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HUELVA PROVINCE
Around Ayamonte: Islantilla, Isla Cristina and Isla Canela
The Huelva section of the Costa de la Luz, starting at Ayamonte,
is barely known among British holidaymakers or house-buyers –
and yet if offers the kind of Spain that many long for, with beautiful
golden sands, small seaside towns and traditional inland villages,
all unspoilt by mass tourism.
Perched overlooking the Guadiana River, just a 45 minute drive
from Faro airport, Ayamonte is known as the ‘Spanish Algarve’.
It’s a pleasant fishing port and resort with an old town
of pretty tiled plazas and pedestrianised streets reminiscent
of Portugal just a few kilometres away.
A spacious townhouse in Ayamonte’s old town, set over three
floors with great views, will cost around 250,000 euros. Or a
well-decorated apartment overlooking Ayamonte’s marina can
cost as little as 120,000 euros for one bedroom, 180,000 euros
for two.
But few foreign home-buyers look in the town itself and, instead,
head to the new seaside resorts which have sprung up between Huelva
and Ayamonte, such as Costa Esuri, a lavish residential development
of apartments, terraced houses and detached villas in a Mediterranean-style
village surrounded by 18-hold golf courses, three luxury hotels
and large commercial and recreational areas.
Isla Canela is a large tourist resort situated on a natural
island linked to Ayamonte by a bridge. It boasts 7km of fine,
white sandy beaches, a golf course, a marina, shopping centre
and hotels. There are facilities for sailing, canoeing, speedboat
racing, tennis and then there’s Isla Canela Golf Course,
a gently sloping green surrounded by olive, orange and eucalyptus
trees.
There are 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments on the beach front and
on the golf course for sale, all built in Moorish/Andalucian style
with communal swimming pools, landscaped gardens and terraces
with great views. Beachfront apartments start at around 230,000
euros and rise to around 600,000 euros for a three-bedroom penthouse.
Overlooking the 18-hole links golf course are numerous apartments
and chalets, with apartments starting at 170,000 euros.
Properties overlooking Isla Canela’s luxurious and cosmopolitan
sports marina have also been incredibly popular, with all off-plan
apartments now sold – but there’s always the chance
of picking up a resale property here.
Isla Cristina, by the mouth of the Guadiana river, is a
popular resort, both with Spanish holidaymakers and now increasingly
with foreign holiday homes buyers. The highlight is the 15km stretch
of magnificent sandy beaches, surrounded by protected marshland
and natural park.
The beach resort is popular with windsurfers. Its fishing port
is always a hive of activity, and there are naturally some excellent
fish restaurants around town. Isla Cristina really comes alive
in July and August when families from Seville flock to the town
for their summer holidays.
Costa Esuri is a large new development, due for completion in
2007, 1km from Ayamonte. The new ‘village’ has a variety
of properties for sale near golf courses, hotels, leisure areas
and commercial centres. Sea & Sun is a large new development
set in the best spot on the Costa Esuri.
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