Denia or Javea

Hi

Originally, we searched in the Mar Menor area but have decided it is not for us.  We now plan to drive out (we can take two or three weeks) and have a look at the Denia and Javea area.

Can anyone give us any positives and/or negatives about the area?

All advice gratefully received, and thanks in advance.

I prefer Denia to Javea after living some eight years in Marina Alta. I would say that Denia is a proper town, less touristic, with better shops and services. Also the access to the autopista is better, which is rather important to me.

Both Denia and Javea are bit crowded in July-August. The biggest problems for me were the lack of parking places and lack of water pressure during the summer months (same problem both in Javea and Denia, I've heard). In Javea there is also some flooding when it is raining a lot.

Javea is also more closed than Denia. From Denia you have a good access to the mountains, to autopista and coastline to the north. The roads from Javea to the direction of Denia (north) and Moraira (south) are very, very slow.

I have been living in four places in Marina Alta - Denia, Calpe, Moraira and Altea Hills. Denia and Altea were my favourites.

If you want to see photos from Marina Alta area, you might like topwalks.net website about "walking routes in Spain". If you follow the links Alicante, Marina Alta, Denia/Montgo you can see photos of the coastline over there plus photos from the Nature Park of Montgo.

Wow!  Thanks you for your response, mountainwalker, and so quickly too   :o)

You've given us some invaluable info/advice there and we will certainly visit the website to see some photos.

Again, very many thanks!

Hey, those walks look awesome!  (Is that yourself in the photos?)  I would so love to be able to do that - maybe when I get my new knees I can do some gentler walks.  Montgo looks just beautiful.

What was it about Moraira that you didn't like as much as Denia and Altea?  A lot of the villas we've seen online that might be our sort of thing are in or around Moraira, so it would be helpful to know what 'put you off' about it.

Sorry for asking yet more questions - your response is very much appreciated.

Moraira,

I liked Moraira. There is nothing wrong with it, but the restaurants and shops are not exactly same standard, and you need a lot of driving before you get to the autopista.

Moraira is charming, only these tiny little things missing, which is not a problem... So, if you've found a house that you really like, I would say, go ahead. That's more important.

I believe you'll be happy in Moraira.

I even thought should I say Altea Hills, Denia and Moraira... Close call.

And there is a nice cafe close to Denia kept by a British couple. I should find it for you...

Again, many thanks for that

Although we love Moraira town we found some of the property to the rear of El Portet to be very dismal, Cumbre del Sol and BenItachell are to be avoided at all costs. If you don't mind being a short drive from Moraira I can thoroughly recommend La Fustera on the Benissa coast road between Moraira and Calpe. We are looking to buy there, up the hill to the rear of the Fustera Supermarket, there are some stunning sea views up there and it is very quiet, but only a stones throw away from Moraira and Calpe.

This may not be what you want to hear, but property prices are holding up quite well in La Fustera, this is because it is such a nice residential area with no high rise development. Converely prices are plummeting in Cumbre del Sol and Benitachell because of them being so remote, perched on the top of very steep hillside. I prefer not to be totally dependent on a car and most often walk down to La Fustera Supermarket when we are staying at my mates villa.

Denia has always reminded me of a flat Calpe, and have you tried to park in Javea lately? Altea old town is still very nice some 30 years on from when we first visited it, however that's how we prefer to see it,on a visit. Calpe was lovely 30 years ago, it is now turning into a city, as all the sea front 1940's villas have passed on to decendents of the original owners and have been demolished and replaced by tower blocks of apartments. However we still like to walk on the prom from the south side of the rock to the fountain and have lunch at Alfredo's Capri. 

I realise that this may now be irrelevant to the Batties but having visited Dénia several times now on holiday and having friends living not too far from there we feel that the Dénia area has more to offer because, as another person has said, it's very close to the A7 and it's got a railway that goes down to Alicante.It also has very good bus links to Gandia where the main railway (RENFE) lines go up to Valencia and beyond and they are very good trains too.

We can recomend a trip on the narrow guage railway that terminates in Dénia because you see parts of the region that you'll never see by car unless you are very knowledgeable on the whole of the northern Costa Blanca.

We've also used RENFE trains and found them to be punctual and not overcrowded at all. In fact it's surprising just how many really small towns you can actually get to with ease, unlike the UK now!

Food and general shopping in Dénia isn't too bad but it's very good for fish amongst other things as there's still a fleet and Ondara, down the road is the centre for fruit and veg in the Northern Costa Blanca but clothing and other household stuff can be expensive compared to bigger towns.Gandia's the place to visit for far more shops and more choice and it's easy to get to without a car of your own too.

Property in Dénia can be pricey but that's mainly in the town or some properties near the Montgo but it's got lots of smaller residential areas nearby that still come under the "greater" Dénia area that are still close enough to walk or cycle to - it depands what you're looking for really.

Don't think too much about Las Marinas or Els Poblets which are nearly all holiday apartments and houses. Besides, many of them are now under threat of demolition. Another thing to bear in mind is the winter flooding late last year.

Many areas around Ondara right up to Els Poblets had major flooding and Pego old town gets floods every year!

Anyway, hope this helps.

We're going to Cambrils this year - hopefully but our hearts will probably still be in énia!

stevmk2