Villa Calle Zamora - Location

Moraira lies in a bay, on the South Eastern coast of Spain, between the larger resorts of Javea and Calpe, 80 kms (1 hr) from Alicante and 110 kms (1.5 hrs) from Valencia airports with excellent motorway and coastal roads from both. The town has pleasantly grown from a small fishing village to an attractive holiday and retirement resort retaining its considerable charm that attracts visitors from all over Europe and is particularly popular with Spanish from Madrid and Valencia. It has an impressive marina, excellent variety of local shops, weekly open markets, harbour-side fish restaurants and bars still retaining their Spanish character.

The two main local gently-shelving sandy beaches, awarded the prestigious EEC Blue Flags for cleanliness, are well tended and very safe for family bathing. In fact the whole of the Costa Blanca has 34 Blue Flag beaches - 3 times the number of any other Costa (Costa del Sol has 8). Other local leisure facilities include 3 large Golf courses, tennis, football, squash, all water sports, boat hire and trips, horse-riding, go-kart racing tracks for both adults and children, a small fairground and three good night-clubs for all ages.

There are too many restaurants of interest and good quality to list here but we can mention that there are 8 Michelin recommended restaurants in the immediate area with three of them being star rated and not expensive either.

The valley of Moraira has no hint of towering hotels and apartment blocks, due to very strict planning controls, and the luscious green countryside is just dotted with whitewashed independent luxury villas and low-rise 'pueblo-style' apartment complexes mingling with pine woods and cultivated vine terraces and orange groves, providing an idyllic setting for those wanting total peace and privacy. There are numerous local well-stocked supermarkets providing everything one could need (most of the products one can get in the UK), and if that wasn't enough then the Continente Hypermarket is only half an hours drive away.

Moraira enjoys a typical subtropical Mediterranean climate, with cool sea breezes in summer and protection by surrounding mountains against the cold North winds in winter. The area averages nearly 3,000 hours of sunshine each year and the average temperature easily exceeds 20 degrees. If you like open markets then, apart from the weekly Friday market held next to the beach, you could plan a visit to the various markets held at nearby resorts for each day of the week! Apart from the buzzing activity you would see cheap fresh fruit and vegetables, local specialities, herbs and spices, leather goods, clothes, rugs, fresh and silk flowers, souvenirs, pottery and a whole variety of other goods.

There are many places of interest to see on day excursions, apart from the other coastal resorts of Javea, Calpe, Denia, Altea, Benidorm, Villajoyosa and Alicante there is also the spectacular scenery to see inland including the wonderful mountain-top fortress of Guadalest, the Vergal Safari Park near Denia, Europe's largest palm forrest at Elche and the ancient city of Murcia. Valencia (third largest city in Spain) is one and a half hours away and Barcelona (second largest) and the capital Madrid are four hours away, all reached by motorway. Spain's answer to Euro Disney, Port Adventura near Barcelona, is about four and a half ours away. We are only 30 minutes away from Terra Mitica which is this areas answer to Disneyland.

The famous `Lemon train' has also to be experienced as it has been described as one of the great train journeys of Europe, running between Alicante and Denia.

The Spanish people of Moraira are extremely friendly and patient with foreign visitors to the area although they do not depend on tourism for their livelihood as agriculture is the predominant feature. With a large European resident community existent, there is a pleasant international feel to the area. Most people are pleased to speak English with you and even more pleased if a small attempt to speak Spanish is made.