Urbanizacion
Las Ramblas
Our development
Urbanizacion Las Ramblas is a development that has been created in stages. We are now in the middle of the community - close to the golf clubhouse.
Our new house is now 11 years old and for a few years there was no expansion of the urbanizacion. Now however - some new houses are developed towards the southern end, and this is were we are now. This development is a different style to all other houses and appartments in the area - all very "boxy" with lots of glass and a destinct high tech look, but we now have a minimum of insulation in the construction which we hope to benifit from during the winter month.
From our place we have an 18 minute brisk walk to a popular area, housing a number of restaurants and bars. Same distance to an Aldi supermarked.
Getting there.
From our place in Denmark you can drive there. 2720KM which will take 26 hours if driving non-stop.
There are 2 airports within easy reach. One is in Alicante - a 50 minute drive away. 2 roads lead to our place. One is a toll road - AP7, and one is the coastal road - N-332. They both take exactly the same time to drive so don't bother with the toll road unless for some reason the coastal road is jammed with traffic and you need to catch a flight. There are several airlines that serves Alicante from Copenhagen. Most popular and low cost airlines are Vueling (Iberia's low cost section) and Norwegian.
The other airport is in Murcia - also about a 50 minute drive away. No connection from here to Copenhagen, but Easy Jet connects from London Gatwick, and Ryanair from London Gatwick.
Flight time from Copenhagen is 3 hours and 15 minutes. From London it takes around 1 hour and 45 minutes.
Getting around.
Easiest way is by car, and there are multiple car hire companies in the airports. Google the airport plus carhire and see what pops up.
During the winter months, early spring and late autumn the hire prices are lower - sometimes very low. The closer you get to the summer holiday season the more expensive it gets. Juli, August and part of September is definately not cheap. Do be aware of the "tricks" the car hire companies try to play on you (and some of them can't be avoided) like fuel charges and extra insurance charges. More than often the extra charges amounts to more than the actual car hire, so be on guard.
Within walking distance is the very popular bar and restaurant area La Fuente. It takes around 20 minutes easy walking along the canal to get there.
Closest shopping is also by La Fuente. 2 proper supermarkeds are located here. An Aldi and a Mercadona
The nearest beaches is 3,9KM away. There are normally OK car parking possibilities right by the beaches. For the young and fit persons, it will take you around 15 minutes on a pushbike.
Spain is devided into regions - each with their own local government. We belong to Alicante on the East coast, but we are very close indeed to the Murcia region.
Golf courses everywhere
We are very close to 6 different golf courses
At this time we are unable to comment on anything relating to the golf courses in the area. We have stayed only once in our new place, and we have been too busy trying to familiarize ourselves with our accommodation.
From our place we can see directly onto Real Club de Golf Campoamor Resort. In connection with the golf course is a large hotel, and there are also quality football grounds etc in connection with the golf club facilities. We know for a fact that this is a favorite spot for National football teams and top European football clubs to visit and set up training camps.
Urbanizacion Las Ramblas has a golf course of its own.
Golf Las Ramblas de Campoamor is the club that belongs to "our" area. Lots og fairways are narrow and withlots of trees lining the fairways.
It has a club house with a restaurant and a bar, and we understand that the club house facilities are frequently used for private parties and functions.
There is a driving range and a putting green immediately adjacent to the club house.
Los Ramblas Golf Course has unfortunatly upped their prices in 2023. It has become very expensive, which we do find unnessary, but look around for cheaper options on line.
Golf Las Ramblas de Campoamor
Here is a list of the golf courses closest to where we are:
Las Ramblas (expensive)
Real Club de Golf de Compoamor (cheaper than Las Ramblas)
Villamartin (cheaper than Las Ramblas)
Los Colinas ( very expensive - speak to your bankmanager before playing and having a 19th hole drink)
La Finga (cheaper than Las Ramblas)
Lo Romero (cheaper than Las Ramblas)
Shop til you drop
For some unknown (to us) reason, the area that we have chosen is spoiled for choice when it comes to shopping. Spains elegedly largest shopping center/mall is only about 3Km away. It's called La Zenia Boulevard and is a mainly outdoor place.
It has more shops that you can shake a stick at, and although a large number of them do not sell things that we need in general, there are several that are quite usefull.
Alcampo is a very big supermarked that sells groceries, electronics, clothes, leisure gear and so on.
Media Markt is a German chain of shops that sells electronics, appliences, phones, cameras, computers etc.
Decathlon sells all kinds of sporting goods.
Leroy Merlin is a D.I.Y shop selling tools, paint, electrical goods, gardening equipment, and general home improvement stuff. There are 2 more large D.I.Y and builders merchants in the area
The shopping center has an enourmous covered parking area under all the shops. It is so big that we keep loosing our car and still can't find the exits easily.
Ikea is in Murcia.
Jysk (a Danish bedding company) is slighty North of La Zenia
La Zenia Boulevard. Eledgely the biggest shopping mall in Spain. 7 minutes down the road from our place.
Markeds
Immediately North of La Zenia Boulevard is Playa Flamenca, and they have a local market here on Saturdays. For as long as you can see, and a bit longer, are stalls with mainly clothes and stuff you never realized that you needed until you visited. However, you can also find locally produced fruit and vegs at tourist prices, roasted chicken and bread. If you need a replica football shirt/shorts for the grandkids, this is a fine place to buy this. Don't forget to haggle. The phrase "Es demasiado caro" or just "caro" would be understod and it may lead to a pricereduction if said with a smile.
Just south of La Zenia is Cabo Roig. They have a local market very close to the beach on Thursdays. The stalls are very similar to what's on the Saturday market, and for all we know they could be the same. look for a road called Fuego and Calas de Aguamarina.
In the area there are noumerous "China shops" that sells all the stuff you never knew you needed. They are cheap but the quality is not always the best. Worth a visit.
The Beaches
It takes only around 10 minutes to drive to the beaches, and parking seems reasonably easy. We are sure that if you go in the middle of the Spanish holidays you may have to walk for a minute of 2, but it looks promissing even when we were there in September which is the busy season.
There are muliple beaches along the coast. We can not say which one is the best for you - they all have different appeal, depending on what you are looking for.
What we can say is that there is a coastal walkway that will take you through 4 or 5 beaches, and have walked this a couple of times already. The walk starts in La Zenia and finishes in Cabo Roig.
If we don't like getting sand in their shoes we can use the swimmingpool located immediately in front of our house.
The pool can be used by only a relatively few people, and that means that it is never crowded. It is being maintained by a service company which should ensure that it is ready to use at all times.
We are getting old and we don't enjoy cold water any more. For that reason it took until mid to late June until we hit the pool and the sea. In September it is nice and warm enough for just about all ages, and we have to say that October is our favorite month of the year to visit. Here the temperature is not boiling hot, but both the pool and the sea is very plesant.