what's it like around Javea/Xabia, Costa Del Sol?

[LowLevelWhinging]

Looking at Villas and this area keeps popping up. What's it like?

We're looking to be near stuff but not just egg and chips IYSWIM.

Any thoughts?

its costa blanca, on the peninsula between denia and calpe, huge beach and plenty of smaller beaches on the road up to Cap doe Noa, which is where most of the villas are, really nice area, stunning views, the town itself has nice port area and old town, its a good choice., def not all egg and chips, look also at Benissa La fustera and Moraira El Portet, tiny kids like el portet best, medium sized like javea, big kids like fustera.

Ooh great, thanks. That's excellent news!

We went to Moraira in May last year....was lovely, beaches really nice and low rise apartments everywhere...lots of little playgrounds in each square so ideal for small children. I did think that it was just the right side of 'egg and chips' but I did wonder if it would be different in peak season.

There seemed to be lots of choice for villas in Moraira and most of the ones we looked at were walking distance from town /beach (tho up a big hill)

We did day trips to Benissa (lovely town, great market but not on the coast so you might not want to base yourself there) and Denia (felt properly Spanish rather than a resort, good castle and beach) and some nice waterfalls (cant remember the name but fairly close to Benidorm)

myneaux - why did denia feel spanish rather than a resort? this area has always looked interesting. surely spanish is good?

I think Myneux means it's a good thing?

Javea used to be really nice many years ago but my Mum went more recently and felt it was a little bit too egg and chips now.

That whole coastline is really pretty and really easy to get around. There's a fantastically efficient train service which is really cheap. Alicante is a nice and interesting City to visit for a day, it has some beautiful buildings and a really fab vibe. And great Tapas

There's a funny little town further down the coast just before called Villajoyosa which is a really odd mix of old Spain and Brit-infested Spain (it gets some overspill from Benidorm).

The old part of the town is full of higgeldy piggeldy old villas, all painted in bright colours and with an imposing great big church behind it all. The houses were painted in bright colours so that when the fishermen were out at sea they could look inland and recognise their own homes. That part of town is inhabited by traditional Spanish Gypsies. I stayed there for a week and had a fab time.

I really like the Costa Blanca, it's got a great mix of things to do, the beaches are clean and nice and as long as you avoid Benidorm it's fab.

Yes...Denia having a properly spanish rather than a resort feel was a very good thing !

I really enjoyed the day we spent there as it was nice to spend some time in a thriving town which seemed to have its own identity rather than just catering for english tourists (Benissa like this too but ran out of time and didnt make it to Javea). The beach is lovely and there is a great marina (DS wanted to go on all the 'pirate ships' as he put it ). The only thing I would say is that it is a town and Im not sure where the accommodation is in relation to the centre. If you have small children and you want to walk a lot then Moraira would be an easier option.

myneaux - thanks for your post. there are some nice looking villas in moraira, for sensible prices. thanks for suggestion - hadn't previously thought of here - maybe good for 2014.