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OH and I will be staying at the Aldea del Mar complex on Avenida Roentgen near the seafront in Torrevieja.

We will be exploring Torrevieja and the surrounding areas but where would we as a middle-aged couple just wanting to look at shops, have a quiet drink and/or nice meal not want to find ourselves? I can't imagine that we'll be out and about until the early hours but don't want to inadvertently wander into the "wrong areas".

Any advice please?

missile

You will be fine, just look out for pickpockets and unsavoury characters just like you would when out in the UK. You will be accosted by street sellers, say no politely but firmly. Take care if you visit the open market.

there is a lot of graffiti in Torre which tends to indicate less desireable neighbourhoods.

HBG

If you're ordinary people, not looking to buy drugs, not drinking until you fall down, not dancing the night away in discos until 6am in the mornings, then there are no places to avoid in Torrevieja.

The Aldea del Mar complex is a posh one, but away from the town centre. Head for the sea, turn right, keep on the beach promenade and you will find the harbour and centre of town.

Another way of judging the centre of town is when you no longer see any Brit bars, but if you want those, turn left as you come to the sea from Aldea del Mar. There are some decent ones with decent English food, and entertainment if you're out late.

Torrevieja is a lot safer than any British city of a comparable size and location.

Library Ticket

Yes I've seen the graffiti on google maps and only one block back from the seafront. I was hoping the seafront wasn't classed as an undesirable area.

Just wondered if there was anywhere known as "Bar Street" or a similar name that wouldn't appeal to us, or would we hear the noise well before we got there?

I know Torrevieja has a reputation for crime but is it mainly robbery/burglary rather than violent?

Library Ticket

Nice to know Aldea del Mar is posh and it would be good to say that we picked it because of that but it wouldn't be true. It was all that was available, we tried to get two weeks in the same accommodation but couldn't, hence we have a week in Playa Flamenca (near the Police station and Ayuntimiento) and a week in Torrevieja.

We're not particularly interested in English food, we like to try the local fayre. Do you know of any reasonably priced Spanish restaurants close to either of the places we are staying? We're also interested in restaurants serving menu del dia anyway along the coast from La Marina to Los Alcazares and to include a strip as far inland as Pinar de Campoverde and Rojales.

As far as safety goes we live in a small market town and have walked home from friends' houses at 2am and only met happy drunks. York is only 10 miles away but I have the car doors locked if I need to drive through there on Friday or Saturday evenings.

anonimouse

Had my first visit up there a few weeks ago, stayed in Guadamar on outskirts, (thank God) lovely place.

IMO Torrevieja needs pressure washing from top to bottom, on my prom walk I saw sick from weeks before at almost every bench, dog piss stains at every bloody post, the beach was so overcrowded it looked ugly, I took photo's to show my friends just how bad it was.

No offence if you live there, just my observation on a one day visit.

HBG

On your general question of restaurants doing a menu del dia in the areas you mention, there are literally hundreds of them.

For a Spanish experience, I can recommend a 'buffet libre' which is halfway along the Playa del Cura, the extremely busy Spanish beach on your way into town. It has a large terrace overlooking the beach and is mostly used by Spanish people.

Playa Flamenca is ten miles to the south and a bit more English.

HBG

Torrevieja's four blue star beaches and adjoining streets are cleaned every morning.

It's not a place to visit if you don't like crowds, at the moment and every summer, one million Madrilenos visit the town and take it over - just as they have done for hundreds of years.

City people can be noisy and brash, they bring their kids and grandparents and dogs and party late into the night. If you want to avoid them, you need to go to bed early with earplugs.

Library Ticket

Thank you HBG, I've found the beach on the map I've already got from the Oficina de Turismo, one of at least a dozen offices in the area I contacted for maps etc.

Google street view doesn't cover that part of the promenade (presumably no motorised vehicles allowed) but a restaurant called Gran Buffet Playa de Cura is marked on the overhead view.

HBG

That's the one, it's about 12 Euros for as much as you want to eat, open between midday and 4pm, with views from the terrace of how Spanish people enjoy their numerous beaches.

If you can't get a seat on the busy terrace, there's a large inside area too, without the views but a Spanish ambience.

If you feel fit enough and keep walking along the sea front, you come to another beach called Acequion, totally Spanish as well, with traditional restaurants actually on the sands.

If you keep walking south you come to the fourth beach, called Naufragos, the cleanest one, but with artificial sand, not that you would notice.

Having mentioned the beaches, I missed out Los Locos, the nearest one to your holiday apartment. The restaurants on the front are mostly Spanish, but there are many British bars in the streets behind. They are not of the best quality and the juke boxes are full of Tom Jones records.

They have karaoke as well, and some drunk will soon be singing the 'green grass of home', having probably arrived from Wales the day before.

Years ago, I didn't mind, nowadays I run away.

megmet

Careful what you say about places,.... I got threatened with a denuncia on here for a lot less than that.

HBG

It's funny. we defend our places, even if deep down we know we're wrong. I could easily reverse my opinion of the place I live in now - and all the places before.

Fickleness is the answer, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I lived in Benidorm for three years. I still have to tweak myself when I think of it, but I did.

I loved it, I still miss it, and the excitement of going out on a Saturday night to look for what I was looking for will stay with me forever.

I was single then. A widower. And I stayed clear of the Old Town.

Library Ticket

So would I, I'm not a fan of Tom Jones.

I've also seen a recommendation for Casa Curro on Calle Almudena and been told to visit Dona Isabel's in San Miguel de Salinas.