Visiting for the first time

hello!!

well if you want to travel around it might be a good idea to hire a car but the shuttle from Almeria airport is the cheapest option to get you to Roquetas. once you are there you can travel around by bus. are you planning on viewing apartments in Las Marinas Roquetas? i know this area pretty well, so if i can be of any help please just ask away, no problem. There is a Mercadona supermarket, Aldi loads of good restaurants and tapas bars, not a noisy nightclub area but plenty of things to see and do. during the summer months it has quite a vibrant social scene every evening.

hope this is helpful to you

Lottie

We went to Roquetas by accident in 2016 and have returned for a longer stay each year since. We rent for the winter. Playa Serena is the area we stay in as it has lots of cafés, bars and restaurants. We are there out of season so there is very little night life. However, I did visit to play golf in September and evenings were quite lively. Roquetas Town is Spanish but we love it. There is a fairly large British community in Playa Serena and several bars run by British people with typically British food. The golf club has a large British membership which grows over the winter months. Can't help with buying sorry or travel from the airport but hope this helps. 

Tipicaly British food, that's a no no for me then

Not our choice either but that is only in the bars run by Brits. There is a wide range of restaurants / bars serving different types of food: Spanish, Italian, Greek, French, Indian. The British food outlets are very much in the minority. 

Thanks for the info - were not into the Brit thing on holiday - 'when in rome' as they say, so pleased to here its a mix. I do prefer typically Spanish resorts, I don't speak much Spanish, but do like to try.

The cheapest way to get from airport to Roquetas is by two buses (total cost €3) take one into Almeria City bus/train interchange and then the 330 to Roquetas. BUT the bus from the airport now only takes passengers with cabin luggage/carryons, no suitcases. Completely daft!

Roquetas is Spanish and a summer beach resort used by the Spanish. You will need to learn the language if living here and before the pandemic there were regular classes (€25 a year) and free Spanish conversation classes for new immigrants. These are attended by Germans, Italians, French, Brits etc.

The Urba is the best place to look for property, and there are plenty of estate agents. In the summer our roads do get busier and noisier, so that can influence where you decide to live. The place does not close down in the winter but is certainly quieter. July and August are very hot months. You will find that British bars are a tiny minority of the hundreds of restaurants and bars available. There is a small UK expat community but if you walk along the 14kms paseo in the evenings it tends to be Spanish that you will overhear.

Chris

Hi there. We have been visiting Roquetas for the past 15 years. We have an apartment in the Playa Serena Area as we play golf and the club is 5 mins walk away.l - ad is the beach and all the many restaurants and bars. If you want a modern property close to this area then have a look at Vereda Golf Phases 1 and 2 where there are good quality 2 and 3 bed apt’s close to the bars etc. There are also other nice developments here in the Urbanisation.  If you want an older more typically Spanish property then look at the golf complex apartments in Playa Serena or Pueblo Andaluz apartments. Good luck. 

Hi,

My family and I moved to Roquetas in January 2020 and as you can imagine it's been a stressful 18 months or so.

I've been monitoring Roquetas since about 2015. We have visited several times before moving here and a lot has happened and a lot has changed. 

You say you plan to visit and possibly buy a property. You should consider the following

1. What kind of lifestyle do you want. Different areas offer different options. Another member mentioned golf so playa Serena suits his needs. We chose the port area (plaza Dolores) as very few international residents, only one English bar, very few English speakers and the heart of the town that functions all year round.

2. What kind of property do you want? And what facilities?

3. Do you plan on renting it out? We are considering buying an investment apartment in the port area as it can be rented out all year round.

If and when you do visit, I recommend doing what I did and spend half a day or a couple of hours walking around the 6 areas of Roquetas.

1. Las Salinas. From the shopping centre to the beach.

2. Port/Romanilla. Make a triange from the castle, along Avenida Roquetas until you reach the river, down to the beach and back to the castle. This was our choice. All facilities all year round

3. Pueblo. The area the other side of Avenida Roquetas. In this context, the police refer to Avenida Roquetas as "the frontera".

Walk around the Romanilla/port area first then walk up Los banos and keep walking until you cross Avenida Roquetas and keep walking for about 15/20 mins

4. Las marinas/touristas. From the castle along the beach to Avenida Mediterraneo, up to mercadona and back to the castle. Summer tourists and holiday villas and apartments.

5. Tourist zone. From Avenida Mediterraneo to calls Sierra Nevada. Residential and holiday homes. Very quiet in the off season.

6. Golf. The final zone. Very very quiet in the off season.

And finally, check out this website on a computer or tablet...press on the camera icon under the Q in Roquetas.

https://www.roquetasdemar.es/estado-de-las-playas

If can be of further assistance please contact me.

Thank you so much thats really helpful.

We don't plan to live in Roquetas, our plan is to have a holiday apartment for long weekends 2 or 3 weeks at a time, In and out of season as a 'getaway'.

Our son and daughter will probably use it July/August with their children.

When we can travel over, which hopefully will be around Oct/Nov we will certainly take you advice and have a good mooch around and see what suits us.

Thank you