Local Facilities in Orba

Orba is a pretty Spanish village (or small town) offering a great range of local facilities, and is an ideal base from which to explore the area. The village facilities include various shops - butchers, bakers, greengrocer, off-licence, newsagent, a pharmacy, plus medical and dental surgeries. Orba also has a weekly market on Wednesdays. Orba has three banks, and three supermarkets of varying sizes. It also has "Julie's" - an English supermarket that sells just about anything a British visitor might require. There are about a dozen restaurants of various types and styles, bars with pavement tables, local interest shops, together with a working pottery which sells direct to the public.

Orba Activities

The major entertainment in Orba centres around the bars, and the fiestas are the highlights of the village year. The biggest fiestas are the 4 day weekend in May and the week long fiesta at the end of July into August. There is a smaller fiesta in Orbeta in June. Bull-running (bous al carrer) is the main "activity" in June and July. If you are tempted to join in then be very careful - the bulls, or to be more precise cows, may be small but they are very quick and agile, their horns are long and sharp and can do you serious damage.

Paella cooking competitions, bike racing round the village and dressed carts, or floats, are all topped off to the sounds of the Orba Band. Hardly a month goes by when there is not a religious fiesta day with parades in the streets. All fiestas have firework displays that make our Bonfire night look like a damp squib event! We especially recommend the mad "correfocs" in Orba at the end of the Orba fiesta!

The nearby villages of Tormos, Sagra, Sanet y Negrals, Rafol, Benidoleig and Beniarbeig, Fleix, Campell, Benimaurell and Murla also hold similar events so if you miss the Orba ones look out for those.

Christmas is not celebrated in the same way as the English do it. The Spanish big day is the eve of January 6th, the Epiphany or Three Kings day, when the Kings, who usually arrive on horseback, distribute the presents to the children of the village at the plaza calling them up, one at a time, to receive them.

New Years Eve is also well celebrated and you certainly will not get a meal out unless you have booked well in advance.

Further afield - activities, places to go, things to do

Orba has the advantage of being close to many tourist areas and attractions but without being affected by them! This gives the visiting family ample opportunities to enjoy a wide range of activities and sights.

Some of the many possibilities within a short drive include:

• Coast/Beach. A 20 minute drive through the Orba valley's beautiful orange groves will bring you to the closest beaches, which are at Denia and Vergel. The beaches of Moraira, Javea, Calpe and Gandia are about 30 mins drive. Benidorm beaches 40 mins drive. Many of the beaches in this region have the blue flag designation. The coastline offers a variety of long sandy beaches, stunning picture postcard bays and sheltered coves.
• Watersports, including Boating, Windsurfing, Snorkelling and scuba, and various boat trips are available off the coast of Denia - see our dedicated Watersports page for more details!
• Golf. There are three good golf courses nearby. La Sella is highly recommended (about 10 -15 minutes), and Oliva and Javea golf courses are all about 20 minutes drive. La Sella at The Marriott Hotel has an exceptionally beautiful, secluded and peaceful course. See our dedicated golf page for more details!
• Close by are many interesting towns and villages including the historic cliff top castle at Guadalest - built by the Moors around 300BC.
• Most of the local towns and villages (including Orba) have a weekly market and fiestas (festivals) throughout the year.
• Karting and quad-biking are available locally
• Carp fishing trips with a local guide and equipment available for hire.
• There are plenty of mountain bike tracks offering easy and challenging routes
• Family cycling and walking on the level, traffic-free tracks and trails that criss-cross the Orba valley
• Hiking - there are many opportunities within the area for exploring on foot, ranging from lazy walks through to strenuous and demanding mountain trails
• For the children big and small, how about a day out at one or all of these fun parks! The Aqualandia Water Park, Mundomar Marine Animal Park and the Terra Mitica Theme Park can all be found at Benidorm.
• El Vergel Safari Park is about 1/2 hour by car
• Shopping - Denia is a substantial coastal town with a large selection of shops of all kinds, it's about 20 minutes drive. Plenty of parking available.
• Head to the Balearics - Majorca, Menorca and Ibiza are a ferry ride away from Denia.
• The caves at Benidoleig (about 5 minutes) and Vall D'Ebo (30 minutes) are well worth a visit.
• Take the Narrow Gauge Railway from Denia to Alicante and back. This is a one-metre gauge line running along the coast through Benidorm. You can check this out on the operator's website (in Spanish) is to be found at http://www.fgv.es/fgv/html/home/home.asp

Contact

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This page was last updated Saturday July 19, 2008