Gibraltar Airport

We have just had a request from one of our visitors to add a section about Gibraltar Airport and and I with him we should add some information about it.

At the moment there are some high level talks going on between the Spanish and UK Governments about Gibraltar and shared access to the airport is one of the key points of the discussion.

At the moment you can fly to Gibraltar from the UK with Monarch and BA but if a shared deal goes ahead then it could open up a whole raft of routes.

For those of you not sure where Gibraltar is, it is at the far western end of the Costa del Sol and for anyone visiting the area west of Marbella, say Nueva Andalucia down, Gibraltar Airport is as close as Malaga Airport.

Gibraltar is also perfectly placed for the Costa De La Luz and the Kite Surfing town of Tarifa!

Monarchs Winter Flights To Spain

Ten weeks earlier than last year, Monarch have just released their winter schedule and it includes a couple of new routes.

The new routes include flights from Gatwick to Tenerife and Manchester to Lanzarote. Both routes start on the 29th October 2006

Monarchs winter flights to Spain offer

45 flights per week to Malaga

33 flights per week to Alicante

31 flights per week to the various Canary Islands (Tenerife, Lanzarote & Gran Canaria)

7 flights per week to Mallorca and Menorca

Some of the new routes which were introduced for this summer will also continue over the winter period and these are:

Birmingham – Almeria – three flights per week


Birmingham – Faro – three flights per week


Birmingham to Murcia – three flights per week


Manchester to Menorca – two flights per week: the first winter flights from the North to Menorca


For more information or to book, visit www.flymonarch.com or call 08700 40 63 00.

Free Holidays To Tenerife - Canary Islands

I just spotted that GM TV are giving away free holidays to Tenerife or Gran Canaria everyday this week.

The competition only runs for the duration of the show and you can enter online.

You can enter the competition here

The questions are so simple it's daft!

The Prizes are

"GMTV is giving you the chance to win one of three holidays to the Canary Islands.

You have the choice of staying in a top hotel in either Gran Canaria or Tenerife, and we're throwing in £500 spending money.

Your week in the sun is for up to four people and comes courtesy of Direct Holidays."

Good luck
Gary

Long Term Car Parking At Spanish Airports

Just got this email so I thought that I would post the reply I gave..

Hi,

Can you tell me what the secure airport parking is like at the smaller airports in Spain? Ie what is the level of security like and are they all covered by insurance.

Regards

Vicky

My reply

Hi Vicky, (not sure if I already sent a reply!)

Recently a lot of the "smaller" airports such as Girona and Almeria have moved from FREE parking to paid parking and this in turn means that there is generally a car park attendant or security guard wandering around.

The end of free parking has also lead to new companies offering, cheaper long term parking in "off airport" locations. This has already happened at Girona Airport. These private companies normally provide decent security.

I havent heard any bad things about car crime at the airports but you never know.

To check up on insurance etc you need to speak to Aena (www.aena.es) the Spanish Airport Authority who run all the airports in Spain. I can't believe that they wouldn't have adequate cover for their car parking.

Is there a particular airport you want to park at? maybe we can post a question on my site.

Regards

Gary

My Flights from Malaga to Luton & back

Last week I flew to London Luton with Monarch on the Wednesday and back to Malaga on the Thursday with Easyjet.

Although it was a pretty hectic schedule the flights were pretty good (both 15 mins late) and I was immpressed with the service from both carriers.

I last flew with Easyjet back in December and found that the cabin crew were "catty and sarcastic" and generally spoke to everyone in one tone but looked at each other as if to say - why are we doing this". Maybe it was just a bad day for the staff, maybe they had a terrible boss! This time however the cabin crew were helpful, cheerful and a whole lot better than back in December.

I must also stress how immpressed I was with the Monarch service. The flights cost about the same but the level of service was far higher. Nice little touches such as hot towels before landing.

Before when booking flights I had never thought about the service but had instead focused on the price. If in the future the Monarch flights are a little more expensive than the Easyjet ones I would definately take the Monarch flights.

By the way for those of you mad enough to consider flying to Luton and back in a day or so the best flights to get are:

Either the 1130 Monarch Flight or 1135 Easyjet flight out of Malaga, believe it or not these are the first flights of the day to Luton from Malaga.

To retuen catch the 1940 Easyjet flight from Luton to Malaga.

Please Note: Over the summer months Easyjet have later flights on offer.

Monarch Stop Flights Between Newquay and Malaga

It look like my flights between Malaga and Newquay on 23rd April 2006 will be amongst the last flights to be offered by Monarch from Newquay.

Monarch announced yesterday that they are stopping all flights between Cornwall and the Costa del Sol from the end of April.

Monarch are blaming Cornwall County Council for their "5 pound Cornish Airport airport tax" and as I predicted in an earlier article this great opportunity for Cornwall has ended in tears.

It doesn't look like there will be any going back on this decision but if there is I will announce it here first!

Castellon Airport - North of Valencia

We just had this email from one of our website's visitors, if you have any info about Castellon airport can you let me know..

On Fri Feb 17 9:10 ,
Hi Gary

I was wondering if you have any knowledge of the new airport in Castellon
(north of Valencia).

I have seen the Villareal football team being sponsered by
aeropuertocastellon but I cannot find any information.

This new airport is ideal for the Costa Azahar region of Spain which is
lovely.

Hope you can help me, look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards

Carole Carter

My Reply

Hi Carole

There is very little information about the airport at the moment, below is a link to the only article that I have seen in the last 6-9 months!

http://www.thinkspain.com/news-spain/10530

I suspect that the airport is owned by the owners of Villareal Football team, they are a very wealthly Spanish family.

Until a UK carrier such as Ryanair or Easyjet announce routes there or until Aena (www.aena.es) the Spanish Airport authority make more announcements there's not much more I can add.

Two local sites where you might get more information from the forums etc are http://www.valenciatrader.com/ & http://www.inlandtrader.net/mem_online_edition.php

If you do get any news can you share it with me so that I can set up a page dedicated to it and help other travellers

Thanks and I hope this helps a little.

Regards

Gary

I live a ten minute drive from the airport and yesterday I went for a drive round the perimeter fence. The earth moving has all but finished and the actual building of terminal buildings are expected to start this week. The link road to Torreblanca has been started, it will be 13.7Km. long and is expected to take approx. 20 months to complete. The runway has been levelled and has yet to be surfaced. The local press say completion will be in the last quarter of 2008.

Internal flights to Tenerife

I just received this email so I thought that I would list the question and my reply here in case anyone else is interested.

Hi Gary,

I have a place in La Manga and have just aquired a place in south Tenerife - what would be the best available flight arrangements from La Manga to Tenerife and back and approximately how much would it cost per person, what is the frequency etc?

I look forward to your reply.

Kind regards,

Neil

Hi Neil

You can get direct flights from Alicante to Tenerife South through Spanair, one of Spains low cost airlines. When I checked their site it looked like you should budget for about €50-75 each way.

Although they do offer direct flights the service is limited to just a couple of flights per week.

You can however easily get to Tenerife from Alicante through either Spanair or Iberia who will both offer several routes per day where you will have to change at either Barcelona or Madrid. Although this adds time to your journey it shouldnt add much cost!

Lastley, Air Nostrum have flights between Murcia and Madrid and Barcelona , when you get to Madrid or Barcelona pick up a Spanair or Iberia flight down to Tenerife.

I hope that this helps and the website you need are as follows:

http://www.spanair.com/en/index.asp

http://www.iberia.es/OneToOne/v3/home.do

http://www.airnostrum.es

Regards

Gary Ingram

Jet2 flights from Belfast to Tenerife

Jet2 is set to launch a new twice weekly servic between Belfast and Tenerife in the Canary Islands.

Unlike many of the routes to Spain offered by other airlines this route is scheduled £55.50 (€81) one way including taxes.
The twice-weekly flights between Belfast International Airport and Tenerife begin in October and are planned to run all year round.

This is the first time that any low cost airline has offered scheduled flights direct to Tenerife from Northern Ireland and although the flight time will be around 4 hours it does offer the opportunity of taking a short break.

You can book your tickets direct at Jet2.com

Malaga Airport Customs Scam

I just read a worrying report on Typically Spanish which is about the arrest of 19 Civil Guards at Malaga Airport.

In essence the guards were charging Chinese Tourist €50 entry in Malaga Airport. If they didn't pay they would have their luggage confiscated!

Several things worry me about this but my main concern is that this was widespread and if the Guards are willing to risk their jobs and careers for €50 a time, what else are they doing?

Lets hope that this is the start of a new era!

Agro Jardin Estepona Costa Del Sol

This is not about airports but if you are heading to the Costa del Sol with your kids and it rains this is something for you to do!

Yesterday it was pouring down with rain and on a Sunday in Spain all the main shops and shopping centers are closed (apart from August & Christmas!.

Everyone we know with kids in the Marbella heads for Agro Jardin Garden Center which is on the N340 between Marbella and Estepona. (nearer to Estepona).

The Agro Jardin telephone number is 0034 952 796 231 and you can check out this map location for Agro Jardin.

Its a pretty big garden center and it's got a good cheap cafe with an excellent ball park for the kids!

There is also a whole pet shop area where they sell everything from puppies (all types) rabbits, birds, fish etc. Outside at the back they also sell sheep, goats, chickens etc. Its almost like going to a small farmyard!

The reason everyone goes there is because there is nothing else to do in the mornings here if it rains.

On Sunday afternoons you could head for Camelot Park in Puerto Banus, (top floor marina banus shopping center) where they ahve a whole range of ball parks and things for the kids to do.

Cheap Easyjet Flights Until Midnight 14th Februrary

Easyjet have just released 7 million flights at half price!

They are offering all flights on all routes for travel between now and May 31st at half price.

The flights are moving quickly so hurry up!

The statement below is straight out of the press release I just recieved..

"All seats on all routes have been discounted by up to 50%! That's an enormous 7 million seats! And there are absolutely no restrictions - you can book as many seats as you like, on any route until 31 May 2006. These incredible sale fares are available on every flight in our network...so now you don't need to wait until summer to take a break!

Our Spring Giveaway must end at midnight Tuesday 14 February"

Book direct with Easyjet

ITV Test In Spain - An ITV test for you car in Spain

This post is about cars in Spain not Airports, I know!

We just had an ITV test done on our car and thought we would put together a question and answer style post to help anyone who wants to know what the ITV test is and where you get them done.

ITV Inspection in Spain


What is an ITV?
An ITV is required by Law and is basically an MOT to check that your car is road worthy. It is regulated by the law and all vehicles are required to have one at some point in their lifetime.

What does ITV Stand For
Inspeccion Tecnica de Vehiculos. Technical Inspection of Vehicles.

When do you need an ITV?
Cars – When you cars is 4 years old, and ITV is required every 2 years. Over 10 years old, annually.
Motocycles – When you motorcycle is 5 years old, an ITV is required every 2 years.
Caravans – When your caravan is 6 years old, an ITV is required every 2 years.

How much is an ITV?
Prices vary, however for a Ford Focus 1.4 €35.54euros. To get an idea of prices http://www.supermotor.com/servicios/itv/tarifa_itv.jsp

Where do I go to get an ITV?
There are over 50 ITV Points in Andalucia. They are normally based on an Industrial Estate (Poligono). To find your nearest ITV Centre http://www.supermotor.com/servicios/itv/donde_itv.jsp .

What do I need to take with me?
Take all the documentation you have for the car. From our experience, it is always better to have too much.

What happens when I am there?
Its like a conveyer belt. You drive through several checks and will be asked to put on lights, brake, turn the steering wheel, etc etc.

What happens if I pass the ITV?
If you have passed you will be given a ITV Certificate which must be kept in the car and an ITV sticker that must be placed in your windscreen. If you fail to put this sticker in your windscreen and you are stopped by the police you could be fined anything from 90 to 150 euros with 10 days to produce evidence that you have the ITV.

What happens if I fail the ITV?
If your vehicle does not pass the ITV then you have 2 months to rectify the problem. If you do this within 15 days you may be eligible for a 70 percent discount on the ITV Inspection Fee.

What happens if I fail the ITV and do not rectify the problem.
The ITV company will send your ITV card which they retained and send it to the Provincial Headquarters of Traffic. They will be informed that an unroadworthy vehicle is on the road.

Easyjet Flights Notts To ibiza

Easyjet have just announced a new route!

Book direct at www.easyjet.com now for the best deals.

"From 15 July 2006, you'll be able to fly from Nottingham East Midlands to Ibiza every Saturday from just £30.99 one way including taxes!

The cosmopolitan and diverse island of Ibiza is well-known as the ultimate clubbing destination - but it's also a relaxing paradise, with beautiful sandy white beaches, warm crystal waters and a gentle rural landscape. The party animals amongst you will love the electric night time vibe and great choice of clubs and bars, whilst those wanting to kick back and unwind will enjoy lazy days on the beach and leisurely dinners on shady terraces. With the charming and historical medieval old town to explore and a whole host of activities to enjoy from hill walks to watersports, Ibiza truly has something for everyone."

Spaniar Flights To Stockholm & Copenhagen

From 1st April 2006 the Spanish Airlines, Spaniar will be openeing up new routes between Malaga, Alicante and Palma and Copenhagen and Stockholm.

Once the expansion plans are in place Spanair will be offering atotal of 98 flights per week between Scandinavia and Spain.

Madrid Terminal 4 Now Open

The Spanish prime Minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, opened the new terminal at Madrid Airport on Saturday.

We have a whole section devoted to the facilities and services that are on offer at Madrid Airport terminal 4.