DRIVE GUIDE FOR TRANSFERS FROM AIRPORT TO RESORT

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

SatNav/GPS

I used my Garvin SatNav for the routing, having downloaded their software for Spain/Portugal mapping and it worked just fine, with just a couple of things to flag up.

1. The Salida Exit signs from the multi-storey car park are very small, first thing to negotiate.
2. I had to park up on the LHS alongside the Car Park as I attempted to exit the airport and wait for my SatNav to find satellites.
3. The reason for this is that there is an immediate decision to make as you leave the airport and it is this. Turn 180 degrees right and back on yourself as you drive along side the outside of the airport car park instead of going straight on - this is the correct routing. Otherwise you may end up going back round the airport.
4. This is important and related to SatNav. Spanish towns have postcodes, rather than streets as here in the UK. (Reference for Airport for return journey is Alicante Airport (ALC) 03203 Elche Spain - then you need to select a road - choose Carretera del Aeropuerto or something similar) So the destination the SatNav accepted was 04638 Mojacar(having already selected Spain as the country) However this is the location of Mojacar Old Town, up in the hills 2km from the beach resort, which is Mojacar Playa. The SatNav then requires you to put in a street name in the Old Town to achieve a specific destination. You can choose any in order to get basic routing to within a mile or so of your destination. Then you need to follow the following Directions which I have created:
   
   SatNav will tell you to Turn Right onto the A-1203off the A-370about 4km from your destination. Now ignore the SatNav and follow these instructions:
   
   
   • 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 Estatesoffice 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.
5. A few words about Motorway signage to help avoid confusion 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).