Your Travel Team


Back row l to r: Richard, Chris and Graham. Front row l to r: Cazzie, Ginny and Liz

Our aim is to provide our membership with a wide choice of value for money trips to suit all pockets, bearing in mind the rising cost of transport and food. As well as being friendly and fun, we endeavour to make our trips educational/cultural in line with the U3A ethos of continued learning and sharing experiences.

Phil, our Webmaster, is working hard to produce us a new Travel Booking System, where you will be able to book on trips without using a password, select your pick up point and make your lunch choices. We're expecting the system to be up and running by April.

These are the trips we're researching for you for this year.

11 April - day trip to the Lladró factory in Valencia with a visit to Port Saplaya and lunch in the afternoon.

19 - 22 May - three nights half-board in a four star hotel in Mar Menor with visits to Santa Pola, a guided visit to the Roman Theatre in Cartagena, La Zenia shopping outlet and the Cuanta y Tres factory (with tastings!).

June - day trip to Altea where you can shop, visit the old town, enjoy lunch on the seafront - or do all three!

July - Cirque du Soleil Alicante.

2 - 9 October - eight nights in Mallorca visiting some of the UNESCO world Heritage sites. We’ll take a dramatic wooden train journey through the hills to the village of Soller and see the caves of Drach and spend a day at the spectacular Cap de Formentor. We'll be staying in a 4* Adults Only hotel, half board, and travel by ferry direct from Denia.

November - day trip to Elche with a guided tour of the old town, a guided tour of the UNESCO World Heritage Site El Palmeral before having lunch in the beautiful four star Hotel Jardin Milenio.

13 December- sightseeing/Christmas shopping day trip to Valencia.

23 - 27 December - four nights full board in Hotel Kaktus, Albir, where we had such a good time last year.


Lladró visit and Port Saplaya

11 April 2024


A visit to the Lladró factory and museum in Valencia, with lunch in Port Saplaya on Thursday 11 April

Having stopped for a coffee on the way, we’ll begin our trip with a visit to the Lladró factory. Founded in 1953, this iconic Spanish company is a world leader in luxurious artistic porcelain, made entirely by hand and with traditional tools.

Our group will split into two. Half will visit the workshop and follow a figurine made from scratch, with each artist explaining their part in the process.

The other group will visit the museum with its beautiful (and very expensive) pieces. There is also a film explaining the history and ethos of the company. We’ll then swap.

After the visit, we’ll board the coach for Port Saplaya, often referred to locally as ‘little Venice’ due to its colourful painted houses, canals and marina.
Time for lunch, which will be in Restaurante Numero 9

Menu

Starter - choice of:
warm goats’ cheese salad with mushrooms and ham
scrambled eggs with bacon & asparagus on a nest of potatoes
fried cheese with blueberries
ensalada tempora - warm salad with lettuce, tomato, olives, corn, asparagus and hard-boiled egg (Vegetarian)
******
Main - choice of:
grilled sea bass (lubina)
grilled salmon fillet
pork tenderloin with Roquefort sauce
Chicken Milanaise (breaded, fried cutlet)
vegetarian burger
all served with potatoes and vegetables.
******
Postre and coffee
******
Bread, water & ½ bottle of wine per person included
******

After lunch, we’ll have some free time to explore this lovely resort, before reboarding the coach back to Denia at 5pm.

€45 per person for 40 - 54 passengers
€42 per person for 55 passengers

You and anyone you are booking for, must be a fully paid up member of U3A Denia.

Please book online or contact Ginny travel@u3adenia.com with the following information:
- Names of all members being booked on
- Where you want the coach to pick you up

I will send out a separate email to ask you about your lunch choices and how and when to pay. Please do not pay until I ask you to.



There are 1 places left for this event. You must sign in to book travel events

Pick up time from:
New Marina Denia - 08.45
McDonalds Denia - 09.00
Mas y Mas Ondara - ALSA bus stop 09.15

Mar Menor

19 May 2024


Departing on 19 May 2024 and returning on 22 May 2024

DISCOVERING THE MAR MENOR
three nights, half board, four star hotel
Sunday 19 - Wednesday 22 May

Lying between Torrevieja and Cartagena, Mar Menor is a huge, coastal, saltwater lake, and is the largest in Europe. It’s separated from the Med by a strip of land called La Manga and fringed with beautiful beaches. As the depth of the lake is only seven metres, it heats up quickly and you can swim there all year round. We’ll be staying just a few minutes’ walk from the beach.

We’ll leave Denia in the morning, and stop on the way for a leg-stretch and lunch at the lovely coastal resort of Santa Pola. It will then be a short drive to our hotel - the four star Costa Narejos, arriving in the afternoon.

Liz first took this trip in 2018, and Chris and I did a recce last year to check it was still as we remembered, and it is - excellent buffet-style breakfast and dinner and the added bonus of happy hour from 5pm - 7pm each evening!

The hotel is in the purpose-built resort of Los Alcazares and is just 100m from a lovely prom and beach where you can stroll and stop for coffee. Just over the road is an area full of bars and restaurants.

Day two
After breakfast, we'll take a short drive to La Zenia Boulevard in Orihuela. All your favourite shops are here, ladies, and there is Decathlon and Leroy Merlin for the boys! There will be free time for shopping with plenty of options for lunch. We'll return to the hotel in the afternoon.

Day three
After breakfast, we'll board the coach for Cartagena. Founded in around 220 bc, the town boomed during the Roman period. Hidden for centuries under rubble in a run-down part of the town, the Roman Theatre was discovered in 1988 when excavations started for the building of a craft centre. With our English-speaking guide, we'll be visiting the Roman Theatre Museum, which houses a beautifully structured museum with the impressively restored 1st century Theatre.

We'll also see the old town, and those with a head for heights can take the panoramic lift for a fabulous view of Cartagena and the surrounding area. Afterwards, there’ll be time to wander around the historic buildings and have some lunch, before we return to the hotel late afternoon.

DAY 4
Cartagena is also famous for producing Licor 43, and we’ll visit the facility on our way back to Denia. But first we’ll have breakfast, pick up our packed lunches and check out.

Named for the 43 ingredients that go into making this delicious liqueur, we’ll have a guided tour of the museum and production plant, with tastings. There is also a cocktail presentation of Ginger 43 & Carajillo 43. What’s not to like?

We’ll stop on the way back to eat our packed lunch, arriving in Denia late afternoon.

€273 pp sharing a double room
€90 single supplement

Minimum of 40

We need a €100pp deposit by 15 April. I’ll send you a payment slip as soon as we reach the minimum number. You can, of course, pay the full amount if you wish.

You and anyone travelling with you, must be a fully paid up (2024) member of U3A Denia to travel on our trips.

Please book online or contact Ginny: travel@u3adenia.com


There are 8 places left for this event. You must sign in to book travel events

Pick up time from:
New Marina Denia - tba
McDonalds Denia - tba
Mas y Mas Ondara - tba