If
you have any extra helpful travel advice or tips please
let us have them and we can add them to the page
Out and About
1. If you take a mobile phone with you to Javea remember
to call the operator before you leave home to have it
enabled for International Roaming.
2. Mobile phone calls home are expensive - buy a phone card for €6 and you can call home for about 2.5 hours.
3. Remember that even on cloudy days you can burn so keep that cream on!
4. If you visit a market go early before they get busy and very hot.
5. Remember most shops in Javea and Spain still close
for Siesta between around 1.30 and 4.30.
6. "Afternoon" in Spain is from about 4.30 to 8.00pm.
7. If you use a credit card in many shops you will be asked for ID. Photo driving licences usually work or have your passport handy. For some reason you don't seem to get asked in restaurants or petrol stations.
Motoring
1. If you need glasses for driving you must carry a spare pair in the car with you. If you are stopped and do not have them you will be fined. Ignorance is apparently not an acceptable excuse!
2. If you have a new photo licence make sure you take
both parts if you are hiring a car in Javea. You may be
asked for both.
3. Most of the car hire companies in Spain charge you
for a tank of fuel and you return the car empty. The last
motorway services is at Benidorm so DON'T leave yourselves
short.
4. Have some Euros ready for the journey from Alicante as you will need around 5 for the motorway toll. When you join the pay motorway you take a ticket from the machine. When you leave you hand it to an operator. As well as being told (in Spanish) how much you owe the amount is displayed on the ticket booth!
5. Depending on the car you have you may think your air conditioning is not working. With some cars when you press the A/C button and the light comes on that means the A/C is on. On others the light on means you have switched it off.
6. Don't forget the rules about leaving handbags, cameras etc on view in your car.
7. Park in the shade if you can.
General
1. If you are using a credit card advise you card company before you go of your intention to use it abroad. If your usage profile changes suddenly credit card companies have been known to put stops on cards until they can verify who is using it.
2. In the summer months use one of the plug in mosquito repellents in each bedroom at night.
3. Instant coffee is expensive in Spain - but the wine is cheap!!
4. Get the rubbish out of the house - Especially in summer it will smell very quickly.
5. Wine in Tetra packs at around 50p per litre can give you very bad hangovers. You should always aim to spend at least £1.50 per bottle!
6. Buy Spanish brands instead of British. They are a lot cheaper.
