Murcia-San Javier Airport (MJV)

After flying back from Murcia just 24 hours ago, I feel I should share my experiences of San Javier Airport with you.

==LOCATION==
Set in Eastern Spain, San Javier is located about 45Km southeast of Murcia but is also known as Murcia Airport. So when you are flying to this airport expecting to be close to the city, think again.
We were unaware of this fact even after picking the car up. We only found this out on our return ...
...Airport. After asking for directions in central Murcia (as the airport is not signposted ANYWHERE) it was more luck than judgement we found our way back!
The airport is constructed right on the coast and on final approach you are nearly kissing the med with your undercarriage. For those nervous fliers, close the window blinds for landing!
Flying time from Gatwick is roughly 2 hours and 25 minutes. Its a similar time from Stansted.
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After flying back from Murcia just 24 hours ago, I feel I should share my experiences of San Javier Airport with you.

LOCATION

Set in Eastern Spain, San Javier is located about 45Km southeast of Murcia but is also known as Murcia Airport. So when you are flying to this airport expecting to be close to the city, think again.
We were unaware of this fact even after picking the car up. We only found this out on our return to Murcia and wondered why we could not find the Airport. After asking for directions in central Murcia (as the airport is not signposted ANYWHERE) it was more luck than judgement we found our way back!
The airport is constructed right on the coast and on final approach you are nearly kissing the med with your undercarriage. For those nervous fliers, close the window blinds for landing!
Flying time from Gatwick is roughly 2 hours and 25 minutes. Its a similar time from Stansted.

WHERE IT SERVICES

Basically, it covers a wide range of areas for holiday makers. It is roughly the same distance from tourist hotspots such as Torrevieja to the North as the more popular and busier Alicante airport (about 45 mins drive) and an ideal 30 mins drive from the golfing paradise of La Manga. I was a little suprised with the number of golf bags on the carousel until i realised how close we were to La Manga!
During the winter months, its probably the best choice for those people lokoing at flying in to visit the more southerly resorts of Almanzora and Almeria regions as the airport at ALmeria has limited flights to england between October and March.

ON ARRIVAL

Well, lets just say its no Heathrow! Your plane taxis from the short runway to the apron where you disembark down a set of stairs to the ground. There are no airbridges to take you directly into the airport and the whole feel of the airport has that mini tourist airport of 25 years ago. Even the smell! If its really busy, there may be 1 or 2 other jets on the ground at the same time! As we landed in our Easyjet Airbus A319, there was only 1 other Jet there unloading. It was a Boeing 737 from Germany. This gives you an idea of the number of passengers the airport is designed for at one time.

BAGGAGE RECLAIM/ARRIVAL HALL

Very sparsely populated and equiped. There are 2 carousels for you to collect your bags from along with 3 or 4 car hire company desks. Dont think this is the limit of your choice for car hire though! There are toilets for those of you busting to go. However once you have your bags and checked your passport, you are out into the Spanish Sun. No hours of walking.

TRANFERS/CAR HIRE

Hmm....Like i mentioned you are miles from even the closest major town (Murcia) so it is essential you have thought about your transfer. Public transport is limited so your best option is a car. A taxi ride to Murcia was roughly 75 Euros with a similar price for La Manga. Buses are restricted to 3 trips a day!
So your best option to to hire a car. I could see 3 options here.
1) Hire one from the desk from a reputable company such as Europcar, Hertz, etc.....
You pay more but hey, you have an English speaking rep and can gurantee what you are getting.
2) Hire one from one of the Ice Cream type vans in the carpark. Less well known and a bit cheaper. These still looked very good but you cannot ensure its exactly legit!
3)Book one in advance from an offsite hire firm. We took this option without really knowing that is what it was. Basically you fine your hire rep walking around the car park (pure chance), show them the paperwork and they tell you to wait here for a transfer bus. A mercedes van turned up and all of our stuff was loaded into it and we were hurried 3 miles down the road to a roadside building which was the home to Auriga Crown Car Hire. With a slight doubt in my mind we were being driven somewhere to have our organs cut out and sold on the black market, instead I was pleasantly suprised with the service, vehicle and price of this company. It was by far the cheapest (£67 for 3 days) and we got exactly what we asked for ( a Ford Focus C Max, about 3 months old).
Only downside to this is you need to return your vehicle to this place after your holiday and then wait for a transfer bus. Still, its by far the cheapest way to do it.
If you are a local or ex-pat, there is plenty of car parking at the airport but it did not look very secure and exposed. In fact it all seemed to blend in with the hire cars so anything could happen!

DEPARTURE/CHECK IN

On your return to the airport, the few check in desks never seem to be busy and the staff are friendly enough. Do your souvenir shopping in advance though as its quite limited pre-passport control. There is a cash point prior to passport control and I suggest you use this as there is not one airside.
Once through passport control, you are in a small and again sparsely equipped departure lounge. Eating options are restricted to a Subway that does take credit cards (thankfully) and the duty free shop is quite small. There is also a small spanish souvenir shop for those of you who want a tacky item but there are no straw donkeys (believe me, i asked!)
You know when your plane arrives as the departure lounge faces onto the runway apron with the aircraft waiting for you to board. I only spotted 4 departure gates and only 1 was being used.

OVERALL

Pleasant enough but quite "bare bones" in its approach to catering for travellers. Lack of public transport connections can be a pain and car hire or taxis are essential. Handy enough for a large part of the costa blanca though.

INTERESTING FACT

To the north of the runway were about 30 military jets all painted up in Red and yellow flames! I have no idea what this was but they looked really cool if somewhat unused! 

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