City & neighbourhood
1. Description
The flat is located in Torrevieja, province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. It has a population of 100.000 inhabitants, but the number triples during summer, due to the large number of tourists who visit the city.
The district, where the flat is situated, is called “Las Lomas del mar”. Many people in Torrevieja don’t know it, so it’s better to say it’s on the way to La Mata, close to Magani café, which is a well-known landmark thanks to the bus stop. La Mata is a district (or village, as it is called here) of Torrevieja, very close to ours. Therefore, it is easier to use different services (like the post office or health centre) there, than go to the downtown.
2. The climate of Torrevieja
Classified as semiarid, the weather in Torrevieja is simply perfect for summertime, hot but not stifling. In Autumn and Winter it’s a bit cooler but still temperate, great to run away from the blistering cold of the north. Spring is also a great season to visit Torrevieja, with its warm temperatures, little rainfall and few tourists ;-)
The rainfall in relatively small throughout the year, and in July and August it’s practically non-existent, what guarantees nice weather.
Water temperature varies between 14º C in February and 25º C in August. From June till September the water has around 20º C, a perfect temperature to have a bath.
With this weather, sunscreen and moisturising cream are needed. In summer few hours of sun exposure can cause a sunburn, especially if you spend a lot of time next to the water. We suggest a high factor of the sunscreen (30 or more). Also, don’t forget to cover your head.
We have left some warm and rainproof clothes in the flat (raincoat, anorak, fleece). They are in the closet in the double room. If needed, don’t hesitate to use them.
3. Services in the surroundings
In the neighbourhood you will easily find all the services you may need throughout your stay. We’ll briefly describe them below.
3.1. Shops
On Carretera del Torrejón, uphill Ciudad Real street and just two minutes away from the flat, are different shops, among them a hardware store.
Nevertheless, the shop, which you will most often visit, is probably Mercadona – a supermarket with a wide variety of products and good prices. It’s ten minutes walking from the flat and is opened all day long from Monday till Saturday, and some Sundays till noon.
Remember that most shops in Spain are closed on Sundays.
|
Address |
Postal Code |
Telephone number |
Opening hours |
|
C/ Tritón S/N (Urb. Torreblanca) |
03183 |
966926038 |
09:00 - 22:00 |
It belongs to TorreMarina Shopping Centre, where you will also find i.a. a pharmacy and a Chinese shop, which has in stock almost everything you may need.
Remember that we have reusable bags in the flat, so you don’t have to buy plastic bags when going shopping. If you plan to buy a lot, we also have a shopping trolley in the pantry.
3.2. Restaurants & nightlife
As a good touristic zone, it has a lot of restaurants. On Carretera del Torrejón, which, as we’ve already mentioned, is two minutes away from the flat, you will find many of them with fair prices.
On Eneas Street, perpendicular to Carretera del Torrejón, you’ll also find some restaurants. Going down to the beach, you will also pass them on Avenida de los Españoles. Take Ciudad Real Street downhill and once on the beach turn left at Carretera de la Mata to find the place of the highest concentration of restaurants and bars.
Because of the high number of foreign tourists, English is spoken in all restaurants. In some of them only English is spoken.
Apart from the restaurants, there are many “chiringuitos” (beach bars) on the beach where you can eat something light.
When it comes to nightlife, you have to keep in mind that Torrevieja, and especially the district where the flat lies, is not well-known for its party atmosphere. It’s a mainly family tourism destination. However, it is possible to find a nightclub. The best known, not to say the only one in our neighbourhood is Vela Beach. It’s on Carretera de La Mata - follow Ciudad Real Street down till you reach the beach and then to the left.
The people who want to party will find something for themselves, but it is better to go to the city centre.
3.3. Post office
The nearest post office is in La Mata district, under the following address:
PURIFICACIÓN, 8 | 03188 TORREVIEJA (Alicante)
The opening hours are as follows:
- Monday – Friday from 08:30 to 14:30
- Saturday from 09:30 to 13:00
It’s also possible to buy stamps and leave letters/postcards at the tobacconist store next to the TorreMarina Shopping Center. There’s a yellow mailbox right next to it. A stamp to EU countries costs 90 cents and a postcard costs 40-50 cents.
If you’re interested in courier services, we recommend Packlink - www.packlink.es. If you use the services of Correos Express, you should know they always come in the late afternoon and always call to confirm the exact hour.
3.4. Health
If you need a pharmacy, the nearest one is in TorreMarina Shopping Centre.
The nearest public health centre is in La Mata. Here you have some information about it:
- Health Centre La Mata | www.torrevieja-salud.com/?page_id=1656
- Address: Avda. de Holanda, 51 | 03188 – Torrevieja
In case of serious illness you can go to the University Hospital of Torrevieja (Hospital Universitario de Torrevieja). It’s also a public entity, and it is situated on the other end of the city:
- Hospital Universitario de Torrevieja - www.torrevieja-salud.com
- Address: Carretera CV-95 s/n | 03186 - Torrevieja (Alicante)
- Phone number: (+0034) 965 721 200
Remember that, if you’re not Spanish resident but citizen of the European Union, in order to benefit from the Spanish public health system you will need the European Health Insurance Card. If not, it’s also possible to receive health care if your country has signed a bilateral healthcare agreement with Spain. Check it before travelling, because if you go to a doctor without a valid certificate of health insurance, it might cost you a lot.
3.5. Banking services
Going uphill Ciudad Real Street (where the flat is located), there’s a Deutsche Bank office with a Servired ATM. In the TorreMarina Shopping Centre is a branch office of Banco Sabadell, also with a Servired ATM.
In the centre of Torrevieja you can easily find branch offices of other banks and ATMs of all the networks.
3.6. Transport
CITY BUS
The district is connected with the centre by two bus lines, A and C. The line A is more direct and faster. The frequencies of the buses differ according to the season:
- July and August: every 15 minutes
- June and September: every 20 minutes
- the rest of the year: every 40 minutes
The nearest bus stop is on Carretera del Torrejón, just three minutes away from the flat, going up Ciudad Real Street on the left. The name of the bus stop is MAGANI, like the café that it is next to.
In the DROPBOX folder you can find the exact timetables of each line. They are also posted on the door of the flat. In order to go to the city centre you need to check the departure hours from La Mata and add 5 minutes, the time taken by the bus to get to the bus stop MAGANI.
You can find more information about the urban transport in Torreveja on Costa Azul’s website.
COSTA AZUL – URBAN TRANSPORT OF TORREVIEJA
Details about the bus lines:
https://www.autocarescostazul.com/1/transporte_urbano_torrevieja_770566.html
General plan of the lines:
https://www.autocarescostazul.com/1/upload/plano_lineas_torrevieja.pdf
TAXI
On the junction between Carretera del Torrejón and Eneas Street (four minutes from the flat), there’s a taxi rank. The journey from there to the bus station takes about 10 minutes and costs around 7 – 8 €.
ASOCIACIÓN TELETAXI TORREVIEJA - https://teletaxitorrevieja.es/
- Phone number: 965 10 16 11
- App for Smartphones: KABX - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kabx&hl=es
- Skype: teletaxitorrevieja
RENT-A-CAR
There are numerous companies that rent cars in Torrevieja. A one week long rental of a small car may cost you around 130 €. The most popular of them are:
- CENTAUR - https://carhire.centauro.net/spain/alicante/torrevieja/get-a-car-rental.html
- GOLDCAR - https://www.goldcar.es/
WALKING
Of course you can also move around by foot. Although the city doesn’t have that many habitants (around 100.000), it is extensive and, for example, it takes one hour to get from the flat to the bus station. It’s best to go along Eneas Street (perpendicular of Carretera del Torrejón).
3.7. Religious services
On the Tritón 5 Street, right next to TorreMarina (as you can see, it is our main landmark J), there’s a parish church, which, in July and August, celebrates masses at 10:30 am and 8 pm on Sundays, and at 7 pm on Tuesdays – Saturdays. During the rest of the year there is only one mass on Sunday at 10:30 am.