out on a limb imho), Calpe, Javea and Moraira - but I'm struggling to find good video footage of the marinas. I expect I am just being remarkably thick! Can anyone help me out with links to videos of these marinas?

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
 
petem said:
To be fair Mike, I don't think it's misrepresenting things to say that you only really use it as a winter base as you're cruising the rest of the Med in the summer. fortunately you have a boat and the cash that make this possible (partly funded from the cheap berthing in SCM I'd suggest). But "you pays yer money and takes your choice". For those that weigh cost savings higher than other factors it seems like a good solution to me.
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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
 
DazzyWoo said:
I've been re-reading the forum posts and PMs - thanks for all the advice. I've also been trawling through Youtube for video's (Hurricane has some v.good ones :)

Obviously what it right for person x is not always right for person y. Having reflected on the feedback, I think the things that will be important for us are:

#1 - relatively Mozzy free. I have twice been hospitalised for more than a week due to a bad reaction to bites. I cant mess around with this. I've been Spain / Turkey since - and they are not generally THAT bad; but I think for me it will rule out SC

#2. Short transfers. We both work; keeping transfers to a minimum will be important.

#3. Vibe - we spent some time cruising round N. Spain last summer. Tbh - we found the smaller towns and ports a bit quiet. I think we would prefer somewhere more built up.

For these reasons - I think for us the short-short list might be
1. Denia
2. Valencia

There are plenty of video for Denia and Valencia, and plenty of videos for the Costa Brava (which looks amazing)



The long list might include: Roses / Rosas, Altea Town (Greenwich looks a bit out on a limb imho), Calpe, Javea and Moraira - but I'm struggling to find good video footage of the marinas. I expect I am just being remarkably thick! Can anyone help me out with links to videos of these marinas?

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
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I can't speak for the other marinas but certainly in Altea there's 24 hour security in the form of marinieros on duty, although I guess in common with most other Spanish marinas, anyone can wander around without restricted access to the pontoons. However the pontoons in the marina at Calpe does have a coded gate access, and I'm pretty sure the same applies to at least one of the marinas in Denia..

I'll be back down to Altea marina later today, if you'd like me to make a short video to email to you, let me know.
 
DazzyWoo said:
I've been re-reading the forum posts and PMs - thanks for all the advice. I've also been trawling through Youtube for video's (Hurricane has some v.good ones :)

Obviously what it right for person x is not always right for person y. Having reflected on the feedback, I think the things that will be important for us are:

#1 - relatively Mozzy free. I have twice been hospitalised for more than a week due to a bad reaction to bites. I cant mess around with this. I've been Spain / Turkey since - and they are not generally THAT bad; but I think for me it will rule out SC

#2. Short transfers. We both work; keeping transfers to a minimum will be important.

#3. Vibe - we spent some time cruising round N. Spain last summer. Tbh - we found the smaller towns and ports a bit quiet. I think we would prefer somewhere more built up.

For these reasons - I think for us the short-short list might be
1. Denia
2. Valencia

There are plenty of video for Denia and Valencia, and plenty of videos for the Costa Brava (which looks amazing)



The long list might include: Roses / Rosas, Altea Town (Greenwich looks a bit out on a limb imho), Calpe, Javea and Moraira - but I'm struggling to find good video footage of the marinas. I expect I am just being remarkably thick! Can anyone help me out with links to videos of these marinas?

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
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I would definitely add Alicante to this list. Meets all your 3 criteria, esp #2. Additionally has pontoon berths.
 
Valencia is lovely but you'll need bikes because the city is a long way from the marina and since neither Ryanair or EasyJet fly Bristol to Valencia I think you can rule it out.
Denia is also nice but a long way from the airport with terrible public transport links.
If you're ruling out Alicante because you think it's like Benidorm or Torrevieja, trust me, it's not. I've yet to find any restaurant selling ham, egg and chips. No mobility scooters and no pot bellied men with vests and Union Jack shorts.:D
 
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
 
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