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)
- 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)
-
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).
- 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.