Please tell us where to go – In the nicest possible way!

Posted on August 16, 2011 by Jacqui

road sign blog Please tell us where to go In the nicest possible way!

AN EASY WAY TO START YOUR VILLA HOLIDAY

A large proportion of our work in the summer months is villa transfers. Normally two or three families holidaying together or groups of friends, that want the freedom of a holiday home in the sun, without all of the problems and expense of owning one!

Often villa packages have a hire car that is delivered to the property included in the price, which is great for trips to the supermarket to restock the beer and wine, and makes it unnecessary to hire self drive cars from the airport, that are then going to be parked up for a week or two. So booking a private transfer is the ideal way to travel to and from your holiday accommodation. You have the peace of mind of knowing that your driver will be waiting for you on your arrival at Alicante Airport to take you straight to your holiday home.

chalet spain blog Please tell us where to go In the nicest possible way!

RIGHT, LEFT OR STRAIGHT ON?

Sound great and very straight forward up to now ? Well it is as long as you tell us in advance where you are going!!! We have contracts with many villa owners/agencies which means that we visit some properties on a regular basis, and our vehicles can virtually find their own way there ( don’t tell the drivers! ) but for other properties, that sound absolutely wonderful in the description we need a little more help ! Once you have made your transfer reservation with us, we always ask you to obtain the complete address and driving instructions from the owner/rental agency so that they can be checked and if necessary translated into Spanish for the driver. On some occasions, clients don’t forward the details as requested , and then the problems can ( not always ) begin .
As an example in Calpe alone , there are 68 urbanisation areas of villas and chalets ( some of which have 500 properties on them) and there are no street names, often no visible house numbers , and in some of the smaller complexes no street lights ! So imagine arriving in the middle of the night ( even if you have booked a day flight, unfortunately you may be delayed) and trying to find the property from what you remember it looked like when you made the reservation ( just a hint- 99% of the properties are painted white- so that’s not much of a clue!) Many people think “oh its not a problem we can find the property with GPS” ( all of our vehicles have SATNAV´s fitted) well unfortunately many of the roads/dirt tracks that the isolated villa that you so carefully selected, to get away from it all , aren’t even on maps let alone route finders!

A TALE OF WHAT THE DRIVER SAW AND WHAT THE SATNAV TOLD HIM

On one memorable transfer last summer in Javea (luckily in day light) the SATNAV kept on insisting that the driver had to turn right, ( it’s the same computer generated squeaky female voice that you have on your device at home, but in Spanish!) after the umpteenth time of the voice screeching gira a la derecha ! gira a la derecha ! ( Turn right! Turn right!) the normally mild mannered driver pulled the SATNAV off the dashboard and explained to “the voice” (whilst trying not to strangle her “cyber-neck”) through gritted teeth that if he did that, then all his passengers would be swimming sooner than they thought, as the only thing in front of him, if he turned right was a swimming pool!

Just so you know that it´s not me being picky – I could offer a prize to the first person to explain where this propery is ( this a genuine “address “ given on a booking we received )
Overlooking the sea in Moraira, the house with the blue front door, just down from the bar!

THIS IS A PHOTO OF MORAIRA, CAN YOU FIND THE HOUSE?

puerto moraira3 300x196 Please tell us where to go In the nicest possible way!

So please help us to make your transfer and smooth and straightforward as possible and tell us in advance where you are going.!

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Alicante airport- More pirates than a Johnny Depp movie!

Posted on March 10, 2011 by Jacqui

PIRATE CARTOON Alicante airport More pirates than a Johnny Depp movie! I took a phone call today from someone asking if we could provide a child seat for a private transfer for 4 people back to Alicante airport. I confirmed that we could , and quoted the price, and that there was no extra charge for the child seat. The potential client said they would get back to me to confirm the reservation. All good up to this point. Half an hour later another phone call from the same person, asking if we could lower the price, as he had been talking to someone in a bar, that would take them to the airport in his car for 15 Euros less, but they would prefer to travel with us because we are legal! I then spent a lot of time through gritted teeth (not the first time I have had this conversation unfortunately!) explaining why we had to charge more than his new found drinking buddy.

Licence requirements
In Spain it is illegal to use a vehicle for hire and reward without being fully licenced ( The licence is called a Servicio Publico –Public Service). Licences are issued by the Department of Transport, and are extremely difficult and expensive to obtain , a licence for one vehicle can run into 6 figures. The licence is granted once the vehicle being used is verified as having the correct documentation, MOT and insurance to carry fare paying passengers. The driver also has to have a specific category of driving licence. As a company we also have to pay the drivers salary, and his national insurance contribution. Are you beginning to see what the extra 15 Euros gets spent on?

Police clampdown
Recently there has been a major clamp-down at Alicante airport, and the surrounding towns on un-licenced vehicles. At the airport there are now cameras that read number-plates entering the airport, so any vehicle registered as entering the airport, a large number of times, is being investigated ( this obviously doesn’t affect residents, meeting and dropping off legitimate family and friends). In local towns the taxi drivers know which vehicles the “piratas” as they are known use, and there have been several cases reported where taxis have blocked the vehicles from moving and called the police. In one incident a few weeks ago, the police were called, and by the time they arrived, spoke to everyone involved , and the passengers transferred to a licenced taxi, an hour had passed and the people missed their flight. The “pirata” was fined 1,300 Euros and the car was confiscated ( it was later found that the vehicle had no MOT or insurance at all, let alone, insurance to carry paying passengers). I can only assume he didn’t offer to pay for replacement flights, for the people that where left stranded.

How to check if a vehicle is fully licenced
So how do you know if the vehicle that you are sitting in or the transfer that you have booked is licenced ? Just ask to see a copy of the “Servicio Publico” licence ( which will have the registration number of the vehicle printed on it). If you are asked to meet the driver on your arrival at the airport , under the clock, or in the airport car park, you can guarantee that they are not licenced (or insured) as any legitimate company will be waiting for you, as soon as you get to the arrivals area of the airport, with their authorized job sheet that has been registered with the airport police.

WOULD YOU PREFER TO TRAVEL IN THIS VEHICLE?viano mercedes 281x300 Alicante airport More pirates than a Johnny Depp movie!

OR THIS ONE?
old seat Alicante airport More pirates than a Johnny Depp movie!

So did the caller book the transfer with us? – NO!
I just hope that the child seat was well strapped in, because if the very worst happened and they were involved in an accident (which as we all know can happen to anybody) they were not insured!

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Carnival 2011 on the Costa Blanca -Come and join the parade

Posted on March 2, 2011 by Jacqui

carnaval masks Carnival 2011 on the Costa Blanca Come and join the parade

It would be difficult to visit the Costa Blanca at any time of the year and not stumble across a fiesta somewhere. The Spanish love to party, and just about any reason will do!

We are just a few weeks away now from the start of the Carnival season, the last big celebrations before the start of Lent, the Catholic 40 days of fasting before Easter ( I will be giving up Chocolate-again!).

CARNAVAL IN BENIDORM

The celebrations start in Benidorm on Saturday 5th March, with the childrens parade scheduled to start in the old town at 11.00, with the adults getting their turn from 21:00. If you are planning to go along and watch remember to wear comfortable shoes, as parades NEVER start on time, and go on for several hours! After the parade there will be music and dancing until well into the early hours of Sunday.

carnaval 184x300 Carnival 2011 on the Costa Blanca Come and join the parade

THE BURYING OF THE SARDINE -EL ENTIERRO DE LA SARDINA

Tuesday 8th March, Shrove Tuesday, sees probably one of the strangest parades and rituals that you will ever see , The Burying of the Sardine – El Entierro de la Sardina . As with most things in Spain their are several theories as to how this custom started . The mostly likely one dates back to the 18th century , when it is said that King Carlos III, donated a shipload of sardines to his loyal servants to give them a treat before the start of the 40 days of Lent. Unfortunately the plan went horribly wrong as the fish had gone off! The only way to get rid of the smell of the rotting fish was to bury it . Now a ceremonial funeral procession takes place through the town down to the beach, where the participants dress in black and “weep and wail” at the loss of the sardine. Once the sardine has been buried, there is a huge firework display. This is a hugely popular event, so remember to get there earlier, as you will be literally packed in like sardines!

carnaval 004 photo 2 300x218 Carnival 2011 on the Costa Blanca Come and join the parade

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Alicante Airport-The lights are on, but there´s nobody in -Yet!!

Posted on March 1, 2011 by Jacqui

P2010216 14 300x145 Alicante Airport The lights are on, but there´s nobody in Yet!!

Anyone that has passed through Alicante Airport in the last couple of years, will have noticed the new terminal being built next to Terminal 1 ( or the old terminal as its known).

For the past few weeks, the new terminal has been lit up at night, as they have been testing all of the new check in equipment, and baggage transport belts . During the day groups of around 300 people local people have been given the chance to play at being arriving and departing passengers with empty suitcases .

P2010212 19 300x225 Alicante Airport The lights are on, but there´s nobody in Yet!!

THE BUILDING
The construction has taken over six years to build , this time not the fault of Spanish builders, when you consider that the new terminal has amongst other features has a roof comprising 40 glass domes , 96 check in desks, 14 baggage reclaim belts, and is 7 times bigger than the existing two terminals combined. It will offer 20 shops, and 16 bars and restaurants.

WHAT YOU GET FOR 500 MILLION EUROS

More than 500 million Euros has been spent on the new building. Was it money well spent? Well only time will tell. On a recent “inspection visit” to the new terminal, we and other operators have expressed grave concerns about the arrival meeting area, – basically as big as the new terminal is they haven`t allocated enough room! This is not something that will affect clients that have booked private transfers, with us as your driver will be there to meet you as soon as you have collected your luggage, but could cause big congestion problems for people who have booked shuttle transfers or who are on package holidays.

BLOG 0942 300x225 Alicante Airport The lights are on, but there´s nobody in Yet!!

The airport authorities say that they will be able to handle 7,860 pieces of checked in luggage an hour, which will be transported through an underground labyrinth, of moving belts, and that each piece of luggage will be placed its own micro-chipped tray, so that it will be virtually impossible for luggage to get lost ( famous last words- remember Terminal 5 at Heathrow!)

BLOG 099 300x225 Alicante Airport The lights are on, but there´s nobody in Yet!!

As well as the terminal building, there is a new car park, and an underground coach park .

LOTS OF CHANGES, BUT SOME THINGS REMAIN THE SAME

Once it is fully operational ( no opening date has been announced yet, but the latest rumour is the end of March) Alicante airports new terminal will be a great place to start and finish a visit to the Costa Blanca . Some things wont change- it will still take only 45 minutes to get to Benidorm from the airport with a private transfer, and the “new improved “ road out of the airport will still be like wacky races, as people who have rented self-drive cars, work out which side of the road they should be on!

MY WISH LIST FOR THE NEW ALICANTE AIRPORT TERMINAL
1. That the airport authority don’t decide to have its inauguration over a bank holiday weekend!!
2. That the airport information desk staff realize that their job is to actually be helpful and give information
3. That the state of the art baggage system works , but just in case it doesn’t a useful phrase for you –
ALGUIEN sabe dónde está mi maleta? ( Does ANYONE know where my suitcase is?)

UPDATE-SATURDAY 05/03/11

Had a second meeting yesterday with the airport director, to confirm arrangements for arriving private transfer and shuttle clients. There have been some rumours and mis-information circulating, that the existing Terminal Two building ( the one furthest away from the new terminal) will still be used for some low-cost flights. The Alicante Airport authorities have confirmed that ALL arriving and departing passengers will be via the new terminal building, and that the new terminal will be operational from Thursday 24th March 2011.

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Hola and welcome to Alicante

Posted on February 23, 2011 by Jacqui

Hi and welcome to draft 14 of the first Alicante Private Transfers Blog. My name is Jacqui , and as you can probably tell I am a British ex-pat who has been living on the Costa Blanca for the past 13 years (I only came for a week, but that’s a story that I may tell when we know each other a little better!)

Continue reading →

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