There are restaurants aplenty throughout the area. We will just mention a few here to give you an idea of the range. The informal ones on the beaches are called 'chiringuitos' and usually open from June to September. As for shops and markets, you can get all you need locally without difficulty.
The chiringuito on the beach just to the left from Casa Lorca is a very good family-run place. The host, Antonio, is always welcoming. It is open from morning to night and does everything from paella and great seafood and tapas to hamburgers and spaghetti bolognaise. You'll feed the family here for half the price of any restaurant and it's lovely and casual to sit in. it is so popular with the locals that you need to book for lunch at weekends. There is another chiringuito further on up the beach but you will probably never make it past Antonio's.
Just up the road from Casa Lorca lies the fishing village of Villaricos. On the edge of it on a little beach is a chiringuito which is very relaxed. In the village itself there are two small harbours and on the first is another chiringuito which is a pleasant place to sit by the boats. It has a small but good and inexpensive menu. Otherwise there is the Hostal-Restaurant Esperanza which is on the second harbour. It has a pleasant little bar and dining room and tables outside. The cooking is fairly simple and it is not expensive. In the village itself there are another couple of modest restaurants.
A few minutes drive away from Casa Lorca are the fish restaurants which cluster around the harbour in Garrucha. They are all enticing with their displays of fish and seafood which is fresh off the local fishing boats and sold in the fish market on the quay. The best thing is to go and see what you fancy. There are lots of places to choose from and they all seem good.
If you're in the mood for something else there is the Hotel Tikar which is very good. Check about needing to book. Next door is an Italian restaurant (actually run by an Italian) called La Pineta which does absolutely excellent home made pizzas and pasta dishes. Pretty much opposite is the A&H Restaurant which specialises in Argentinian beef and steaks of extremely good quality.
If you go up the road past the sign for Turre you'll see what looks like a cross between a small manor house and a redundant church. It has no very visible sign outside. This is La Capilla which means The Chapel and there is still one inside this lovely old building which is now a smart restaurant. It used to be a convent. You can also enjoy eating outside in the flower-filled gardens.
Alternatively if you carry on to come into the village of Turre and go up the high street you will come to the Casa Adelina which is at the top. It has lots of tables on the terrace outside. The food is good value and the bustle of the place makes for a pleasant evening. They do homemade bread with a garlic dip which it's almost compulsory to have.
On through Turre and you will find your way out to the small village of Bedar where there is the Miramar Restaurant. It has a terrace with a wonderful view across the countryside down to the sea in the distance. Again for what you pay and what you get you should feel satisfied.
This small village on the beach in the Cabo de Gata national park is well worth the effort for a lovely day out. After getting to the far end of the Mojacar resort beach road you drive down the quiet coast road as it winds along by the sea. The sandy beach in the little bay at Agua Amarga is a delight for children and right on it are inexpensive and friendly restaurants with good local food. At weekends arrive early enough to ask them to reserve a table for you for lunch.
There are supermarkets and shops convenient to Casa Lorca for all your daily needs.
In Garrucha itself is a whole range of shops such as the post office, newsagents, chemists, gift shops etc again in the same sort of way as you would find at home. Similarly in Mojacar which also a has a large shopping centre for fashion clothes and gift shopping.
As for the markets, there is one on Friday in Garrucha which has stalls selling all sorts of trinkets, clothing, and items for the tourists such as fake designer sunglasses that are sure to fall apart within hours. There are also plenty of fresh produce stalls run by local farmers.
Saturday is market day in Vera which is about ten minutes or so away from Casa Lorca. Once again the usual range of goods is here but the produce market is larger than Garrucha's and there is also a meat and fish hall which is open and you can get good things in there. If you want to try the famous Garrucha Prawns you will usually find them here. They are much more red in colour than ordinary prawns and are rightly prized for their sweetness of taste. They will be more expensive but not outrageously so given their quality.
Sunday is the craft and bric-a-brac market in Mojacar Old Town. It is well worth a visit. Local artists exhibit here. Some are quite good. There is a range of stalls selling country antiques, 'hippy' type jewellery and all sorts of other odds and ends whilst in the village of Villaricos there is a busy market with stalls selling clothing and very good local produce.
As most people who go on a holiday to somewhere like Southern Spain probably have enjoying sun and sand as one of their top priorities we thought it would be helpful to devote a special section to summing up what appears in other parts of this website about the beaches in the area.
Casa Lorca looks out onto the beach. To the left as you face the sea the beach runs to the wooded headland which is a perhaps a kilometre away. Along here are two small bar/restaurants which are open during the summer. The nearest is a couple of hundred metres along. It is run by the ever-welcoming Antonio who serves meals of great value and quality day and evening. It is so popular with the locals that you have to book for lunch at weekends. To the right the beach continues down as far as the harbour of Garrucha which is several kilometres away.
Going from Casa Lorca past the wooded headland takes you to the fishing village of Villaricos which is a couple of minutes drive away. It has two small beaches next to it, one of which has a good bar/restaurant on it. The small coast road continues past Villaricos through countryside by the sea. There are lots of little coves along here but they tend to be rocky rather than sandy. However they would be good for fishing or snorkling from.
After about a quarter of an hour you will come to Carolina Beach which is lovely. It is in a horseshoe-shaped bay of fine sand. The water is shallow and it is perfect for children. Just next to it is another good sandy beach. Each has a little bar/restaurant on them where you can enjoy a drink, an ice cream or a simple meal in the shade.
In the direction of Garrucha the wide beach is backed by low-rise hotels and apartments. These are of good quality and it does not seem that the ‘package tour’ type visitor is encouraged. Because the beach is so long and widens out to about 300 metres it does not get crowded even in high season. Along it are various beach bar/restaurants.
The town beach in Garrucha, which is by the harbour, is wide and sandy. In Mojacar, which lies on the other side of Garrucha, there are beaches along the length of the resort.
On the far side of Mojacar the small coast road runs along by the sea through some spectacular mountain scenery. This area, much of which is National Park, was praised by the Sunday Times and the Radio Four travel programme, Excess Baggage (see the Cabo de Gata National Park section of this website).
The first beach you will come to is Playa de Los Muertos. The road is high above it and as you look down you will see the sort of beach that ends up on the cover of a travel brochure. It is a steep climb down to it but if you make the effort you’ll have it almost to yourself even in high season. It is gorgeous.
Just past it is the small village of Agua Amarga. It was the beach here which the Sunday Times rated as one of the top twenty undiscovered beaches in Europe. When you see it you will see why. The little white village lies on a delightful crescent-shaped bay of lovely sand. Boats bob at their anchors and the local restaurants have their terraces right on the beach. It is the sort of place that must have existed all along the coast of Spain in the years before tourists arrived. It is an absolutely lovely place to spend a day both for grown-ups and children.
There are four excellent courses within about five to fifteen minutes drive from Casa Lorca.
We are not golfers and so cannot make any technical comments. Below, the golf club names are links which will take you to their websites so that you can get the details for yourself.
With the Almanzora site you should enter the site and then click on Desert Springs for the golf course.
What we can do here is give you a brief rundown of them. The Guest Information Folder at Casa Lorca has directions on how to get to each of them.
This is about five minutes away. It is a very high quality development in the countryside behind Casa Lorca. As the crow flies it’s perhaps about two or three miles from the house. The properties developed with the course are very exclusive and expensive and you can see examples of their interesting design on the Almanzora website. The clubhouse is very luxurious with a fine, albeit expensive, restaurant. All in all this is a very classy place which appears to offer a very good course in quiet countryside surroundings.
Val del EsteThis is about ten to fifteen minutes away from Casa Lorca. Again it is a high-class golf resort but on a somewhat larger scale than Desert Springs. It has its own hotel as well as houses and town houses. However because it is situated right out in the countryside it has a peaceful feeling to it. The hotel houses the golf shop and doubles as the clubhouse and there is also a spa there all of which you can check out if you go to their website.
Marina GolfThis too is about ten to fifteen minutes away from Casa Lorca. It is in the hills overlooking Mojacar and has spectacular views straight out across the Mediterranean. Going over the other side of the hill which the course is constructed on are equally spectacular views inland across the countryside. There is a small clubhouse and golf shop and before or after playing you can enjoy a drink or something to eat in one of the many places on the doorstep of the course along Mojacar beach.
Cortijo GrandeThis is about fifteen minutes away from Casa Lorca. It is undoubtedly the prettiest course and is also apparently the cheapest. It is set in the foothills of the Sierra Cabrera mountains and is surrounded by lovely countryside. Basically it is not very near anywhere and is very peaceful. There is a small restaurant and bar set in an old house adjoining the start of the course. Overall this is an extremely relaxing place
The obvious thing to do at Casa Lorca is to enjoy the pool and the beaches, perhaps a gentle round of golf and then dinner. But if you want something more there is plenty to do. There is a guide at the house with directions in it to help you find your way around to get to places such as the Wild West Theme Park, find restaurants etc but here is a brief summary of what is available if you get fidgety sitting on the sand.
People fish regularly along the beaches so there must be something out there to catch. A cheap rod and line could easily be purchased and there is a fishing shop in Villaricos. You could fish in the harbours at Villaricos or Garrucha or off any of the coves along the quiet coast road nearby. If you want to go game fishing there are boats which you can hire to do this in the harbour at Garrucha.
If you are a beginner you can learn or if you are more experienced you can go out on dive excursions with ScubaJive in Mojacar. See what they offer on www.scubajive.com. Nearer to hand is a scuba-diving place in Villaricos where you can hire the necessary equipment. Either way you will be in warm clear waters and see plenty of the colourful fish you probably never quite caught if you tried that rod and line off the beach. The Daily Mail (30.6.06) in an article on the area which it described as a ‘hidden treasure’ said that its ‘pristine waters are a playground for fishermen and divers’.
There is a small boat that goes out of one of the little harbours in Villaricos. It operates during the summer months.
There are trips around the bay from Garrucha harbour. Again they operate during summer. Just go down to the harbour and you will find the mooring about half way along the quay.
There are various riding stables in the area. Our favourite is Rancho La Munera which is about fifteen minutes drive along the coast road from Casa Lorca. It feels more like a ranch than a riding stables complete with cactuses. From here for 12 euros an hour (price as at November 2005) you can either follow trails through the foothills or gallop along the beach. If you can ride this is good country. Being Spanish they even have an informal bar in one of the stables for when you get back.
This is two minutes drive from Casa Lorca and the children could in fact walk to it without crossing any roads. It is open June to September and is very popular with the youngsters. Don’t worry though – you can’t hear or see it from the villa.
This is five minutes away from Casa Lorca and is brand new. It offers a gym, tennis, a golf-driving range, mini-golf and even beach volleyball and can be used by all ages.
The movie industry has long since known of the desert beauty of the inland area which sometimes seems more like Arizona or Arabia than Espana. Dozens of movies from the Clint Eastwood ‘spaghetti westerns’ and some of the Magnificent Seven to parts of Lawrence of Arabia and Indiana Jones were filmed here. About forty five minutes away from Casa Lorca near the pleasant village of Tabernas are the movie theme parks of Fort Bravo and Mini Hollywood where there are stage sets of the Wild West and regular cowboy shoot-outs on main street. It’s like seeing The Good The Bad and the Ugly for real and kids love it. There is also a newly added safari park. All about forty five minutes drive away through countryside.
There is a big track just outside Garrucha so it is about ten minutes drive from Casa Lorca. If you want to try and break your neck this is probably as good a place as any.
The area inland is mostly valleys, foothills and mountains and much of it is National Park. As such the possibilities are endless. You wouldn’t want to try it in when the sun is at its hottest but for the rest of the year you could literally go for miles. In spring when the wildflowers are out is an especially pretty time.
The Spanish not only tend to eat late but the youngsters then don’t seem to even think about clubbing until midnight at least. Fortunately there does not seem to be any ‘yob’ element in the area to spoil the fun.
One place which is very popular with teenagers is not far away. It is a bar/club called El Porton and is effectively in the middle of nowhere in the countryside so they can make as much noise as they like.
Otherwise a trip to Mojacar offers plenty of opportunities. The main club there, Pasha’s, is a designed like some sort of big Arabian tent and is right on the beach. Otherwise there are beach bars too numerous to mention. If the kids need a taxi back when they’ve finished partying they are not very expensive.
The city of Granada with its lovely old quarter and the spectacular Alhambra Palace built by the Moors is near enough to visit. It is about three hours away on easy roads.
If you want to stay overnight a lovely place in the heart of the old quarter is the Hotel Carmen de Santa Ines which is basically a mini-mansion house (doubles from £70 as at January 2006. Tel 0034 958 226380 or see carmensantaines.com. It is hundreds of years old, filled with antiques, there are frescoes on the walls and many of the rooms look out across to the Alhambra. It is like stepping back in time to stay there.
This may sound a bit unlikely when thinking about beach holidays but it is feasible to go skiing and snowboarding from Casa Lorca if you want to. The Sierra Nevada mountains are this side of Granada and the skiing there is the southernmost in Europe. The slopes are open from December to April and the main resort there hosted the 1996 World Skiing Championships. It has 39 runs and six off-piste trails.
It is about two hours plus drive on easy main roads to get there and so quite feasible to go and spend a couple of days or so. To get there simply drive on the E-15 to Almeria City and turn off on the Granada road by the airport. Turn off at junction 241 signed Granada and follow the signs for Sierra Nevada.