Costa Almería - advertised by the expat Brit population as a Corner of Enchantment and who am I to argue, they are right. Many of the Brits living in Almeria have escaped from other Costas and their multitudes and are pretty successful in keeping their secret to themselves.

There are several destinations in Costa Almería and Mojacar Playa is probably the best known. In a car, a journey to Mojacar is about 45 minutes drive from Almeria airport by almost empty motorway. The airport is served by all the low cost airlines and the plane journey time is 2.25 hours at most from the UK. Murcia Airport is 1.5 hours drive.

Mojacar Playa is inhabited by Spanish and British 50/50 and is a working town all through the year. There are scores of excellent restaurants as expensive and inexpensive as you wish and most are good value for money. The playa boasts several childrens' free play areas. Walks are on the level for the easy going while mountain treks are available for the fit and explorers. In fact Cabo de Gata National Park is a short drive away through some beautiful scenery.

Magnificent beaches are plentiful and are within a few minutes easy walk almost from any part of the Playa. Beach fishing is popular and catches are good. There is a choice of supermarkets, hairdressers, pubs etc. If you are based in Mojacar Playa you probably do not need to rent a car as everything is near provided you don't book blindly and find your accommodation miles away. The only adverse publicity I can give to the Playa is the local taxi service which is virtually non existant.

Mojacar Pueblo:- 1.5 miles from Mojacar Playa and is a fairly difficult walk as it is perched on top of a small mountain. The local bus serves the village from all of the playa.It is a typical white Spanish village with narrow cobbled streets decorated with colourful plants almost all year round. The views from the village are stunning (and I mean S T U N N I N G). If you do not visit Mojacar Pueblo you might as well stay at home.

Vera, Garrucha, Carboneras are typical Spanish towns at ground level and each boasts quite an extensive market on particular days. Do not miss at least one market. There is a good bus service serving these from Mojacar Playa.

Vera Aquapark:- Worth a visit for the young and not-so-young and you get half price later in the day. Bus serves Aquapark from Mojacar Playa also.

Hotels:- Puerta Marina, Hotel Indalo, Pueblo Indalo Hotels are large hotels and cater for a huge amount of people each. There are some smaller hotels which are Spanish owned. Full board and half board would be available in any hotel, but my personal choice is to avoid 'all-in' deals as your choice becomes severely limited. Eating out in Mojacar Playa and Pueblo is not expensive. The choice is great and you would have to be badly lacking in brain cells to pay over the odds for a meal.

Eating Out in Restaurants:- €11.00 (not GBP£) per person would pay for dinner
for one person (minimum 3 course). Some Spanish restaurants give even better value.

In a nutshell I would advise that Mojacar Playa is excellent for the under 16s and the over 26s. Santa Ponsa it is not.

I should point out that my view is biased as I live there at some point during the year.

Thanks Leprosy for the really useful information. Mojacar sounds an ideal place and I think we will book this resort. It was already down as my first choice and your review has just confirmed it, thanks

Thats a great summery by Leprosy and I would only add that taxis have recently become available regularly from opposite the Commercial center, often 24 hours a day!

Be carefull which hotel you book as the most impressive are possibly the 4 star Tropical Oasis and Best Marina hotels and these, although on loosely Mojacar Playa are nowhere near where it happens so to speak. The are situated close to Garrucha and a bus or car is necessary and there is nothing in the area other than other hotels.

Best wishes, Beachcomber John.

Thanks Beachcomber for the advice, especially about the hotels. Have been looking at Puerto Marina hotel, is this one of the hotels which are on the edge of the resort, if so, can you recommend another which is perhaps more central?

Hi Tracy, the Puerto Marina is fine although at the far end of the Playa but I would suggest its the right end. You would have a 5 minute walk (10 minutes back as its uphill) to the nearest bars and restaurants and also nightlife. I say nightlife but its very low key in Mojacar. Saying that there are a few bars opening and reopening offering entertainment ie live music although a few already offer this. Other than that the entertainment is quizzes and bingo and the odd bit of line dancing.

I do hope you enjoy your holiday, all the best, Beachcomber John.

P.S. The Best Indalo Hotel is nearer the bars etc but is only 3 star an nowhere near as nice as the Puerto Marina...........

PPS. Dont be tempted to go for All Inclusive as you will regret it after a couple of days. Food in Mojacar is cheap and mostly good value. Hotel All Inclusive drinks, especially spirits are rubbish..........

I was in a simlar situation last year & visited Almeria ( Mojacar Playa ) for the first time & ended up having the best & most relaxing holiday for years ! Earlier posts sum up the area very well & if you're looking for a laid back , relaxing time with good cheap food & drink as well as encountering friendly people then this is the ideal choice. I loved the low key style & hope you will too !

Thanks Magpie, Mojacar sounds the ideal resort for us. Where did you stay? Any recommendations? Self Catering or All inclusive?

Hi there,



I've been to Almeria a few times in the last few years, Mojacar was nice but I found it a bit TOO quiet, we tend to go to Roquetas which is a bit more lively but certainly not overly so, I can recommended the Neptuno hotel for a location. As others have pointed out Ibiza it isn't and hooray for that

Hi there - we have holidayed in Almeria for quite a few years now staying at Mojacar, Roquetas and Retamar. I do have to say that the food in hotels in this area leaves quite a lot to be desired, our worst being in the Tropical Oasis in Mojacar,(which is miles away from anywhere)and Cabo de Gata in Retamar, which was a gorgeous luxurious hotel, but the food was diabolical. We now tend to stick to Roquetas which has a little life about it and lovely promenade walks, which goes on for miles. These areas are thankfully not for clubbers. Going out again in May and will be trying the Hesperia Sabinal hotel this time. So if anyone has been would like to hear their views on it. Many thanks

Hi Wilson - just wondering if you are back from Almeria yet? If so, would be really grateful for a report on Hesperia Sabinal as we have booked to go to the same hotel. Thanks

hi traceyjayne just 2 confirm wilson are back in uk i dropped them at airport and think they had good time i know they enjoyed the food at sabinal as they told me it was good i know the sabinal very well and can confirm its good there

Hi Traceyjane - As crazykeith said we did have a good time. The view we had was excellent and the food first class. The only thing we were disappointed about was our bathroom, which was greatly in need of a refurbishment and the shower flooded the bathroom every time we used it. Apart from that the hotel was great value for money, maybe not quite a 4 star though. - Trish