Sold! Spanish Property Sellers

Sold! Spanish Property Sellers Jeanette and Kevin from the UK made a booking to come and stay with us this week, as they had sold their holiday villa in La Drova to another couple who had been property hunters – also from the UK – who were wanting to have a holiday base in the La Safor area. Jeanette and Kevin decided to make an unhurried trip of it, arriving with us on the Sunday and staying until the following Saturday, with the appointment at the notary’s office scheduled for the Wednesday. They were driving down from the UK in their car, crossing by ferry to Santander, which is something they had often done in the past when visiting their property. Apparently they used to come on average for about six weeks each year, and had owned property in this area for over ten years – their house in La Drova was their second one. Property hunters seem to be slightly on the increase now that house prices have fallen to levels not seen in Spain for a very long time. Foreigners who want to buy a home have become aware that Spain now offers good value properties once again,…

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Costa Blanca Pet Friendly Accommodation

As part of our policy of promoting ourselves as Pet Friendly Accommodation, we frequently find that guests want to stay here with their pets, as it can often be quite hard to find suitable places to stay. In the last few days, we have had two such groups of guests, but staying with us for very different reasons. The first couple to arrive were Thor and Margarete from Sweden with their thoroughly endearing dog Buster. They had flown from Stockholm with Buster and were on their way to their holiday home near Torrevieja, but had decided to take a few days to get there and spend some time exploring a different part of the Costa Blanca. They stayed with us for two days in one of our Bed and Breakfast rooms and took advantage of our evening meal service both nights – they considered it so much easier than either taking Buster with them or worrying if he was all right whilst they were out! Buster got along famously with our three dogs and spent a lot of time investigating the garden and playing around with them in general. During the days, Thor and Margarete would take some time to…

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Golfing Holidays in Spain

Golfing Holidays in Spain Golfing in the La Safor region We were pleased to welcome a Dutch couple – Willem and Vera – to our villa last week, and they had come not only with the intention of acquainting themselves with Gandia and the surrounding area, but also to play some rounds of golf. They had already spent three nights in Altea, where they had played on courses in the Benidorm area, but wanted to see what the northern Costa Blanca had to offer. They were staying with us for three nights, and after dining with us after their arrival on the Saturday, they were keen to set off on the Sunday morning to the La Galiana course, just 30 minutes inland from us. Opened only in February 2011, it is set in beautiful countryside surrounded by mountains and orange groves and is something of a hidden gem amongst the better known courses on the Costa Blanca. Willem and Vera had heard of the course before they arrived with us but knew little about it, but when they returned from their game in the mid-afternoon, they were full of praise and said it was one of the most pleasing courses…

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Guided Mountain Biking in Spain

David (guide) Mario, Alain & Scott – Mountain Biking in Spain Scott, Alain and Mario from Montreal in Canada arrived on Sunday evening to stay with us for six nights and the purpose of their visit was to spend their time here mountain biking in Spain, in the beautiful mountains and countryside of the La Safor region. Scott and Alain had visited the area before, and although they had hired bikes then, they had not taken advantage of the guided mountain bike service that is available. This time they decided to do just that, and be shown new routes that they would otherwise not have discovered for themselves. After their evening arrival from Canada, they dined with us that night before getting some well-earned rest and attempting to adjust their body clocks to European time. The following morning though, on the Monday, they were eager to get on the road and set off with Dave Warrington from Mountain Biking Valencia on a route of some 30kms in the mountains of the La Safor region, starting from Pla de Corrals. They took a packed lunch with them and had a great time, returning to us in the early evening in time…

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Cross Country – XC Mountain Biking in Spain

Cross Country XC Mountain Biking in Spain Today’s cross country XC mountain biking route,…We started the route in a high valley in the mountains behind my home,.. a 10 minute drive by car.  The first couple of kilometres were a gentle pedal and this was followed by the first major ascent of the day, a 4km gruelling climb up to the next plateau. The past couple of month this specific climb has become a bit of a personal demon for me,… a number of factors (new bike, trail running, lack of training, early mornings) have contributed to my struggle against the mountain, but not today! For the first time in months I conquered the climb in one go, and still felt good once I got to the top. A very good omen for the remainder of the day, given that there was some 70km, still to go. The next 6km of the route was a beautiful high mountain riding, undulating tracks through pine forests and orchards, and this brought us to the first village & coffee stop for the day. Refreshed and re-hydrated, we set off to cross the Valle de Albaida, 20km of good pedalling on off-road tracks, interspersed with…

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Gandia Golf Course – Oliva Nova Golf

Gandia Golf Course – Oliva Nova Golf More and more people are coming to this part of the Costa Blanca area to enjoy the beautiful scenery and take part in some sort of outdoor activity holiday, and one that should not be overlooked by anyone thinking of this part of Spain is the game of golf. When one thinks of golf in Spain, many are drawn to the south of the country but there are some beautiful courses in this part of the Valencia region as well. One such course is Oliva Nova Golf Resort, situated about 25 minutes’ drive from Gandia Casa Rural. It is located between the towns of Oliva and Denia, on the Costa Blanca. Enjoy a round of golf amongst wild dunes and Mediterranean beach environment. Designed and built by Seve Ballesteros, the Oliva Nova Golf Club course extends to around 50 hectares. It is a par 72 links course of 6,350 m with a slope of 120, the main characteristic of which is that 15 of its 18 holes include water obstacles. The only holes that have no water obstacles are numbers 2, 13 and 14. A technical course, with a gentle undulating terrain, easy…

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