Travel – Up the Arenal
If you travel north on Spain’s coastal motorway past the tawdry delights of Benidorm, you will come to the smart middle class resort of Javea, the destination for my annual family sunshine holiday this year. There is no easy way of getting to Javea other than hiring a car; it is not on a direct bus route and a taxi from the airport will cost you 125 euros each way. With only a handful of hotels, it is not served by the package holiday companies, which might explain why it is very popular with the Spanish and the French as well as the ubiquitous Brits.
Javea itself has a bustling port that is mainly full of leisure cruisers and a (not especially) old town with lots of bars, restaurants and shops, but the main tourist area is actually Arenal which is a mile down the coast. Arenal is centred on its beach, a perfect horseshoe of soft golden sand that is liberally coated with sunbeds, umbrellas, pedalo concessions and anything else the dedicated beach bunny might desire. Around the beach runs a promenade that is lined with eateries that run the whole gamut from ice cream parlours through burger bars to high end restaurants that charge surprisingly midrange prices.
The economic travails that are devastating much of Spain are not evident in Arenal, despite the fact that the majority of tourists that pack the thousands of villas in the town are Spanish. The streets are full of Mercs, Beemers and Jags and all the restaurants are packed to the gunnels every night of the week. Having so many indigenous tourists leads to some unexpected consequences. For starters, a lot of the waitresses don’t speak any English at all, which forced me to dig out my rusty Spanish. Between 3.00 and 5.00, all the swimming pools are closed because the life guard has gone off for a Siesta and, worst of all, Spanish families tend to have hordes of small children who are trained from an early age to emit high pitched screams at every opportunity.
For the first week we spent our days sunbathing and drinking beer and our nights sitting in bars and restaurants drinking beer, but then we felt it was time to see what else the area had to offer. Benidorm is about an hour’s drive away and is well worth a visit, if only to remind you that the Great British package holiday is alive and well. It also has an excellent waterpark that is home to the highest flume slide in Europe (no, I didn’t summon up the courage to go down it). There are plenty of things to do in Javea too, including a go-carting circuit which is great fun, if a little expensive, several mini golf courses, lots of shops and a market.
However, the jewel in Arenal’s crown is a series of rocky coves a mile down the coast from the main beach. The water is crystal clear and warm enough to stay in all day long. A reef runs just offshore and, for the price of a mask and snorkel, you can enjoy hours of free entertainment. The French, being the world’s most enthusiastic campers, have made this place their own and set up entire homes on the rocks complete with tables, chairs, barbeques and cool boxes. You need to arrive early to get a good spot.
Arenal has little to offer those who like to order their vodka by the pint and party until dawn, but as a destination for a middle class family holiday it is hard to beat. There are plenty of stylish modern villas to rent at reasonable prices, beautiful beaches and numerous bars and restaurants that suit any taste or budget. I have a feeling that Javea will soon be discovered by the affluent ‘in’ crowd in the same way that Nerja and Puerta Banus were 15 years ago. I’d pay a visit now while you can still get a sunbed on the beach.
Howard Clemmow
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