24 Jun 2009 4:31 PM:

I realise that this may now be irrelevant to the Batties but having visited Dénia several times now on holiday and having friends living not too far from there we feel that the Dénia area has more to offer because, as another person has said, it's very close to the A7 and it's got a railway that goes down to Alicante.It also has very good bus links to Gandia where the main railway (RENFE) lines go up to Valencia and beyond and they are very good trains too.

We can recomend a trip on the narrow guage railway that terminates in Dénia because you see parts of the region that you'll never see by car unless you are very knowledgeable on the whole of the northern Costa Blanca.

We've also used RENFE trains and found them to be punctual and not overcrowded at all. In fact it's surprising just how many really small towns you can actually get to with ease, unlike the UK now!

Food and general shopping in Dénia isn't too bad but it's very good for fish amongst other things as there's still a fleet and Ondara, down the road is the centre for fruit and veg in the Northern Costa Blanca but clothing and other household stuff can be expensive compared to bigger towns.Gandia's the place to visit for far more shops and more choice and it's easy to get to without a car of your own too.

Property in Dénia can be pricey but that's mainly in the town or some properties near the Montgo but it's got lots of smaller residential areas nearby that still come under the "greater" Dénia area that are still close enough to walk or cycle to - it depands what you're looking for really.

Don't think too much about Las Marinas or Els Poblets which are nearly all holiday apartments and houses. Besides, many of them are now under threat of demolition. Another thing to bear in mind is the winter flooding late last year.

Many areas around Ondara right up to Els Poblets had major flooding and Pego old town gets floods every year!

Anyway, hope this helps.

We're going to Cambrils this year - hopefully but our hearts will probably still be in énia!

stevmk2

Thread: Denia or Javea

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