Is El Palmar-Los Molinos the place for an ex-pat with little Spanish, no car, but seeking the sounds of the ocean?

I live near Pego, which is 10/15km inland, but have a passing acquaintance with that area since we come to Denia a lot and often drive along that coast road into town instead of straight down from the N332. Used a few restaurants along there too, like El Barril, the German one.

It won't surprise you to hear that your area of choice is VERY busy with tourists in the summer months but quiet at other times. I wouldn't say dead, though. And I presume there are regular buses into Denia, which is a thriving town throughout the year. There's a big Consum supermarket in Los Molinos too. 

It's like anywhere, once you've lived there a while, you get to know people and find the shops, bars and restaurants you like.

Good luck.

PS easy cycling country - flat!

I also forgot to say you'll need to take out residency if you plan to live here longer than 90 days!

My husband and I moved to Denia last Nov.  we love it here.  It is very busy right now with tourists but quiet the rest of the year.  It certainly doesn’t shut down outside of tourist season.  It is a working Spanish town so all necessities are here all year round.  We live in the Las Marinas area, about 5 km out of the downtown.  Yes we do have a little car at the moment, but bus service is excellent here.  We also have a large Consum grocery store within walking distance and lots of restaurants to choose.  We have rented a little house about 100 meters from the ocean.  I love tolive near the sea.  If you wish more info please feel free to email me at

[email protected]

Narina

Very busy in summer, outside of Covid season that is, and very quiet in winter, but a lot of people like that. From November- March you can wander on the beaches around there and see very few people. Some bars and restaurants- and the supermarkets - are open all year round.

The last three years there the sea has breached the beach occasionally and during the floods of 2019 the water actually came well across the coast road at the front line. Personally I would avoid a ground floor property there.

Otherwise, enjoy!

Steve

Thanks for the info, you have both put my mind at ease regarding the winter.   Now all I have to do is find a way to jolt the rental agency to respond to my enquires.

@Herfordjack - I was on the path to residency which was blocked on two fronts - the lock-down and my landlady not wanting me to register for empadronamiento. I never found out why she doing that and it piled on the stress in a country where I intended to be relaxed!. Anyway, this is the reason for needing to find another place relatively quickly.  I also see there is now a TIE which offers a quicker and easier process.

It's your right, and some might say duty, to register on the Padron, and I think you need to present it with your Residencia application papers if I recall correctly. Your landlady has no say in it and doesn't even need to know. When applying for it you simply show your tenancy agreement at the Town Hall. It's your personal certificate. 

The TIE has replaced the Residencia card for new applicants and is being handled currently in Alicante only. (Old Residencia applications could be done at the Oficina Policia Extranjeros in Denia)

It's possible that once the system is shown to be working well in Alicante that it will be rolled out across other regions and towns and hopefully two visits to Alicante won't be necessary. But those who need to apply currently because their 90 day limit is approaching will have to go to Alicante twice. 

Steve

Most likely the reason your landlady tried to stop you registering on the Padron is because she has not declared that she's renting out the apartment and therefore not paying tax on it.

I know another UK couple in this boat. Tax dodgers make me sick. I bet she's quite happy to take the benefits when she needs them; medical help for example.

We look after a holiday rental in El Palmar, which is extremely busy during summer and although  there are some permanent residents who live there all year round, it is very quiet out of season.  There is a regular bus service into Denia town during peak season, however there are alot less running in the winter months.

Without a car, I would suggest looking at neighbouring towns, such as Els Poblets or El Verger.  In these smaller towns, there is better walking access to supermarkets and shops, with a busier friendly atmosphere, as many people, from various nationalities, live there permanently and they have some cracking local fiestas (Covid 19 permitting).