Torrevieja:

The region boasts sunshine on some 300 days of the year and winter temperatures averaging around 16C.

 

Torrevieja

  

Moors and Christians seen after a local Festival - May, 2007

 

Local social events take place regularly throughout the year and are often spectacular. To see what is taking place in the near future click on the link here. Don't forget to return to this page after doing so.

Torrevieja - one of the beaches

 

Costa Blanca translated is the 'White Coast'. Torrevieja is located some 40 miles south of Alicante, the principal city of the region. The main attraction of the Costa Blanca to the British is naturally the weather with long hot summers and temperate winters. The region boasts sunshine on some 300 days of the year and winter temperatures averaging around 16C.

La Zenia Beach

 

The region is supported by airports at Alicante and Murcia providing access from Britain in around 2-3 hours. Driving time to the Torrevieja area from either airport is about 45 minutes.

 

The major roads in Spain are normally excellent and in a good state of repair. Several modern motorways link major cities. Traffic can be heavy especially in the peak holiday season.
The Costa Blanca has become home to many thousands of British and other Europeans. As a result facilities exist for a high standard of living with nearly all the services one would expect. There are numerous social and sporting activities to be found including several first class golf courses making the outdoor life more attractive to that found in Britain.

 

 


A typical street market

Large supermarkets and hyper-markets are located in the area where first class fresh foods and produce can be obtained. Some branded goods such as cereals and baked beans will be considerably more expensive than in UK but alternatives abound. Local markets are held in many towns and villages offering exceptional value on fruit and vegetables.

 

Expect to pay a similar price for most commodities as found in UK with the exception of cigarettes, petrol and wines & spirits which are considerably cheaper. Public transport is limited so owning a car in Spain is essential.

 

Selling Property in Spain

 

Members who wish to sell their homes in Spain can list property on a web site run by Gerry. All that is required is that you send him full written details and information along with any photographs you would like to accompany an entry on his web site www.costablanca-property4sale.com This service is free to Arpo members only but a donation of €10 to Arpo funds in lieu would be appreciated.

Buying Property in Spain


As in Britain prices of property in Spain vary quite considerably between different areas. In common with prices back home those in Spain have shown considerable increases in recent years but there are still good opportunities within the market.

 

A Newcomers Club operates on a weekly basis in a local hotel. This is designed to give advice on all aspects of moving to and living on the Costa Blanca. Here you can meet others who have recently taken up residence in the area and discuss any problems with those who have experience of living in Spain. Details of venues usually appear in local English newspapers.

 

ARPO is unable to offer any advice to prospective purchasers on this issue but can only recommend that those interested in purchasing houses in Spain undertake thorough research. The following web sites provide some information and guidance which should be helpful.


Statue for the safe return of all fishermen at Los Alcázares

 

 

Rocky headlands and sandy beach near Punta Prima

 

 

English Newspapers


Round Town News is a free newspaper published every Wednesday and available from several locations in the area. RTN includes television listings for the week ahead and activities for several clubs and societies operating locally. The Euro Weekly is a similar free weekly newspaper offering news etc. and television listings.

Coast Rider and Southern Costa Blanca Leader are two further free weekly newspapers published every Tuesday. Each paper contains local and international news of particular interest to British residents.

 

The Costa Blanca News is the major English newspaper and is published each Friday cost €1.50. CBN has massive property, vehicle and private sales advertisements plus a much wider news coverage. Web site at http://www.costablancanews.es

Crime on the Costas    

The newspapers circulating on the Costa Blanca regularly report incidents of crime varying from house burglaries to robberies and theft. This is a sad reality that such crime does exist here in Spain but the general rule is that those who take proper precautions should not be victims.

 

Unfortunately, nobody is immune altogether and there are occasions when you may need to report incidents to the local police. This in turn can be very inconvenient especially if you do not speak Spanish to enable you to report the facts. In such cases you may need to employ the services of an interpreter which can prove costly.

 

To overcome this a form including all necessary relevant information has been prepared showing appropriate entries in Spanish. Click here to select the MS Word or Adobe pdf file and print and use which ever pages are needed. (See the Links page for some local translators)

Traffic Fine Scam. Recent reports suggest thousands of holiday makers are bing duped into paying bogus traffic fines due to a hoax targeting tourists in Spain. On returning home to the UK, travellers have been receiving payment requests of approx, €129 from a Spanish debt company. The acronyms of DRAYES and MCCREE have been used.

 

Another Crime Scam Recently an elderly couple arrived at San Javier airport to start a two week holiday in Algorfa. When they arrived at the airport they collected the keys for the hire car and when they were going to get the car they were approached by a male wearing a hiviz jacket and an official looking ID badge, he asked them if they needed some help to locate their car and they were quite happy with the offer.The male said that he would go to get the car and bring it to them and he took the keys and luggage with him. The next they knew was that the male got into the car with all their luggage and drove off leaving them stranded in the carpark.The car was later recovered minus the luggage which included all the couples cash house keys and passports.


This was reported to the Police and the car hire company,but the couple had to make arangements to get temp documents and cash from the UK.
Not a good way to start your holiday.

Health Care in Torrevieja

 

There are excellent health care facilities in the area including a brand new hospital in Torrevieja which is part of the Spanish National Health scheme. The hospital can be found just off the main N332 road running south from the town near to the Los Balcones Urbanisation. Torrevieja Hospital has some 250 beds and is equipped to deal with most types of operation and illness other that major heart surgery. Visit the official hospital web site for full information although the site is in Spanish. There is a bus route serving the hospital which runs from Horiheula Costa Town Hall from 07.30 daily. The hospital has a large (free) car park.

 

To see what is covered by the Spanish equivalent of the National Health Service click on the link.

 

In addition to the NHS hospital there is also SanJamie Private Hospital again found off the main N332 road running north from the town. You can download an information sheet on this and other hospitals in the area.