U3A Denia

l to r: Ginny Whitehead, Neil Parkin, Chris Whitehead, Graham Cromack. Front: Christine Parkin, Liz Jones

Our aim is to provide our membership with a wide choice of trips, from days out to nights away and occasional overseas travel. We arrange value for money trips to suit all pockets within the limitation of minimum numbers required to make a trip viable. As well as being friendly and fun, we endeavor to make our trips educational/cultural in line with the U3A ethos of continued learning and sharing experiences.

Each year we offer three or four day trips, mostly including lunch, a couple of overnighters, a theatre/exhibition trip or two and a Christmas break.

These are our plans for 2020:

Day trip to Jijona to see how turrón is made, lunch in a local restaurant, then a visit to the caves in Buscot. 31 January. TRIP FULL

Three day, two night trip to Madrid to see the fabulous Tutankhamun exhibition 25-27 February. BOOKINGS CLOSED

Day trip to Elche and a tour of the Passion Play Museum, lunch in the Palm Park included, then a guided tour of the Pikolinos leather shoe factory 26 March.TRIP FULL

Day trip to the BioParc and Lladró factory & museum in Valencia 5 June. NOW BOOKING

Afternoon/evening trip to see Cirque du Soleil in Valencia
20 September. TRIP FULL

Day trip to a famous bodega in Yecla to wine taste and have lunch in their restaurant 2 October. TRIP FULL

Christmas break in Nerja. Awaiting details from the travel agent

PLANS FOR 2021

Visit to Río Jucár area to see the caves, boat trip along the river and tourist train.

Day trip to Enrique Mendoza Bodega with visit to Altea old town for lunch.

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO SEE FULL DETAILS OF TRIPS

You may see similar trips to ours advertised by Gandia Tours. Please follow this link so that you are aware of the advantages of booking via the U3A Travel group.

THIS TRIP IS FULLY BOOKED

CAVES, TURRÓN AND ICE CREAM - A DAY TRIP TO BUSCOT AND JIJONA WITH LUNCH
Not too far down the coast towards Alicante lies the small town of Jijona, world famous for its turrón and locally famous for its delicious ice creams. Turrón, that toothsome sweet nougat confection of almonds and honey, is made for the Christmas market and is only manufactured from July to December. The seasonal nature of turrón meant that a large number of Jijonencos took to making a living through the production of artisan-made ice cream throughout the year.

Although unable to see turrón actually being made, we’ll visit the Turrón Museum, where our Guide will translate the information into English for us. We will, of course, be able to try before we buy in their shop.

Our three course lunch will be enjoyed in Restaurante El Museo. After lunch, we’ll board the coach for a visit to the beautiful Canalobre (candelabra) Cave in Buscot. This awe-inspiring cave is a spectacular cavern with curious, colourfully illuminated limestone formations, many of which resemble candelabras, hence its name.
Price per person with lunch: €35
There is a free place for the trip organiser which will be used to reduce the overall cost.

All queries to the Trip Organiser:alandliz_03@hotmail.com

Pick up time from:
New Marina Denia - 08.30
McDonalds Denia - 08.45
Mas y Mas Ondara - 09.00

BOOKINGS FOR THIS TRIP HAVE NOW CLOSED

The exhibition is on its final world tour. Join us for this once in a lifetime chance to see over a thousand artefacts which have been reproduced and are shown ‘returned’ to their rightful place in the three burial chambers, exactly as discovered in 1922.

We’re staying for two night’s bed and breakfast in an excellent three star hotel, right in the heart of Madrid and walking distance from Plaza Mayor and all the tapas bars and restaurants you could wish for. The price includes entrance to the exhibition.

Per person in a double room :
€175 (31-40 passengers)
€160 (41-54 passengers)
Single supplement €62

BOOKINGS FOR THIS TRIP HAVE NOW CLOSED

To add your name to the cancellation list, please contact Ginny: cheftalia47@gmail.com

Pick up time from:
New Marina Denia - To be arranged
McDonalds Denia - To be arranged
Mas y Mas Ondara - To be arranged

A VISIT TO ELCHE’S WORLD HERITAGE SITES

THIS TRIP IS FULLY BOOKED

Dating back to the 5th century BC, the city of Elche boasts two World Heritage Sites - El Palmeral, the most northerly palm grove in Europe, and Misteri d'Elx, a religious play, dating back to medieval times, performed each year in August and rounded off with Spain’s loudest firework display, known as the Nit d’Alba. It’s also famous for being the city where over half of all Spanish leather shoes are made and is a world leader in footwear manufacture. We’ll be visiting all three places on our trip.

Starting with a short guided tour of the old city centre on arrival, we’ll continue with a visit to the Passion Play Museum, awarded a Certificate of Excellence by TripAdvisor, to see the amazing display of posters, costumes and instruments, and a model of the Basilica where the play takes place. Moving onto the 15th century nave of the Hermitage of San Sebastian, we’ll see the history of the play via a half hour audio visual show with impressive special

We then drive to the second World Heritage site of our visit - El Palmeral - with its 200,000 palm trees and visit the Huerta del Cura (Priest’s orchard), home to a wide range of Mediterranean and tropical plants. Then it’s time for lunch, and we’ll enjoy a three course menú del día at Restaurant Spazio in Elche.

Now fed, watered and rested, we’ll visit the famous Pikolinos shoe factory for a guided visit to learn about the process first hand - from the delivery of top quality leather, to the production of shoes and footwear. The visit then moves to their museum, which traces the origins of manufacture from espadrilles and cork sandals, to quality leather shoes, boots and accessories. We will, of course, have a chance to buy at discount prices in their outlet store.

As always, the price of our trips are dependent upon numbers. There is a free place on this trip for the organiser, and it has been used to reduce the overall price.



Any queries, please contact: Christine and Neil Parkin: neilchrisparkin@gmail.com

Pick up time from:
New Marina Denia - 08.30
McDonalds Denia - 08.45
Mas y Mas Ondara - 09.00

The BioParc in Valencia is a uniquely designed ‘safari park’ where 4,000 African animals and 250 different species live in naturally created habitats. Animals of different species live together just as they would in nature. There are no cages, just perspex barriers separating species and animals from visitors, so you can get up really close without disturbing them. The BioParc has been awarded a Certificate of Excellence by Trypadvisor.

You are not allowed to bring your own food into the parc so, after you’ve seen all the animals, we’ll enjoy a three course lunch in Restaurant Samburu. In the afternoon, we’ll visit the famous Lladró Porcelain Factory and Museum. We’ll watch a video and walk around the factory to see artisans at work, molding and painting pieces, before visiting the museum to view the current collection.

The price includes entry to the BioParc and lunch. The Lladró Museum visit is free.

Prices are approximate as 2020 entrance fees are not available yet. There is a free place for the trip organiser which will be converted into cash to reduce the overall cost for everyone.

30 - 39 passengers 40€
40 - 49 passengers 36€
50 - 55 passengers 34€

BOOKINGS FOR THIS TRIP WILL CLOSE ON 24 APRIL

All queries AND REQUESTS FOR VEGETARIAN MEALS to Ginny Whitehead : cheftalia47@gmail.com

Pick up time from:
New Marina Denia - to be advised
McDonalds Denia - to be advised
Mas y Mas Ondara - to be advised

THIS TRIP IS NOW FULL

We have secured a block of just 40 medium-priced seats for this world famous, fabulous Mexican-inspired show, which brings to the stage a series of grand visual surprises and breathtaking acrobatic performances.

We’ll leave in the afternoon, the performance is at 5pm and we’ll be back in Denia at around 9pm. Our block of seats means that we’ll all sit together.

€70 per person

THIS WILL SELL OUT FAST

Book on line or contact Travel@u3adenia.com

THIS TRIP IS NOW FULL. PLEASE EMAIL GRAHAM TO BE PUT ONTO THE CANCELLATION LIST graham.cromack@sky.com

Pick up time from:
New Marina Denia - To be advised
McDonalds Denia - To be advised
Mas y Mas Ondara - To be advised

THIS TRIP IS FULLY BOOKED

We rarely make the same trip twice, especially within a year, but we’ve had so many requests to revisit this bodega that Liz has agreed to repeat it.

So, back by popular demand, we are again going to visit the Bodegas Familia Castaño in Yecla, in the Murcia region. A little added interest this time is that we are going during harvest time.

We will be travelling by bus, picking up at the usual departure points. We’ll have a relaxed journey to Yecla, followed by a tour of the vineyards and bodega. Then we will enjoy a lovely paella lunch in the bodega’s restaurant and, of course, sample their delicious wine! There will be time for a visit to the bodega shop for those who wish to take some wine home with them, before a relaxed drive home.

35€ per person to include lunch with wine

For any queries about the trip, AND REQUESTS FOR VEGETARIAN MEALS, contact Liz Jones: alandliz_03@hotmail.com

Pick up time from:
New Marina Denia - to be advised
McDonalds Denia - to be advised
Mas y Mas Ondara - to be advised