Thanks for the heads up though Jan....it is appreciated

Returned on Saturday after a fantastic 2 weeks. Very expensive now though, considerably more than on our last visit however El Patio Pizzeria in Alcossebre town has held his prices and consequently is always very busy, booking for the patio is a must. A new Consum supermarket has opened on the outskirts of town and we felt that was really reasonable price wise and an excellent and varied choice of fresh meat, fish, veg and bread along with all the usual purchases ie: wine, beer sangria, juice etc. My wife found a bottle of rose wine that was being sold in restaurants as (Vino de la Casa Rosada) house wine for 7-95 euros,in Consum it was 1euro 40 cents and was very pleasant indeed. The positioning of our appt right over the beach at Las Fuentes meant that we enjoyed dining Al Fresco as much as eating out, people watching, chilling and generally just relaxing, our boys being old enough to go to Cheers Bar on their own for Pool and Computer....always made to feel welcome even though only 14 and 15 years old. We spent many a nice evening also at the beach bar having a cocktail, watching the amusing bar staff and listening to the sea with loads of Spanish toddlers playing in the sand due to the area being floodlit...well into the early hours.

One disappointing thing for me personally however, I love fishing and due to work and social commitments back home dont get much chance. I have always fished off the breakwater in Las Fuentes however on the second day was asked to stop by the life guards due to the swimmers???? There wasnt a swimmer near at the time. They said it was because of the hooks. The following day I watched a Spaniard fishing for 2 hours without being told to move and with my blood boiling, I went up to the guards and asked why I had been removed. It was a different pair and they said that it was wrong that I had been told to move and if asked to again, just make a stance and refuse. Common sense prevailed. 60 odd fish in 2 weeks was a nice return

Property prices are falling, loads of reductions for quick sales, some villas being dropped by up to 100,000 euros in some estate agents!!!

Summing up, a beautiful resort, we are going back next year without a doubt, never saw a spot of bother anywhere, everybody polite and welcoming.

Just one final note re:bag snatching. My wife and I walked back from Alcossebre town one afternoon, she had her bag over her shoulder. I was conscious of a car going up and down the road slowly with 2 men and a woman in it. It was around 3pm and being siesta time was fairly quiet. The car stopped around 10 yards behind us and the girl got out, since our bag snatching episode a few years ago I am paranoid and keep a close eye all the time. The car drove off past us and waited around 500 yards further up road. I didnt say a thing to my wife, just kept glancing back occasionally and just as the woman got close I told my wife to stand still and I turned round and stared. The woman looked startled and hurried past us and ran and jumped in the car and drove off. Just be vigilant all the time!!!!!!

Thanks for that report Barnio.
Sounds as if you had a great time. I hope we can go again before long. I keep checking to see if Castellon Airport is operational yet.

Cheers, Jean

Castellon Airport is looking at opening January according to an ex-pat friend of mine over there. All Uk operators holding back until its confirmed.

Friends there now.......were sunbathing on the balcony christmas eve day.......and another friend further south was sat outside a bar with temps of 25 degres.......sounds bliss.

Couldnt resist any longer, with the good weather here wetting our appetites, we have booked a weeks holiday back in the same appt in Las Funtes for Spring Bank week, 10 weeks to go and cant wait!!!

Can't fault you Barnio. I am so jealous. Don't know when we will return. Not this year.

I see they are now saying they will have to dig part of the runway up at Castellon as it is not wide enough for the planes to turn according to the regulations. Shame. I was hoping Jet2 might fly there from Leeds. Not holding my breath.

Have a great holiday,

cheers, Jean

2 weeks to go, really looking forward to it now however as the weather improves here..the weather looks a bit "iffy" on the Costa Azahar, todays Alcossebre web cam shows a grey sky and a deserted beach!!! Never mind, I know where I would rather be!

Fingers crossed for you. I had this last year with the weather when we went to the same area, in August, two of the days it was really hot but overcast not a piece of blue sky to be seen think we were just unlucky though. I thought maybe it was just too hot if that makes sense and that was why it was hazy.

I am sure you will still have a lovely time, a holiday is a holiday at the end of the day.

Doe

We were there also last August and cant remember 1 day that we had any noticeable cloud at all, the thing I am looking forward to most this time is the quietness! I cant believe how busy the place gets in August, we were genuinely shocked the first time we went in that month compared with our normal visits at Spring Bank week! Looking on the Webcam now and also the weather reports it does seem to have "cleared " up now and the long range forecast looks good!

Yes I agree to a certain extent, although its a bit of a double edged sword for me.

Going earlier this year it will be quieter, but going the first week in August last year we loved being on holiday when all the Spanish people were on holiday. La Manga del Mar Strip was full of families going out at about 9.30 or 10pm to miss the heat of the day and eating in restaurants aimed at the locals and not tourists. We were in one place where we got a meals for 6.5 euros each, only Spanish omlette, chips & salad, but it felt good being surrounded by locals all eating the same kind of stuff.

Hope you have a brilliant holiday.

Ah Doe, I do understand what you say......we loved sitting on the beach front balcony and watching the Spanish families strolling with the grandparents and prams etc etc.... and the way they make a meal in a restaurant an "event".....no matter how hard times are in Spain, the Spanish people just seem to have a different outlook on life...I love the place and the people!

It was brilliant, I have been to Spain probably twenty times but I think that must have been the first time I have been in August and therefore had lots of Spanish families on their holidays. My DD18 said to me I didn't realise the Spanish ate out in restaurants but in fairness qualified it by saying that she had never given it a lot of thought before. It was all really simple food, not swanky in the least and possibly a lot of Brits might have turned their noses up at it. I was more in it for the atmosphere & trying to feel part of something local rather than holidayish, if that makes sense. Also they only seemed to buy two meals if they had little kids & then just give the kids bits and bobs off their plates and some bread. Actually staying in Club la Manga itself is a pretty British experience so you kind of need to get out a bit and travel around the region.

What a fantastic week we have had!! Returned yesterday via Valencia with Ryanair...flights both ways on time and the priority boarding is a must!! What more can be said about Alcossebre and Las Fuentes that hasnt already been said by me. Lovely at this time of the year, beaches busy in the morning but deserted in the afternoon, restaurants nice and steady at night and the apartment complex virtually empty meaning that settling down to a book in the morning was about as peaceful as you can get!

More and more evidence however how tight on security the Spanish Police are getting. I was stopped at both toll booths on the way up the A7 on arrival, very polite Civil Guard checked all my details, drivers licence, passport, who was in the car and where were we going. Not an issue to me and in a way quite comforting. Alocossebre at the weekend had roadside police check points in several areas and local police were out and about in abundance every night.

All in all, a brilliant week and am now busily looking for flights and accomodation for August!!!!! :-)

Hi Barnio

Welcome Back, so glad you ahd a nice time, sounds, most relaxing, sounds like the best thing to do is book the next one for August.

Its good to know the police were doing the checks as you say its comforting in a way, was it when you were actually paying your tolls ? Are they doing speed checks as well as document checks though, as i have heard of dodgy practices whereby towards the end of months more people get done for speeding than ealier as a revenue booster and that they have targets.

I have no problems with people being fined for speeding, but feel it should be administered fairly, that's why I prefer the non-emotive camera systems (although a bit 'big brother') where no individuals with their own personal judgements & motivations are involved, and it's just a you were doing 90 at this point etc.

Doe

Hi Doe, the Police were just doing identity checks I think. They allowed me to pay the toll then flagged me over to the side, they were stood on the opposite side of the barrier with glowing orangle batons. Owing to 2 speeding fines I got last year from the radar zones, I kept religiously to the speed limit this time. I was more wary of the bogus police threat that my wife had read about prior to travel.....and this was brought home in no uncertain terms yesterday at Valencia Airport.

We drove the car back into the Hertz reception area and proceeded to the office where there was a very visibly upset young couple being dealt with. They had been stopped on the non Toll section of the motorway by what appeared to be an unmarked Police vehicle. The "officer" approached the couple....produced a knife and slashed one of the tyres then robbed them of several possesions! I dont know how wary you can be of this and of how to react and sincerely hope it never happens to us!

OMG, I am going to be very wary indeed.

I think unless we are flagged down by a marked police car I will tell DH just to keep driving. Feel a bit frightened now also we will have someone elses daughter with us as well as our two. It is such a huge responsibility.

I would be so much more confident here if I thought I was being pulled over for a s c a m. I would just continue driving to the nearest police station & then if they were genuine it wouldn't matter & if they weren't the would skiddadle and we wouldn't be any the worse off. Not that the Met ever seem to go round in unobtrusive vehicles anyway, they are always easy to spot so I guess I could also spot a fake or at least enough to make me cautious.

Everything is so much harder & scarier when you are abroad as you just dont have the same level of knowledge or confidence and you are so frightened of doing anything wrong that you tend to erh on the side of caution & think everyone is legit

I know they are going through a hard time over there, but it is despicable to target tourists in that way, on two levels, despicable in it's own right to pull a knife on innocents and despicable as it puts tourists off so much that it harms the Spanish tourist industry which is one of the things they desperatley need to preserve.

Doe

Well we have managed to get the apartment for 10 days at the end of August after a bit of juggling by the ever so helpfull owner! Found a great Ryanair deal out of East Midlands early on a Saturday morning, airport hotel with parking for 10 days and a family suite for £95 for the Friday night prior seems like a cracking deal also! Flight times mean we should be at the poolside for late morning! Countdown is on already

Well done Barnio - enjoy