Wintering 2015/2016 Spain recommendations

[hoges in wa]

Hi all. It's that time of the year again when we plan where we think we might go. As usual, we don't know for sure but we do like to have an endpoint in mind.

We are on our way out of the Med and are currently in Licata. We are thinking of somewhere like Almerimar and have asked for a quote from them.

Are there other wintering holes we don't know about that are worth considering? We want calm waters i.e. wind is unavoidable but swell in a marina is a no-no (e.g. Santa Maria de Leuca). Close to or in town (like here in Licata, or Finike, or Monastir etc). Good showers etc.

Recommendations gratefully received and will be researched.

Hoges

 

[Trident]

Cartagena - warm, dry, great town right on the doorstep - as in a real Spanish city with flavour and character as well as every shop you could ever need - great marina staff, very protected marina, very good rates, on the outer berths for the very large yachts there is a little rock n roll but inside the main part of the marina the only movement is from the occasional turning ship outside and lasts only seconds. There's loads going on over winter - festivals, carnivals, tapas events, medieval markets, good social scene among the live aboards if you want it and all the staff at Yacht Port Cartagena speak good English and are incredibly helpful. Honestly we fell in love with the place and would whole heartedly recommend it.

 

[Tranona]

If you are not living aboard consider San Carles. Small very Spanish town but no bright lights. Very sheltered English run marina with excellent facilities. Usually private berths available to rent. PM me if interested.

 

[ribrage]

If you are not living aboard consider San Carles. Small very Spanish town but no bright lights. Very sheltered English run marina with excellent facilities. Usually private berths available to rent. PM me if interested.

Hardly English run - the share holders may be English, but its run by the locals.

 

[ribrage]

Cartagena - warm, dry, great town right on the doorstep - as in a real Spanish city with flavour and character as well as every shop you could ever need - great marina staff, very protected marina, very good rates, on the outer berths for the very large yachts there is a little rock n roll but inside the main part of the marina the only movement is from the occasional turning ship outside and lasts only seconds. There's loads going on over winter - festivals, carnivals, tapas events, medieval markets, good social scene among the live aboards if you want it and all the staff at Yacht Port Cartagena speak good English and are incredibly helpful. Honestly we fell in love with the place and would whole heartedly recommend it.

Cartagena is a nice place and wasn't overly expensive , Almerimar was cheaper but bugger all to do there.

 

[JFowler]

+1.
We spent a very happy winter in Cartagena having first visited Almerimar and decided it definitely wasn't for us!

 

[RAI]

I would head out of the Med, if you are going that way. Starting at La Linea/Gibraltar and marinas west until Lagos.

 

[Monique]

Brand new marina apparently with discounted prices.

Burrianova Marina

 

[beebok]

scmchat.com will help find a berth in Sant Carles

 

[Tengy]

Sant Carles is a superb marina, both facilities and the way it is kept, thanks to the super efficient and ever so helpful staff.

However, if you want to liveaboard in the winter it is not the place to be...

The great Spring/Summer social life amongst yachties dies a death in November and only comes back to life in April. There is hardly anyone around in the marina itself over winter months (although the Catalan town stays alive). In addition to that the regular strong winds put a lot of people off overwintering here.

However, agree with the others, if it's somewhere you want to leave the boat, it's great. The staff keep an eye on all the boats, the security is good and there is never any swell, even in strong winds...

 

[hoges in wa]

Thanks for all the suggestions. We live aboard except for about 8 weeks when we go home to visit. We do not have a car so bolt holes too far from town are not suitable for us. It's looking like Cartagena could be it. In the process of getting prices from a lady there. Looks to be only a few hundred Euros more than Almerimar, spread over 7 months, but I don't know what VAT rate is applied and I don't know what this Buoys and Lighthouses tax is. Still, can't be prohibitive or the place would be empty, wouldn't it?
Will report back on final decision.
Thanks again. Hoges

 

[jimbaerselman]

You'll find possibilities for wintering described on http://www.jimbsail.info/mediterranean/west-med/south-med-spain

Almeria has sun
Cartagena has fun

Links to marina websites are provided so you can read more . . .

To find out about regulations which may affect you when spending a lot of time in another country, check out the "Going Foreign" tab.

 

[Trident]

VAT in Spain in 21% and any light dues if collected are already in the marina fees

You also get a 5% discount in Cartagena if you're a CA member - which more than saves the cost of joining

Rates are all on the Yacht Port Cartagena website too - www.yachtportcartagena.com - all in English

 

[duncan99210]

Be aware that in Almerimar the headline rate per day is cheap but when you add in water and electricity (charged per day no matter how much or how little you use) you can suddenly find that elsewhere is actually cheaper. If you then factor in public transport availability, Cartegena is a much better bet.
We spent a winter in San Carles. It doesn't have the live aboard community that some other places have but we found it not too bad, especially in the slightly cheaper berths on the town side of the marina. Good marina, very helpful staff, nice town. Downside is the wind...... 80 knots at one point, but they're nearly always from the north/north west, so coming off the land. It's also a bit of a pain getting anywhere from the marina; it needs planning ahead to catch a bus to the station and then the train to wherever: by no means impossible, just long winded.
You can get some good deals on car hire at the airports during the winter - €100 - 150 a month when we were there.

 

[JVL]

I'll through my hat in with Agudulce, liken it to a village near a city you would not be far wrong. Safe harbour no swell problems good self working yard and always had in the the past good liveaboard community. Quick jaunt up the coast to Almeria incorporating major shopping and airport. Email or ring Jessica in the Torre d control (speaks excellent English )

 

[Tradewinds]

I'll through my hat in with Agudulce, liken it to a village near a city you would not be far wrong. Safe harbour no swell problems good self working yard and always had in the the past good liveaboard community. Quick jaunt up the coast to Almeria incorporating major shopping and airport. Email or ring Jessica in the Torre d control (speaks excellent English )

I know it was a while ago but we had a lovely winter in Aguadulce back in 98-99. Loads of liveaboards back then - Almeria is/was a proper Spanish town rather than a Brit enclave.

Cartagena was good too but never over-wintered there.

 

[Sea Devil]

Cartagena is a nice place and wasn't overly expensive , Almerimar was cheaper but bugger all to do there.

just depends on your purse - Almerima is the cheapest in Western Med by quite a long way and very well protected. Good community spirit amongst liveaboards and wintering boats.
Cartagena is a super place but the wind can blow into the port area and it is more expensive.
Gibraltar - particularly Queensway Quay is very well protected and a really good place to winter but probably a bit more expensive but the town is English speaking with lots to see and do.
La Linea is OK - fairly well protected and a little cheaper than Gib depending a bit on the LOA of the boat.... Not much there and a bit of a walk into the town which is 'coming up' but still not 100% safe late at night but Gib is 10 minutes walk away.

 

[blampied]

Thank you Hoges for creating this thread.

We are also thinking about where to over winter, Spain Cartagena being a favourite.
Just how far ahead do we need to start trying to book somewhere?
Do we need to turn up in person to book or is Phone or Email a possibility.
What is a ball park figure for overwintering a 9.95m live aboard boat?

This winter we didn't stay on the boat (too cold south of France) so paid 230 euro per month to have boat stored out of the water at La Grande Motte and went home, how would this likely compare to staying live aboard with the boat in Catagena?

We are a 9.95m motor boat (please don't discriminate against us for not sailing, I'm not fit enough for sails, please think of our slow single engined Aquastar as a sail boat without a mast)

We left Jersey the beginning of last year and travelled down through the French inland waterways, now in the French part of the Med, so far been as Far East as Cassis and as far West as Sete. Boat gets relaunched tomorrow in La Grande Motte. We're still learning newbies. It's our first time away from the English Channel

This year we want to travel slowly south into Spain.
Best regards
Paul

 

[Trident]

You can email Cartagena to book or just turn up when winter comes - many here this winter did so and there is plenty of room

We pay around £200 a month for boat in their 8-10.5m price band including a 5% Cruising Association discount

Also, with regard to travel around the area - the regional airports like Murcia are slow over winter so the car hire companies there do silly deal -€63 a month (under £50) for a car over winter

 

[saab96]

Try Portugal

Hi all. It's that time of the year again when we plan where we think we might go. As usual, we don't know for sure but we do like to have an endpoint in mind.

We are on our way out of the Med and are currently in Licata. We are thinking of somewhere like Almerimar and have asked for a quote from them.

Are there other wintering holes we don't know about that are worth considering? We want calm waters i.e. wind is unavoidable but swell in a marina is a no-no (e.g. Santa Maria de Leuca). Close to or in town (like here in Licata, or Finike, or Monastir etc). Good showers etc.

Recommendations gratefully received and will be researched.

Hoges

Portugal is the undiscovered Spain. Even the Algarve beats Spain. Try Lagos and work east from there