DRIVE GUIDE FOR TRANSFERS FROM AIRPORT TO RESORT

ALICANTE AIRPORT TO 43 PARQUE RESIDENTIAL, just off Avenida Mediterraneo , MOJACAR PLAYA



AA Directions

There is a Town Post Code system in Spain rather than a street by street postcode. The reference for AA Directions is:
Alicante Airport (ALC) 03203 Elche, Spainto 04638 Mojacar, Spain.


There are two things to point out: (please read point 2 before you leave precincts of the airport)

  1. This routing works fine until around 1km from your destination. The reason for this is that 04638 Mojacar is the grid reference for Mojacar Old Town not Mojacar Playa, the beach resort Therefore you need to follow the AA directions until you get to 216km 'Turn Right onto A 1203' which is correct. Ignore the rest of the AA directions. Instead :
    219km. At the next Roundabout IGNORE the first exit which states Al 6111 Mojacar. (This is the Avenida del Palacio that will take you up the hill to the Old Town) Instead go round the Roundabout and take the second exit (after the Petrol Station) signposted 'AL 6111 Carboneras'.

    This takes you down the hill towards the sea. There is a shopping centre called Montemar on your LHS, then another large white building on the same side of the road with a white tower. This is Parque Comercial and the Parque Residential complex is situated right next to it on the other side.

    If you need to collect your keys from Mojacar Estates office or from the combination Drop Box by their front door, you need to take the first exit at the next Roundabout i.e turning right. (Their address is Apdo de Correos 779 04638 Mojacar, Almeria, Spain ) Drive down the Avenida del Mediterraneo for about 3km. The office (see picture) is on the last run of businesses on the BEACH SIDE of the road, before the promenade runs right round to the end of the resort where you can see the big white Hotel Indalo set back from the road.

    Collect your keys, turn the car around and drive back to the first Roundabout at the Junction with Parque Comercial. Go straight on following sign 'ALP 118 Garrucha'. After 100m or so, turn first left into Calle Lucerne. You will have Parque Comercial on your LHS. Parque Residential is on the RHS. Number 43 is the first apartment on the right as you go up the hill, facing across to the plaza in front of the shopping centre. The entrance key is for the double door halfway up the road.

    If you cannot get parked, drop your bags at the entrance and drive further up behind the complex, which is a one way system. It is only usually busy during business hours.

    If you can get AA Directions to accept the actual postal address, rather than merely Mojacar Pueblo, great. It is this 43 Parque Residential, Calle Lucerne Mojacar Playa But you will still need to follow some of the above to swing by Mojacar Estates to collect the keys. Other adjacent roads flanking the Parque Comercial shopping complex are Avenida del Mediterraneo (beachside coastal road) and Avenida Andalusia (from Mojacar Playa back up to the petrol station)

  2. A few words about Motorway signage to help avoid confusion
    The second thing to point out is that the Road Signage Conventions differ from here in the UK as regards Motorways etc. Whereas the approach to a Motorway in the UK might state M1 South or M6 North, in Spain it is different. If, for example, the motorway goes both north and south of where you are, it will state the next major cities along this route north and south of where you are. So you know you need to pick up the A7 E15 from Alicante looking for signs for 'South' or for 'Almeria'. What you actually get is E15/ A7 Valencia/Murcia. Valencia is north of where you are, but you may not have known that. Murcia may mean nothing to you but this is the correct route because it is first major city south of you heading to Almeria.So at the roundabout or fork in the road you must know to take the option A7/E15 Murcia. It could even say at the turn off A7/E15 Murcia Granada. Your approximate point of reference is the city in between but it is missed out (see next point)
    The opposite of this is true also, in that if it is a major, major fork in the road in this huge country, the signage may say A7 E15 Granada/Madrid. You are on the right road heading south to Granada but it doesn't mention Almeria because Granada is the more significant city and Almeria, while the next city en route, is insufficiently significant to appear on the sign

    The general analogy is that you are driving from Coventry to pick up the M1 to go to London. As you get to the intersection, the signage says M1 Milton Keynes/Leeds and it confuses you. At the roundabout you need to take the exit M1 Milton Keynes in the knowledge that London is further south and the M1 is the motorway you need and that Leeds is in the north.

    The final point to make is that once you are on the motorway, you may need to take an actual exit to stay on the same motorway (and not just a gradual dividing or branching into two motorways when you are usually on red alert. This actually happens when you get to Murcia on the A7 E15 shortly after driving past the big red football stadium. If you go straight on, you will leave the motorway and end up in the city. You need to actually turn off the A7 E15 to stay on it and adjust your focus to cities south of Murcia, namely Almeria and Granada.

    So the moral of the story is to buy the Michelin map, look briefly at your route along the A7/E 15. and familiarise yourself with the towns and cities along the route. Valencia will always be north. Murcia is your initial destination, then signage for Almeria and Granada. You will turn off for Mojacar long before you get anywhere near Almeria (Exit 525).

  3. The final thing to point out is that, as you leave the swish new airport car park and drive along side it to exit the airport, you need to turn 180 degrees to the right and back on yourself to follow the correct routing. If you carry straight on, you may end up going back round the airport ! It is not terribly clear.