Living There
We’ve gone to Spain on holiday every year for the past several years, and friends often ask why we always go to the same place. We take a holiday to Denia every year, simply because we’ve found paradise. At least we’ve found our version of paradise. We get to put our feet up and relax in the sunshine, take in the magnificent views and the historic buildings, and the kids (all four of them) have plenty to do to keep them occupied. We usually rent a large villa in Denia (not always the same one) that’s large enough for our whole family, and it’s surprisingly inexpensive.
It may seem a bit boring to keep going back to the same place, but we could never get bored of Denia. Every time we get back home we’re counting down the days until we can come back.
So what’s so special about Denia?
Where do I start? For one, it’s the history of the place. Denia – located on the Costa Blanca in Alicante, Valencia – was a key strategic port, and as such it’s been the centre of much turmoil. The Romans, the Muslim Caliphate and the Christians have all fought over this port over the centuries, and there’s still some evidence of this remaining today. One obvious example is the very impressive castle that overlooks the city. Built in the 11th century, it’s one of the most beautiful castles in Europe. It really dominates the city. The views from the castle walkway are phenomenal, and if you visit Denia, you owe it to yourself to check it out. The castle museum is also an excellent way to spend a few hours.
As well as walking around very old historic buildings, there’s much more contemporary ways to spend time. Lounging around and playing on the beach is a favourite pass-time for the kids, our eldest even likes to jet ski. The Punta del Raset beach is the one we usually visit, there’s a children’s play centre there that keeps the kids occupied while we top-up our tans.
We also like to go horse riding. Some way outside of town is The La Sella Horse Riding School. They offer trips on horse back through the Montgo national park. The Montgo Mountain is absolutely beautiful, and it’s surrounded by gorgeous Spanish countryside.
As I said earlier, when we leave Denia, we are counting down the days until we can come back. So much so that we wondered why we were even bothering to go home at all. So we started looking for a villa for sale in Denia.
Our eldest has finished his exams, my wife and I both work from home, and we don’t have any extended family in the town we currently reside in anyway. It makes perfect sense to go where we are happiest as a family.
So for the last week of our two week stay, we spent most of our time looking at the various villas for sale in Denia. And I have to say, compared to house prices back home you get a lot more for your money.
For example, for 330,000 Euros (just within our budget) we found a 5 bedroom villa with it’s own large swimming pool, that looked more like a mansion than a villa. The pool was fantastic, and a main selling point. It was around 10m by 5m, under-lit with a large pool-side area and refrigerated pool-side bar. From the pool-side area you even get views that are breathtaking. We are already imagining the pool parties and barbecues we could have in the summer months. And with 5 bedrooms we wouldn’t need to convert any rooms to accommodate all the family. This is our favourite so far and may be our final choice.
For 165,000 Euros we also found another great villa in the La Sella area with views of the sea, golf course and the mountain. The one minor downside though was that it only had 3 bedrooms and the pool is communal. But at almost less than half the price of the other one it’s almost convinced us to buy it and convert a couple of rooms into bedrooms.
We’ve yet to decide on our final choice, and we may even plan another short holiday to Denia to check out more. But we’re very much looking forward to the next chapter of our lives in sunny Denia.
