FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
If you've got some questions in your mind about Vera Playa scroll down
this page - hopefully you'll find the answer here:
FAQ: Where exactly is Vera Playa? Vera Playa is located
on the south-east corner of Spain, on the Costa de Almeria, near the Moorish
hill-top village of Mojácar. More
FAQ: Is it in the back of beyond? No, it is conveniently
close to several small towns (Garrucha, Vera, Cuevas de Almanzora) and,
now, just part of continuous low-rise beachfront development over 5 kms
from Villaricos to Puerto Rey/Garrucha.
FAQ: Which airport should I fly to? Almeria, if you have the choice - and more and more flights are going there. It is only 85 kms or 50 mins away. Second choice is probably Murcia (San Javier - on the Mar Menor) which is 185 kms or 2 hrs and a very close third is Alicante (210 kms, 2 hrs 20 mins - and lots of flights). Malaga is also a possibility - but a long drive (300 kms, 4 hours) and not all on motorway (which the other airports are - except for the last 15 kms or so). Allegedly, there will be a new Murcia airport in a few years time, which will be much nearer Vera (about 130 kms or 1 hr 20 mins).
FAQ: What's the weather like? Vera Playa has a superb climate - the warmest winters in Europe and hot summers which are relieved by sea breezes, and (generally) very settled weather with dawn to dusk sun as normal. The dry atmosphere is excellent for sufferers from arthritis and other complaints which are aggravated by a damp atmosphere. More
FAQ: How big is the Naturist Zone? The naturist beach is 3 kms and the naturist urbanizacions front approx 1 km of beach and extend back about 400 metres.
FAQ: Is only the beach naturist? No - everywhere within the zone is naturist - including the streets.
FAQ: How will I know I am in the naturist zone? In the summer it will be quite quickly be fairly obvious, but the boundaries of the naturist zone are not well marked or signed. The naturist zone immediately adjoins textile residential areas and, quite frankly, it is almost impossible to say where the exact boundary is. In practice it is no big deal. You are not going to arrested for straying outside the naturist zone by a few metres - you'll soon get to know what's "naturist zone" and what isn't.
FAQ: If the naturist beach is 3kms long and the naturist zone is only
1 kms long what fronts the other 2 kms? It used to be nothing (salt
pans/desert/scrubland). Now it is textile developments. But the status
of the beach has been upheld (by the Andalucian Ombudsman) as naturist
despite illegal attempts by the local council to sign this southernmost
2 kms as textile. So you can use all 3 kms of the beach as naturist -
and many Spanish people do just that, whether they are "naturists"
or not. Some of the textile developments have sold themselves partly on
the basis that they have the naturist beach for people to use. Of course,
many textiles use it as well, but there doesn't seem to be the same exclusivity
of either naturists or textiles that seems the case in, say, the UK.
FAQ: Do you have to be naked all the time? No - nudity is permitted,
not required. Most naturist urbanizacions require users of their swimming
pools to do so naked (i.e. bathing costumes are not allowed), but otherwise
many owners and visitors only go naked to sunbathe and to swim in the
sea. It's a good place for first time naturists as there's no pressure
- but most soon discover how good it is to go naked.
FAQ: What about voyeurs and weirdos? Vera Playa is open. Some of the urbanizacions (residential developments) are locked behind perimeter fences, but this is to preserve their facilities for use only by their own residents as much as anything. Some people do come into the naturist zone to look - but they are mainly the curious rather than the weird - though there are undoubtedly sometimes some of those. Pretty certainly some of the curious become naturists in the sense that they try out being naked on the beach and in the sea and find out it's good. The local and national police do patrol the naturist zone and beach (as they do everywhere) and there seems to be no greater a problem of undesirables on the naturist beach or, for instance, overtly sexual or other inappropriate or illegal behaviour on the naturist beach than any other beach (in fact quite possibly less). It is not a problem of any significant scale and most unlikely to affect or spoil your day on the beach.
FAQ: What is the legal position about nudity in Spain these days?
The Vera Playa naturist zone and beach are officially designated as naturist
so no worries there. But as a matter of interest mainly, the present Spanish
Constituition gives Spanish citizens the right to be naked in any public
place - so sunbathing or swimming naked on any beach is, these days, not
illegal (though you might not feel very comfortable doing so!). Things
are very different from what they were in the days of General Franco and
nowadays Spanish people - of all ages - seem much more relaxed about being
naked to sunbathe or swim or play on the beach, though no doubt most would
not think of themselves as "naturists".
FAQ: What facilities are there in the naturist zone? The main
one is, of course, the 3 kms of naturist beach. In the main season you
can hire sunbeds and umbrellas on the beach and pedalos, sailboats, canoes
etc. There is a large 4 star hotel, a camping site (100% naturist these
days) and about 10 residential developments or urbanizacions with approaching
2,000 apartments and houses of various sorts and sizes. Each urbanizacion
has its own swimming pools. For shopping, there is a mini-market (next
to the main entrance of Vera Natura, just opposite La Menara and Bahia
de Vera). There are small supermarkets in Hotel Street and the Naturist
Camp Site. There are bars/eating places on the beach (2 - one in summer
only), near the main entrance of Bahia de Vera and Torrema Natura (2 -
open all year) and 5 (none all year, but 2 most of year) in Hotel Street
(near the Vera Playa Club Hotel). See our Facilities
page for more information. There is an absolute profusion of supermarkets,
shops, bars, cafes, restaurants and clubs in the vicinity (2 - 20 kms
away) - more, obviously, in the summer than in the winter.
FAQ: Who owns Vera Playa? Thousands of people who own their
own properties, which are nearly all in 10 urbanizacions (mutually
owned developments with communal facilities such as swimming pools). In
addition there is a hotel, bars, cafes etc.
FAQ: Do I need an INF card to get in? No - There are no barriers,
Vera Playa is just part of the wider world.
FAQ: How can I get there? 3 airports are within easy reach
by motorway - Almeria (85 kms), Murcia (185 kms by motorway, 150 kms by
mountain/coastal road) & Alicante (210 kms). You can be here in as
little as 6 - 7 hours door to door from the UK !
NEW! - FAQ: What about public
transport?
1. From and to the local airports: There's no doubt that the easiest
and quickest thing to do is to rent a car to get to Vera Playa from your
arrival airport - and then you've got it for the week or fortnight (Cost,
for small car with aircon about £90 per week in summer, less in
winter). But if you don't drive, or really don't want to rent a car it
is possible to get to Vera Playa by public transport. For example, from
Almeria airport: Take the bus from the airport to the bus station
in Almeria city. From there catch an intercity coach to Vera (which run
approx every 2 hours during the day and up to about 2200 hrs). At Vera
bus station take a taxi to Vera Playa.Cost? Almeria airport to Almeria
city bus station - 2€, Almeria city to Vera - 9.50€ , Taxi Vera
bus station to Vera Playa, approx 10€. Allow plenty of time
and don't risk it if arriving or leaving late.(Thanks to Allan &
Christine Pratt for this information) from Alicante airport:
Only for the really dedicated users of public transport! Take bus to Alicante
town and then either a coach to Vera town or a train to Lorca then coach
to Vera. Then taxi as from Almeria airport. from Murcia: we have
no details but it is probably possible to take bus to Cartagena, then
Lorca OR bus to Murcia, then train to Lorca, then coach to Vera.
Taxis are, of course, a form of public transport - From Almeria airport
to Vera Playa a taxi, one way, will cost about 90€. There are various
airport transfer minbus services which cost around 65 - 70€ per direction,
per person. Travellers booking their air travel through Tarleton Travel
can get return transfers for about £20 return per person.
2. Around the local area: The Vera Playa naturist zone is not well
served by public transport - indeed it is virtually unserved by public
transport. Whilst there is a quite frequent service between Garrucha and
Mojacar Playa and a periodic, if not frequent service, between Garrucha
and Vera town, the nearest to the naturist zone these services normally
come is Puerto Rey, which is about 2 - 3 kms away. In the summer there
are diversionary services on market days which do come into the naturist
zone to allow visitors and residents to go to the markets in Garrucha
(Fridays) and Vera (Saturdays). There is also sometimes a service to Carboneras
(Thursdays) - all these services are one-offs leaving the Hotel Street
bus stop or the bus shelter near Vera Natura early (about 0830 hrs) and
returning at about 1230 hrs. If you have no car, the best bet for getting
around locally, other than on foot, is by taxi. Of course, you do not
necessarily have to leave the naturist zone at all and on a short holiday,
say one week, in good weather, you probably won't want to. But for longer
visits, or in winter, or if you are unlucky enough to have some poor weather
(unlikely in summer) you may well want to get out and around a bit - and
a car is likely to be well worth its cost (a small car, with aircon, will
cost about £85 + fuel per week in the summer, and about £70
+ fuel in the winter - if pre-booked on the internet from via brokers
such as www.drivespain.com,
www.carjet.com or www.allinclusivecarhire.com
).
FAQ: What's it like in Winter? Weather, typically, is fine with
midday temperatures in low to mid 20's, good for sunbathing. Sea OK for
hardy, outdoor pools too cold, covered/heated pools best. Evenings can
be chilly. Be sure to get apartment with good sun and some heating. Quiet
time - good for exploring locality. And very cheap! There's not a lot
open (in terms of shops, bars, restaurants) within the naturist zone in
winter - though there's more than there used to be and it would be possible
to survive without leaving the naturist zone - but without a lot of choice
as to where to shop or eat. But there's plenty of everything just a bit
further afield.
FAQ: Are there Internet facilities (e.g. to send & receive e-mail)?
If you are staying at the Hotel Vera Playa Club, there are now some coin-operated
internet machines in the reception area. Otherwise, the nearest Internet
Cafe is at the Esquina del Rey commercial centre at Puerto Rey about 2.5
kms from the naturist zone. (South of the naturist zone, on the way to
Garrucha - you pass it as you drive to Garrucha from Vera Playa, it is
clearly visible from the main road). Several years ago the Broadway Bar
on Hotel Street had dial-up internet access for public use and had said
that broadband would be installed but in fact the service was suspended,
maybe it was not economic to continue it. Anyway, the Internet Cafe at
Puerto Rey is not too far away, it has quite a few terminals, is inexpensive
to use and seems popular with users - and, of course, serves coffee and
other things. There are also plenty of internet cafes etc in Garrucha
and along Mojacar Playa.
Last updated: 30 June 2005
We hope you have found this page useful. If there are any other questions about Vera Playa you would like answered please contact us - we may add them to this page if we think they are of general interest. If you have some useful information please let us have it. |
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