Hi Kim,
We spent the last six months in Almerimar, Spain. The marina is located about 130 nm east of Gibraltar between Malaga and Almeria. Excellent shelter from the many winter gales we experienced there. There is a fantastic supermarket within the marina complex with some of the best prices we've seen in the Med. Many cafes, restaurants, tapa bars in the marina. Nearest town is Elijedo a twenty minute bus ride, .90 Euros each way. It had a very lively group of cruiser through the winter (mostly British) with many social actives available. There were a few boats with children aboard. Those boats with school aged children were home schooling so can't tell you about local schools. For our boat the six month contract cost 1300 euros (approx $1600). Water and Electric was another 2.70 euros per day. Wifi is available in the marina, but expensive (45 euros per month or 240 euros for six months). Internet cafes run about 2-3 euros per hour.
As for duty regulations, taxes, residence laws, your biggest issue will be VAT (value added tax) on the boat. You are allowed only 18 months in the EU or you will have to pay about a 15 pct tax on the value of your boat. You can short circuit this by visiting a non-EU country Tunisia or Turkey for example.
I would strongly recommend you visit
www.noonsite.com where there is a lot of information on the marinas in Spain. Also the Seven Seas Discussion Board
www.ssca.org is another great place to get more information on the regulations and Spain. The Cruising Club of America also has an excellent Mediterranean Guide you can download for free at:
http://www.cruisingclub.org/pdfs/CCA...RS-Ver5.01.pdf
Best of luck in your planning, you will love the Med.
Pete
s/y "Brilliant"
Moody 425
Lying Melilla, Spain
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