JAVEA Costa Blanca

JAVEA had a population of around 22,000 people at the last count, making it just a little smaller than its neighbour, Denia which is situated on the other side of the Montgo National Park. However, rumour has it that with the continued influx of Northern Europeans the stage has been reached where it is now the larger of the two. The town lies almost exactly half way between Alicante and Valencia, that is approximately 100 kilometres from each.

Javea is certainly a leading location for attracting ex-patriots and second-homers, and not without reason. It has three good shopping areas, one in the old town, one in the comparatively new town around the port, and another still within the town, but nearly a mile away to the south, where boutiques mix with the bars and restaurants behind the main beach the ‘Arenal’. The shoreline of Javea is made up of intermittent stretches of golden sands, and rough rocky outcrops.

Like other places of a reasonable size there are a number of fiestas, which take place during the year. The most important being that celebrating Easter in the Spring, and the Moors and Christians Fiesta, which takes place in July. Apart from these, there are scattered throughout the year, festivals of music, poetry, arts exhibitions and concerts. The town has a cinema which shows films in English every week, and the Javea Players have an excellent reputation for staging high quality plays and musicals. Sailing and golf are well catered for, and the town has a highly successful cricket club. Other clubs exist covering a multitude of pastimes too numerous to mention, but including chess, bridge, computing, walking, etc.

Still within the Javea community and to the south of the main beach areas, rising steeply out of the Mediterranean is the large headland known as Cabo de la Nao. Around this rocky promontory are many secluded bays some backed by stony shorelines, and others with fine sandy beaches. The headland, Cabo de San Antonio to the north rises steeply immediately outside the town, and the twisting road to the top makes for an exhilarating drive, as does the descent into Denia on the far side. On the summit is a public firing range, i.e. a club with facilities for the same.