Carrefour will be open as there will probably be some 24hr shops open as well! Christmas Eve is a big night for the Spanish so some shops may close a little earlier than normal!

hi thanks for your reply im there new yrs eve but is it right the spanish have xmas a different day isnt it in jan ? so you reakon i can get some shopping in from carrefor then thank god i wont starve i suppose they are shut new yrs day arnt they ? do you know if theres many restaurants open new yrs eve and new yrs day ? thanks for your help do you live there ? mandy

Spanish people have Christmas day on the same day as everyone else, they just celebrate it differently. The 5th. Of January is a celebration in most towns and cities as there is a parade of the 3 kings (Los Reyes Magos, Melchor, Gaspar y Baltasar). The following day (Epiphany) is when children traditionally get their presents, and is a National holiday.

Mercadona should be open until around 7 or 7:30pm on New Year's Eve. Individual shops differ but I will check out my local one, which is about 10km from the Orihuela Costa and post back if I am wrong.

Good restaurants need to be booked in advance for the evening of the 31st., and expect to pay a premium. There will be others with tables available but you may have to shop around to find places that others didn't want to book.

Whoops sorry don´t know where i got Christmas Eve From. Shops are usually open as olydaze says until 7-7.30pm a lot of restaurants do not do food on a New Years day as they are still getting over New Years Eve Celebrations. Large Supermarkets are closed on 1st and 6th Jan. We normally cook at home on New Years day as made mistake the 1st year looking for somewhere decent to eat!. We are going to the Chinese for New Years Eve as it is usually cheaper than the English Restaurants and better value for money.

Fudgey is right. Chinese restaurants tend to offer better value for New Year's Eve.

It is not unusual for some restaurants to be charging more than €100 per person for the evening, and although a few years ago some were getting away with charging €170 each, last year and this have seen a reduction in prices.

For Chinese restaurants expect to pay between €35 and €50 for a set menu. The best ones are always fully booked, but don't expect much in the way of entertainment with your food.

You may be able to book a table online, and I think it would be best to do so. If you let me or Fudgey know what type of food you are looking for, we may be able to send you links to various websites.

Traditionally (at least since a bumper grape harvest 100 years ago!), for good luck you have to eat a grape at each strike of the clock at midnight. Sounds easy? Take a tip, peel the grapes in advance!

I think that with the lack of trade this year, there will be more places open for food on New Year's Day than previously. But you may have to drive around a bit to find one.

hi guys cant thank you enough for your replys so i will have to quite a big shop when i arrive there wont i lol if you could send me some links for restaurants would be so grateful we not really fussy eaters we like chinese ,steaks, italian thanks so much mandy

Here's a few, Fudgey will have some more. With the exception of Eduardos, all these are Spanish restaurants serving international dishes.

Meson Villa Salada
Meson de la Costa
Cabo Roig Restaurant
Hotel Masa
Barlovento
La Finca de Eduardos

Chinese restaurants do not tend to have websites, but if you want, we may be able to offer a recomendation and supply phone numbers.

thankyou so much guys gonna go look at al those websites now have a lovely xmas and new year mandy

Hope you had a good xmas!

Mercadona closes at 7.30pm on New Years Eve! so you should be ok for getting some shopping in! as i expect the other shops will close around the same time with Carrefour probably staying open a bit later!

thanks fudgey eases my mind although wondering if flight mite get cancelled news saying we gonna get some real deep snow here in midlands keep em crossed for me cheers again and a very happy new year

Your Welcome have a good trip over and a great new year! xx

all worked out well landed at 15.50 was coming out of carrefor at !7.30 loaded up with shopping so i didnt have to starve lol no need for me to worry tho as the abby pub just behind us was open new yrs eve and we had a nice meal in there then went off to flamence centre to the c breeze bar to see the new yr in with some nice soul music from the deano a dj off exite radio , had a lovely week weather was kind to us except for the heavy rain day we were goin home all roads were flooded thanks to everyone who replyed to my post CHEERS