Moving to the Marina Alta with Children

The local guide to actually living here with kids.

Moving to the Marina Alta with children changes the questions you ask.

Yes, you want to know about buying houses, where to eat, where to swim and all the lovely things there are to see and do.

But when you're actually going to live here with children, suddenly it's the everyday stuff that matters.

Where will they go to school?

Is there a nursery nearby?

What can they do after school?

Where can you take a two-year-old on a Tuesday afternoon?

What happens during the school holidays?

Where can you have a coffee while they play without spending the entire time saying, "Don't touch that!"?

And, crucially, what on earth do you do when it's raining?

Whether you've just moved here or you're considering relocating your family to the Marina Alta, those are the questions that can be surprisingly difficult to answer.

What is family life really like in the Marina Alta?

We want our children to grow up happy, educated, confident and surrounded by experiences.

But we'd also quite like to sit down occasionally.

And that's really what Mums in the Marina Alta is about.

The classes nobody told you about. Places you can take a toddler. What to do after school. Holiday activities. Schools. Parties. Local events. Places where the kids can play safely while you actually get to talk to another adult.

And all those little pieces of local information you normally only discover because another mum happens to tell you.

Choosing where to live with children

Finding the right family home isn't simply about the number of bedrooms, whether there's a swimming pool or how far you are from the beach.

Family life makes you look at a location differently.

Where are the schools?

Can the children take part in local sports and activities?

What happens during the long school holidays?

What language will they speak at school?

Are there things happening locally throughout the year?

Can they grow up feeling part of the community rather than simply living in a house within it?

These aren't always the things you'll find in a property listing, but they can make an enormous difference to whether somewhere actually feels like home.

Schools, languages and becoming part of local life

One of the questions families moving here often have is about language.

Our first family guide starts in Ondara, where RENVIDA is based and where Valencian is widely spoken.

In Ondara's public schools, parents vote for their preferred base language. Where there are sufficient children for two classes and enough families choose Castellano, there can be one class with Valencian as the base language and another with Castellano. Otherwise, Valencian will generally be the main option.

But whichever option you choose...

your child will end up speaking the local language. Be sure of that! 😂

And that's part of living here.

Children don't just go to school in these towns. They join football clubs, take part in fiestas, visit the library, play in the squares, trick-or-treat through local shops at Halloween and grow up as part of their local community.

Mums in the Marina Alta

We want this to become a genuinely useful local resource for families already living here and those thinking about making the move.

Not another list of tourist attractions copied from the internet.

It's the useful stuff.

We'll look at schools and nurseries, babies and toddlers, after-school activities, sports, holiday programmes, family events, fiestas, rainy-day ideas and the places where parents can occasionally finish a conversation while their children are safely occupied.

And we'll keep adding the good stuff when we find it.

Let's start in Ondara

Since RENVIDA is based in Ondara, it seemed the obvious place to begin.

Our local guide covers everything from baby and toddler sessions to schools, sports, indoor play, holiday activities and some genuinely useful contacts to save in your phone.

If you're considering moving to Ondara with children - or you've already arrived - start here.

Read: Living in Ondara with Children - The Local Family Guide

Property. Family. Real life in the Marina Alta.

Finding somewhere to live is one thing.

Finding somewhere your family can really live is another.

That's why getting to know the towns, villages and communities around a property matters just as much as opening the front door.

Welcome to The Renvida Way.

Thinking about moving your family to the Marina Alta?

Tell us what you're looking for - not only in a property, but in the life you want to build around it.