Road Trip 2024 Day 14 - The Journey back to Benidorm from Teruel via Chelva and Taverns de la Valldigna 351km
Its been another amazing road trip and we have driven in 5 different countries, Spain, France, Monaco, Italy and Andorra, but its now time to head home back to Benidorm.
After enjoying our standard Spanish breakfast of Tostada con tomate y queso and a coffee, it was time to get on the road, as usual the Sat Nav was set to avoid all motorways and tolls and a lot of the journey was on the CV-35 also known as the Autovía del Turia, which took us over some wonderful mountains with stunning scenery.
Road Trip 2024 Day 14
We had a brief stop in Chelva located in the province of Valencia, this was a lovely place which has a rich history, with roots tracing back to the Iberians, Romans, and Moors. This cultural blend is evident in its architecture and layout. The town is divided into distinct historic quarters:
Arab Quarter (Arrabal): Reflects the town's Moorish past with narrow, winding streets and whitewashed houses.
Jewish Quarter (Azoque): A testimony to its once-thriving Jewish community, featuring unique structures and a fascinating layout.
Christian Quarter: Developed later, showcasing more modern architectural influences, which is where we found ourselves in a lovely square where the Parish Church of Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles.
The church is a prominent landmark, showcasing Baroque design, and serves as a focal point for religious and cultural activities in Chelva.
This region of Valencia has a vibrant tradition of textile arts, including crochet and the streets were adorned with crochet streamers, made by local residents.
The Casa Consistorial de Chelva, or Chelva Town Hall, is a historic building located in the heart of Chelva, situated in the Plaza Mayor, this serves as the administrative center for the municipality.
Historically, the site of the Casa Consistorial holds significant importance. The main gate of the old castle was located in what is now the Plaza Mayor, where the town hall stands today. Over time, the castle underwent various transformations, including its conversion into a palace and later into an inn in the 19th century. Currently, the town hall and other buildings occupy this historic site, incorporating remnants of the original castle structure.
This is an area which could be worth more exploration on a future road trip.
Road Trip 2024 Day 14
Our final stop of our journey was lunch at Tavernes de la Valldigna, situated approximately 54 kilometers south of Valencia. It is the largest town in the Valldigna valley, a horseshoe-shaped area bordered by mountains to the West and the Mediterranean Sea to the East.
The town itself sits is renowned for its excellent beaches and scenic mountain routes, again another area to explore at a later date, possibly during the summer months as its close to one of our other favourite places Cullera. But for now its on with the journey back home to Benidorm, and thats another amazing road trip completed. We still really enjoy these as everyday is like the start of a new holiday and you never know what exciting places you will find along the way.
Just shortly after our visit (15th October) on 29th October Tavernes de la Valldigna faced challenges following a DANA (an Isolated Depression at High Levels producing large amounts of rain in a short period of time), this caused significant flooding and damage. The La Goleta beach area was particularly affected, and local authorities are actively coordinating aid and restoration efforts for the community.
And its now back to Benidorm and the end of this years Road Trip. Next years may be slightly different, as we may re-visit our favourite places from previous years, spending 2 or 3 days in each, really getting to know them properly, rather than just quick one nights visits.
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Road Trip 2024
Total cost of 14 nights' accommodation - 775.49€ (including tourist tax in some areas). Average coast per night = 55.39€
Additional car parking expenses - 17€, most places we stayed offered on street, or private FREE parking.
Total Diesel cost - in the region of 200€
Best accommodation - Night 5 Hôtel des Moulins - 61.62€ including city tax, FREE parking onsite.
Worst accommodation -Day 7 B&B L'Avelan - La Trinité 80.23€ including city tax. The room itself was lovely but being in someone elses house we felt trapped.
Favourite place visited - Cannes, day 7, we both loved this place and would like to visit again in better weather
Most disappointing - Saint-Tropez day 6
Best surprise along the way - Day 3 The Empúries Roman City Ruins at L'Escala and day 6 the medieval village of Le Castellet
What we found different this year - Most other road trips we have taken has been during the summer months (apart from last year), what did we find were the pros and cons of a Road Trip in October:
Pros - Accommodation was easier to find and most with free parking.
Accommodation was much cheaper, we got some really good deals.
Less Traffic on the roads.
Easier to park in the towns and cities.
Much more comfortable walking around in the cooler daytime temperatures.
Cons:
Because we covered a significant distance within a limited timeframe, we were unable to spend extended periods in any one location. As a result, while we visited many places, we didn’t have the opportunity to fully explore them.
Not enough daylight hours to do the amount of sightseeing we normally do.
Unpredictible weather, we had a lot more rain than normal especially in France.
Chilly at night.
Some towns/Cities were so quiet they had no atmosphere.
Would we do a road trip again this time of year? yes, but the lack of daylight hours was still a problem, with us arriving at a lot of our destinations in darkness. As we are now finding the heat too much during the peek summer months the next trip will be taken during May, June, or September. Watch this space.