Life in Altea ? - Page 2

Hi Ursula,

I am pleased that I have been able to help with the info about Altea. My Spanish is getting better and I shall be enrolling at the Escuela Oficial de Idiomas de Benidorm in September as I have now reach A2 level Spanish. My wife is far better than me as she had the benefit of a European education in Brussels and her level of Spanish is now C1.

With regards to estate agents for a rental property I find the best site is  https://www.idealista.com/en/alquiler-viviendas/altea-alicante/ as you can use the interactive map to sometimes establish the location of the property and they use all the agents in the area.

As for beaches I sometimes walk along the seafront down to Albir where the beach fewer stones and more sand, although a short tram ride down to Villajoyosa will reward you with one of the very best sandy beaches.

Good luck with your new home seach.

Best regards

Jeff   

Hello again Steve,

Sorry for the late reply,I have just found this e-mail of April 25th.

Thank you again for all this helpful information.The extended tram to Denia is very interesting news.

I will look uo the ladies group in Altea on Facebook.

Last night I watched the programme 'Place in the sun,' where they show properties abroad ,and a couple bought a house in Altea. 😉

P.S. Is it possible to swim on the beach in Altea and spend a day sunbathing,or is it just for walks?

Thank you again for your kind advice,

Ursula

Hi Ursula, there's a very long promenade, flat, bounded by restaurants and bars on one side and the sea on the other side. It starts in the town and stretches for about a mile towards the port. After the port where the promenade stops you can still walk by the side of the road a further mile into Albir if you wanted to go further.

The beach in the town is mainly cobbles, there's a small sandy patch, and there are sunbeds for daily hire on the town beach. So actually you could spend a day there, breaking for visits to the cafes and bars across the road. 

Yes, you can swim there, the sea depth shelves quite a bit though and I would recommend sea "shoes" for balance.

The sea has a beautiful azure colour there, mostly in summer you will still get a bit a breeze on the front.

The small railway station is also just 100 metres behind the promenade.

On the promenade (Paseo) there are cafes, cheap, chic, restaurants from Pizzeria to expensive, something for everyone, and the town shops are just 100 metres behind the beach. You can walk up to the beautiful Old Town. If very fit it's a straight walk up the various steps, 300 or so! if less active (like me) you can zig zag through different ancient streets and still end up at the Church plaza at the top to enjoy panoramic views from the viewing point. There are nice cafes bars and restaurants up there too although not all remain open November-March.

I would also suggest that Altea is extremely safe. It doesn't attract the casual summer petty criminal types. 

I would describe Altea loosely as being a little like what Marbella was before it was spoiled. It's very beautiful. It's also perhaps the most expensive town on the Costa Blanca North, followed by Moraira. 

But still cheaper than the UK and I would expect much cheaper than Switzerland!

Just be aware about the climate. It's extremely healthy and unpolluted but July and August are hot, August especially can peak at 42° on some days and remain "hot" overnight. While January- March can feel "cold" by comparison with night time lows of 7-9°. Not cold by northern European standards but once you've acclimatise to Spain that will feel cold. So you will need aircon cooling in summer and some form of cost effective heating in winter.

Kind regards, Steve