CFT Featured Article / July - August 2007

ESCAPE TO SPAIN

Thinking of travelling to Spain this summer? Two ChildFriendlyTravel.com members have given us a full report on where to stay, what to do and how to travel with ease. First, Belle McKnight, gives us a detailed account of her stay in Mojacar, followed by Marie Gledhill's Costa Blanca holiday excursion.

Mojacar

After arriving unscathed from excess luggage charges thanks to Bebebel, delivering the entire week’s supply of baby food, nappies, toys and beach paraphernalia to our accommodation, we discovered that Almeria airport is tiny. This is handy for 2 reasons, not much room to loose the kids and you can queue for car hire whilst waiting for your luggage! After a quick 45 minute drive we found our apartment, small but fully kitted out with Sky TV, amazing sea views, pool and small playground.

What a charming place Mojacar is! Divided into 2 parts; “El Pueblo” (village): quaint and historic with tiny cobbled streets lined with bougainvillea and orange trees, plus beautiful squares with amazing sea views. Secondly “La Playa” (beach): very attractive and clean, you can choose from lively beach bars or secret coves.

Activities for the kids (Tom is 8 and Ruby is 1):

Horse riding - 50€ per hour always a winner even for Ruby to stroke the horses. Go Carting - 20€ per race much cheaper than the UK. Shopping - Lovely commercial centre, with great shops on 3 floors need I say more!

Gym

For my fitness fanatic husband only 15€ for the whole week and I managed to sneak in a pedicure!

Eating

Loads of typically Spanish restaurants plus a few English (all had non-smoking areas), most memorable was the BBQ steak at Cabana, paella at Titoes and traditional tapas at La Cava.

Mini-Hollywood

18€ for adults, 9€ kids 4-14, under 4’s free. Western theme park as many famous spaghetti westerns (i.e. Fistful of Dollars) were filmed here. It even has a zoo!

Water Park

15.50€ for adults, 10.50€ kids 4-14, under 4’s free. Great fun with grassy areas for picnics and sunbathing.

For Ruby we rented her favorite toy a ‘Jumperoo’ from Bebebel so that kept her happy, coupled with the numerous brand new playgrounds dotted along the beach.

All in all a very relaxing and enjoyable week. Mojacar is definitely child friendly with lots to do for both adults and the kids. Would we go back? Yes definitely!

  • 1 Bebebel www.bebebel.co.uk 0034 661 575 532
  • 2 Car Hire Auriga 0034 902 206 400
  • 3 Blue Sea Villas www.blueseavillas.com 0034 950 478 643
  • 4 Cueva del Lobo 0034 950 478 9911
  • 5 Garrucha Go-Karts 0034 950 617 198
  • 6 Harmony Gym 0034 950 475 403
  • 7 Cabana 0034 950 615 179
  • 8 Titoes 0034 950 615 030
  • 9 La Cava 0034 950 472 181
  • 10 Mini-Hollywood 0034 950 365 236
  • 11 Parque Acuatico Vera 0034 950 467 337

Costa Blanca

South Costa Blanca is situated on the south east coast of Spain. This is an area of Spain where many people of all ages enjoy their holidays. Costa Blanca is recognised as being a very healthy climate, that combined with the numerous salt lakes, makes it the second healthiest place in the world. The beautiful beaches of the Costa Blanca cover approximately 100 km of coastline with white sand and rocky coves.

Life guards and red cross stations can also be found along the beaches during the summer months.

A side from the beaches, Costa Blanca also has mountains that stretch around the coastline, with many interesting villages and towns such as Jacarilla and Orihuela for those who enjoy historical buildings and museums and culture.

If wildlife is your interest, you will enjoy a visit to the various national parks & salt lakes around Torrevieja, where pink flamingos among many different birds can be found bathing.

For the family there are theme parks, water parks and zoos, go-karting, paint ball and family bars with soft play areas.

Outdoor pursuits such as pony trekking, hiking, cycling and mountain biking are very popular. Golf is a big thing in this area with numerous golf courses within a short drive or walk. Water activities during the summer months such as sailing, jet ski, pedal boats and banana boats. You may want to take a boat trip to view Spain from the sea or even dine on a floating restaurant and glass bottomed boats. If this isn’t close enough to marine life for you, you may want to have a go at scuba-diving. You can dine or have a drink at many bars and eateries around Costa Blanca offering a wide range of international cuisine.

Accommodation is varied to suit all, from campsites to hotels and private rentals.

For the family with younger children and babies you may want to rent a property of which is offered by a specialist company dedicated to helping families go on holiday. Holitots offer a fantastic range of services from equipment rental, baby friendly apartment rentals with items such as plug covers, nappy changing equipment and non slip bath mats, grocery shopping, baby sitting, and welcome packs. Travelling to Spain couldn’t be easier with little ones. For more information surf on over to Holitots www.holitots.com or send an email to info@holitots.com

A big “thank you” goes out to Belle and Maria for sharing their Spanish holiday stories with us. If you have a “child-friendly” holiday that you’d like to tell us about, please let us know at info@childfriendlytravel.com

Happy Holidays!