How to book one of our apartments
1. Check to make sure there is a suitable apartment available for
the period of your holiday - use our Online
Availability page or complete our e-mail Enquiry
Form or telephone us - if the apartment you want is available
for the dates you want, please ask us to provisionally hold it reserved
for you before you book your flights. We will hold a provisional reservation
for you whilst you book your flights for up to two days. (If you checked
availability online or sent us an e-mail enquiry about availability
but didn't ask for a provisional reservation, you would be well advised
to telephone us before booking flights just in case the accommodation
is no longer available - telephone numbers at foot of page).
Tip 1: When you check dates with us -
if you have flexibility of a day or two as to when you arrive and/or
when you depart and if the apartment of your choice is also available
for these wider dates, this can help you find the best value flights
- there are flights from the UK to the local airports every day
of the week now - Almeria is the closest airport (85 kms), Murcia
(San Javier) is next (around 130kms by new toll motorway) and Alicante
is furthest, but still only about two and a half hours drive (210
kms). The past 10 years has seen the flights scene transformed -
there is now a profusion of flights by the budget airlines as well
as "seat-only" flights with the package holiday companies'
charter airlines.
Tip 2: It is definitely worth checking the budget airlines
such as Easyjet , BMIbaby
, Ryanair , FlyBE,
FlyMonarch and Jet2
especially if you are booking well ahead of your holiday.
Budget airlines flying to Almeria, which is the nearest airport,
include Ryanair (from Stansted), Easyjet (from London
Gatwick) and FlyMonarch (from Birmingham & Manchester
- but not in winter)). Most of the budget airlines fly to Alicante
and several to Murcia (San Javier) - both these airports are within
two and a half hours drive of Vera Playa. ThomsonFly.com
fly to Alicante and/or Alicante from a number of UK airports.
Also check the availability of charter flights such as MyTravel,
Monarch, Britannia etc (try www.flightline.co.uk)
as they can sometimes be cheaper than budget airlines, especially
if you are making a late booking (Budget airlines tend to be cheapest
if you are booking a long way ahead).
Tip 3: Flights with the charter airlines generally
have to be complete weeks, i.e. 1, 2 or 3 weeks (sometimes 10 or
11 days is also possible). However if you book flights with a scheduled
airline, such as the budget/no-frills airlines you can go on any
day and come back on any day. We rent our apartments for whatever
period you want, not just complete weeks. Sometimes by slightly
juggling your flight dates (ouwards, return or both) you can save
a lot on the costs - perhaps even halving the costs of the flights.
2. Book your flights and once these are confirmed
please telephone or e-mail us immediately to confirm your reservation
- you can use the Enquiry Form again if you wish (If you
haven't contacted us within two days of asking us to provisionally
reserve an apartment, that reservation will lapse). We will then
hold the reservation for up to 5 days whilst you send us the Booking
Form and payment.
3. Print out our Booking
Conditions and Form (Click here). Read it, complete it and send
it to us together with your cheque for the deposit or full payment
for the apartment rental (depending how imminent your holiday
is).
Why do we charge a Key/Security Deposit and require a signed
Booking Form? When you book with us, if it is more than two
months beforte your holiday you pay a booking deposit of £100
at the time of booking and then the full rental not less than two
months beforehand (If you book two months or less beforehand, you
pay the full rental + £100 Key/Security deposit when you book).
We hold the £100 booking deposit as a Key/Security Deposit
until after your holiday and then, provided the keys have been returned
and there has been no loss or damage at the apartment - we don't
worry about the odd glass or plate - we refund the deposit in full.
We do this to protect us and maintain the high standards of our
apartments. We find it works well - our visitors are invariably
nice, responsible people who look after our apartments as they would
their own home - and we have never, yet, had to withold or deduct
anything from the Deposit. So it works well for us and for our visitors
who benefit from the care exercised by previous visitors.
4. We will acknowledge receipt of your booking
and confirm its acceptance. About two weeks before your departure
we will send you directions to help you find your way from your
arrival airport in Spain to Vera Playa/Bahia de Vera. The journey
is pleasant and straightforward - by motorway - from all the airports
- from Almeria it is about 50 minutes (85 kms), from Murcia, about
1 hours 20 minutes ( 130 kms by new toll motorway) and from Alicante
about 2 hours 15 minutes (215 kms). (If you are coming from Murcia
airport you can also use non-motorway roads closer to the coast
- which is very scenic but longer in time as it includes very tortuous
roads over mountain passes). There will also be details of how
to gain admission to the Bahia de Vera urbanizacion - depending
on when you are arriving you may be admitted by us or by our caretakers,
or we may send you a key.
Tip 4: Car Hire - Book your car
on the internet, don't wait till you arrive - that will be much
more expensive. We recommend www.doyouspain.com
- you can get an on-line quote, then book the car of your choice,
and you don't pay for it until you pick it up.Also check out www.drivespain.com
or www.allinclusivecarhire.com
or www.carjet.com - all
3 are the same brokers really we believe but these websites have
slightly different offers. Car rental rates increased considerably
in 2009, due it is believed to the Credit Crunch, and availability
was limited in the prime summer months - an unprecedented event.
For UK visitors the fall in the value of the £ has also made
car rental more expensive. There is an alternative - if you don't
need to have a car for the whole of your stay ad you are arriving
at Almeria airport it is possible to arrange reasonably priced transfers.
The cost is around 50 - 60 per couple each way, so 100
to 120 per couple per holiday. A week's car hire in summer
may cost around 150 - 170 per week in 2010, so for a
two or three week holiday transfers may be much cheaper and you
can always rent a car locally when you need it for trips out etc.
5. Once you are at Bahia de Vera: In
your apartment you will find a folder of useful information about
the apartment and its equipment, about Bahia de Vera and its facilities
and about local shopping, restaurants, places to visit etc. It also
explains what to do with the keys etc when you leave at the end
of your holiday. If we are at Bahia de Vera ourselves at the time
of your visit you can, of course, ask us for any information or
about any problems which arise - if we are not there ourselves our
caretakers normally are. We shall also give you contact numbers
to use in emergencies if neither we or our caretakers are available
on-site - as does inevitably happen sometimes!
6. Lie back and enjoy the sun and freedom of naturist Bahia de
Vera!
Next step?
Send us the Enquiry Form or telephone
us
on (UK landline) 02476 679322 or (UK mobile) 07710 730 450
Most recent update: 22 November 2009
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