Welcome to this section on my home port of Almerimar – Yachting, golf, hotels and bars. A perfect overwintering base for yachts and winter holidaymakers. Let me take you through the various amenities that this marina resort has to offer, both for a short term stay or a permanent home.
Some Useful Phone Numbers
Guardia Civil 062 Ugencias Medicas 061 Bomberos (Fire) 080 Policia National 091 Emergency general 112
For an emergency in the marina (if your Spanish is not too good) it is best to call the marina office on VHF channel 9 or telephone 950 60 77 55 or 950 49 73 53 and ask them to help.
Some Useful Phone Numbers
Guardia Civil 062 Ugencias Medicas 061 Bomberos (Fire) 080 Policia National 091 Emergency general 112
For an emergency in the marina (if your Spanish is not too good) it is best to call the marina office on VHF channel 9 or telephone 950 60 77 55 or 950 49 73 53 and ask them to help.
Places to visit
Just discovered this delightful tropical garden very close to Almerimar. Click the picture to find out more
Open Air Markets in & around Almerimar
This is a general list of street markets in the area.
Mercadillo de El Ejido: opens the three first Wednesdays of each month, between 9:00 and 14:00 hours. Calle Arquitecto Pérez de Arenaza.
Mercadillo de Santa María del Águila: opens the three first Saturdays of each month. Santa María del Águila, El Ejido.
Mercadillo de las Norias de Daza: opens the three first Fridays of each month, between 8:00 and 14:00 hours. Las Norias de Daza, El Ejido.
Mercadillo de Balerma: opens the three first Mondays of each month, between 8:00 and 14:00 hours. Balerma, El Ejido.
Mercadillo de San Agustín: opens the first and third Wednesday of each month, between 8:00 and 14:00 hours. San Agustín, calle Algibe, El Ejido.
Mercadillo de Matagorda: opens every Thursday, between 8:00 and 14:00 hours. Matagorda, El Ejido.
To follow are the most popular.
El Ejido market is on the first three Wednesdays of the month
Around 10 minutes by car from Almerimar marina To the top of the hill leaving Almerimar. Take a left on the roundabout after the motorway turn-off. Drive on down the hill and turn right on the second roundabout, about a kilometre. Continue for another kilometre and you will see the market on your left. Plenty of parking on your right.
Roquetas market is open every Thursday morning.
Around 30 minutes by car or catch a bus at 10:30 from Mercadona, number 333 or 152. The market is located close to the Grand Plaza shopping centre. Head east on the motorway. Turn off at the junction marked ‘Roquetas’. Keep right and head down the hill. Around the first roundabout take the exit for Aquadulce. Drive for 10 minutes until you see the Grand Plaza with ‘Toys’r’Us and Leroy Merlin. Take the left on the roundabout and the market is straight ahead with parking on the right.
Vicar, probably the largest of them all is open every Sunday morning.
Around 20 minutes by car. Head east on the motorway looking for the exit to Vicar. (Not the village ‘pueblo’ but the town itself to the south.) Take the road for five minutes until you come to a main junction, turn left – you are there – look for people carrying bags. Plenty of parking on some wasteland next to the market.
To find search for Cafeteria-Bar Eureka on google maps. This is on the corner of the market. Or use this plus code R926+PH
English Speaking Dentists
Doctors in Almerimar
There are two medical centres in Almerimar. Both walking distance from Almerimar marina. The one on the map marked ´Servicios Medicos´ by darcena three is a private clinic, and thus will charge. Telephone +34 950 49 76 62.
The ´Centro de Salud´ is a national health clinic and provided you have an international health card they will attend to you. Paseo Caleta +34 950 10 35 91 Please be aware you will need at least some basic Spanish – or take along a Spanish speaker as, sometimes, they can be a little ´unhelpful´ when making an appointment or consulting with a doctor.
That said the medical care, in my experience, is very good and often very prompt.
The protocol is to make an appointment any morning at around 08:00 On the day of your appointment sit in the queue for either the doctor (medico) or the nurse (enfermera) and check with other patients what time they have on their appointment and the order (orden) – you will not normally be called, so without asserting yourself or engaging in some conversation you could sit there all day and feel a bit of a lemon.
Horse Riding in Almerimar
Horse riding on the Parque Natural in Almerimar from Hipica riding stables.
Cost around 10 euros an hour. Telephone + 34 630 90 80 87 Calle de Roquetas, (Look for an obscure plywood sign that denotes the entrance)
The coast around Almerimar is the warmest in mainland Europe.
The ‘Costa del Sol’ used to be called the ‘Costa del Vente‘- the coast of the wind. I does, indeed, get very windy here. The strongest wind I have ever experienced was last April with a wind speed of 74 knots. Click >here to see a typical winter storm in the marina. The Autumn is nearly always the best time of year and shorts and t-shirts are the norm up till Christmas. In the Spring when the wind comes from the west and over the Sierra Nevada it can be relatively cold – Summers from about June till late September are always hot – often too hot but there is plenty of sea to cool down in. I have found that the weather forecast centred in El Ejido is pretty accurate if one transposes the wind speed from kilometres to knots for Almerimar. For the web click > here
During the winter if you can collect from Malaga (the cheapest), Almeria airport or right here in El Ejido, you can hire a car for an incredible price depending on the exact time of year. A few points to watch out for.
Excess Insurance
*Take out separate excess insurance as they will hit you in an expensive way if you cause damage to the car. Look at https://www.insurance4carhire.com
* Similarly check the car thoroughly for damage before driving away. * Make sure you tick the box to bring back with a full tank of fuel. * Tick the box for unlimited mileage. * Check the tyres and check there is a spare tyre before driving
Getting to Airports
To get to local airports click the picture
Some very useful shops in this area
TodoMotor
A fantastic range of engineering bits, bearings and tools, drive belts and hoses. Voted ‘The best toyshop in El Ejido.’ by Chris Southwood
Their blurb … “Todomotor is a company focused on industrial supply, with a stock of more than 22,000 products, as well as the installation, repair and maintenance of industrial equipment. We also offer a wide variety of services so that our customers have their equipment and processes fully operational.” Map reference https://maps.app.goo.gl/4eZYpPe4jgcETSJr5
Damasco Tapicerias
I great range of fabric, leather cloth, sunbrella, canvas, foam, headlining. Located close to Almeria bus and train station Calle Soldado Espanol, 28
950 25 68 83 & 950 25 68 50
Now for Something Completely Different
Three Hotels Demolished in 5 Seconds
In May 2004 three hotels on the east side of Almerimar were very rapidly removed to make way for a brace of super five-star hotels. Witnessed by a gathering crowd they were simply blown up. As with grand plans the recession hit southern Spain very badly. The hotels were never built and instead over the following years, a set of new apartment blocks were constructed adding to a disastrous over-supply situation thus further reducing property value. At last, a decade later, property prices are recovering but, alas, the hotels that once housed many hundreds of holidaymakers that spent much-needed cash in Almerimar were not replaced.
Click the picture for a few clips & video of the actual demolition.