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 14 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.
Supermarkeds / grocery stores
Again the selection is big. You will not have to go far to find a good size supermarked / grocery store.
Here are some of the shops in no order of importance:
- Alcampo (located in La Zenia Boulevard).
- Consum (best bread we think)
- Mercadona (nice fresh fish)
- Carrefour (French outfit)
- Lidl
- Aldi
- Iceland/Overseas (lots of UK groceries and other stuff)
Fresh fish is easy to come by in Spain, but fish has become very expensive in 2023.
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.
Here is a list of street markets in our area:
Orihuela Costa
Playa Flamenca, Saturday 8am - 2pm.
Road name - Calle Nicolas de Bussi
Cabo Roig, Thursday 8am - 2pm.
Road name - Calle del Fuego off Calle del Mar
North of Orihuela Costa
Torrevieja Market, Torrevieja town, Friday 7am - 2pm.
Road name - Avenida Cortes Valencianas
This is the biggest in the area with approximately 1200 stalls!!
Torrevieja craft / hippy market, Held daily. Afternoons & evenings.
By the sea front, approximately 100 stalls.
Lemon Tree Market (El Campo De Guardamar), Sunday
Lemon Tree Road (CV-895), close to the far end of the El Raso urbanisation. This is a very big market with lots of different stalls, including some great food stalls. THIS IS WORTH A VISIT.
Guardamar Street Market, Wednesday
Road name - Calle Vincent Ramos and surrounding streets. Near to the bus station.
La Marina, Thursday & Sunday
Road name - Plaza Sierra Castilla
A little Inland of Orihuela Costa
San Miguel de Salinas Market, San Miguel town, Wednesday 7am - 2pm.
Market Street and surrounding streets.
Los Montesinos, Friday 3pm - 8pm.
Road name - Calle de los Santos Médicos, approximately 50 stalls.
Almoradi, Saturday until 1.30pm.
Plaza de la Constitución, approximately 400 stalls.
Benijofar, Tuesday 8am - 2pm.
Road name - Calle Corazón de Jesús, small market with approximately 20 stalls.
El Zoco - Algorfa, Sunday 8am - 2pm.
Exit off AP-7, Junction 745. 300 stalls. See here for more information.
http://www.mercadilloelzoco.es/index.php/en/
South of Orihuela Costa
Pilar de la Horadada, Friday
Road name - Calle Escultor Ribera Girona y La Isla
San Pedro del Pinatar, Monday
Road name - Calle Victor Pradera
Campoverde, Sunday
Plaza Florida
San Javier, Thursday, 9am -2pm.
Road name - Calle Jabalina 22, San Javier, 30730. See here for more information.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/San-Javier-Open-Air-Market/1436918583202521
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.
Restaurants.
There are tons and tons of bars and restaurants everywhere. Spanish tapa's are a favorite of ours, by we are also partial to an Indian meal, Chinese and good old fish and chips (Quesada 2 i Villa Martin being the best) because we lived in the UK for around 10 years.
You can eat relatively cheap or very expensive - it's all up to you. We have enjoyed looking up restaurants off the beaten track, and get "menu de dia" which is a set menu that changes every day. Like everywhere else, if the locals are there eating, it is likely to be good food at a very reasonable price.
Locally we have La Fuente, which has a large number of places to eat and drink, and we do go here occationally. "The stray sod" is an irish pub/restaurant which attracts the most people, and they will screen Premiership Football for those who like that (COYS). We are not, however, a big fan of their late night music entertainment, where quality are debateable and soundlevel not to our taste, but we are "old farts" so don't pay to much attention to that review.
We do miss Eddie's at La Fuente. Eddie closed his restaurant a couple of years ago, which was a real loss to La Fuente. Eddie - if your read this: Come back - your are sorely missed by more people that you would ever dream of. We miss your personality, your Irish charme, and your Sunday dinners especially. Please Eddie !!!!
For more "up marked dining" Villamartin Plaza is definately an option. It is located on Avenida Las Brisas in Villamartin, and from the Las Ramblas entrance it should only take less than a 10 minute drive.
Her you will find a number of "civilized" bars and restaurants, and quite frequently there will be live music in the centre square.
"The Hens teeth" has been nominated by Tripadvisor as Villamartins best place to eat. We haven't tried it yet, but we probably will at some stage.
As mentioned earlier, we love the fish n' chips place in the Plaza. It is tucked away in one corner, but they will serve good old and traditional English fish'nchip at very competitive rates. It's called Quesada 2. We may have to open an account here :-)
2022 update: Quesada 2 has closed. If you want premium fish and chips, you need to go to the original Quesada fish and chips (in Quesada).
For the carnivore with an urge for enourmous stakes from the grill we can recommend a place called "El Gallego". They also serve a large variety of seafood and other goodies, but they are probably most famous for their steaks.
It takes about 20+ minutes to drive from Las Ramblas. Go south to Pilar de la Horadada and find the road named Calle Transformador 1. It's on a corner and the restaurant facade is in dark red plaster. Best bet is to punch in the address on a GPS.
From the outside the place looks kind of boring, but it is well worth a visit.
The restaurant fill up quickly in the evening, so either come early or make a reservation.
Their telephone number is 965 351 442
Restaurants that we enjoy going to:
Spanish food - Gallego in San Pedro del Pinatar:
https://www.tripadvisor.es/Restaurant_Review-g644341-d989453-Reviews-Gallego-San_Pedro_del_Pinatar.html
Here we get "Menu de dia" which is menu of the day for 10 Euro including drinks. Very Spanish we think and frequented by mainly locals. We have yet to get something we didn't like.
Indian food - Rajastan in Villa Martin Plaza:
Indian food like you are used to in the UK. Our friend Mamaud always looks after us and the food is to our liking.
Chineese food - Our local New World at La Fuente is not bad at all https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g7022981-d10397274-Reviews-New_World_Asian_Restaurant-Dehesa_de_Campoamor_Orihuela_Province_of_Alicante_Va.html .
It doesn't look inviting as some other places may do, but their food is tasty.
Thai/chineese food - Yaho at cabo Roig. They serve a combination of Thai and Chineese food https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g1905496-d2372365-Reviews-Yaho-Cabo_Roig_Orihuela_Costa_Costa_Blanca_Province_of_Alicante_Valencian_Countr.html
English - Eddies at La fuente is a must (but this was before Eddie unfortunately had to close). Try their Sunday lunch for just 5 Euro. This is a friendly place with super food and super service and it will not break the bank. Give it a shot !!! https://www.tripadvisor.dk/Restaurant_Review-g3604892-d10597626-Reviews-Eddie_s_Bar_La_Fuente-Orihuela_Province_of_Alicante_Valencian_Country.html . Come back Eddie - please !!!!
Fried chicken - this is sold at most markeds and is a nice quick lunch to take home with you. Our local saturday marked next to La Zenia Boulevard is a favorite. One delicious chicken for 6 Eura or 2 for 10 Euro