degeneration 5 #1 March 6, 2007 This is my first serious post, so please be gentle! I'm planning on doing an AFF course this summer, but don't know where would be best to do it. At the moment I'm thinking between Skydive Empuriabrava, Skydive Lillo and Freefall University. For each of those I can get the flight from the UK to Spain for about £50-60 quid (if I book early), so flight cost is quite cheap. There is very little difference in the price of the course, so that's not really much of a factor. But the factors that I am interested in are: what is there to do in the immediate and general surrounding area around the DZ holiday wise? And also what are the DZs like, cause I'll prob be spending a little time there too! Wherever I go, I'll prob be having about a 2 week holiday before or after the course with my girlf, and then I'll be having about 2 weeks around the DZ area to do the course and consol jumps. During hte time that my girlf is out we'd like to see quite a few places in the two weeks. At the mo' I'm leaning towards Empuriabrava as it is on the coast so there will be a beach and stuff, but I don't know if there is anything else there. Can anyone give me advice on which to go to, or if there is somewhere else entirely (different countries considered too) that you think would be better for us to go to? Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks! Sky Switches - Affordable stills camera tongue switches and conversion adaptors, supporting various brands of camera (Canon, Sony, Nikon, Panasonic). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
piisfish 135 #2 March 6, 2007 Welcome here and congrats for your choice whichever, you certainly won't go wrong in either DZ. I only know Empuria so I'll give you my point of view there : Pros : -very busy DZ, lots of possibilities to jump -town is full of restaurants, bars, shops etc. Walking distance. -beach for the GF -area is nice and has also cultural interest (this is the Gaudi region...) Cons : -can be windy and put you on standby , specially during midday -can be expensive because of all possibilities to spendscissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kimsdu 0 #3 March 6, 2007 Ampuria is hands down the best DZ in Europe, the scenery is fantastic you have the pyranese mountains behind you. The dz itself also has good facilities, nice big pool, tennis courts, go kart track. There is loads to do in the area, lots of watersports.(Beach is 10 min walk from dz!!) French border is only a 1 hour drive. There are Canyoning trips.(HIGHLY RECOMMEND doing this whilst you are there.) The Dali museum in Figueras- short bus trip. The social scene is great and all the staff super friendly. There are winds but if you going for a few weeks you will be fine. Have fun. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
degeneration 5 #4 March 6, 2007 Well, I think those posts are pretty much settling it! I'm glad that is where I was leaning to, as I don't feel that bad about dismissing the others! I'd still appreciate any other pointers or advice from anyone else that reads this though! Cheers.Sky Switches - Affordable stills camera tongue switches and conversion adaptors, supporting various brands of camera (Canon, Sony, Nikon, Panasonic). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tube9999 0 #5 March 6, 2007 if skydiving is what you want then I would choose Skydive Lillo! The town is in the middle of nowhere and there is not that much to do unlees you drive to madrid. The plus is that it is a small hometown feeling dropzone where empuria can get a little big and intimidating for beginners, even the experienced. If you really want to learn how to fly good, you want Marcus Laser to teach you at skydive Lillo! Trust me, I think the guy is the best! Really enjoy the place! The people there are awesome and everyone there welcomes you with smiles and great fun! Just call kathi there and she will set you up with everything! just my opinion! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
degeneration 5 #6 March 6, 2007 From the skydiving point of view that does sound pretty great for beginners like me, however as I'll be there for about 2 weeks to do the whole course and in the general area for 2 weeks on holiday, if there is nothing much around there, that isn't so great from the holiday point of view. Don't think my girlf would be too happy taking her there and there ending up being very little to do for two weeks!! Will read up more on the surrounding areas just to be sure though.Sky Switches - Affordable stills camera tongue switches and conversion adaptors, supporting various brands of camera (Canon, Sony, Nikon, Panasonic). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
saucy_dee 0 #7 March 7, 2007 Have you thought of Florida? Skydive Sebastian is just over an hour waay from Orlando. So that may keep the girlfiriend happy as everyone knows there is heaps to do there! Plus it's about 20 minutes from the beach too. And of course there's the wind tunnel in Orlando opposite wet and wild too. If your girlfriend doesn't skydive then maybe she'd like a few minutes in the wind tunnel instead! The views from the air are awesome!!! Has to be the prettiest dropzone I've ever jumped at. You can camp at the DZ for free or check out the webiste for local accomodation. Some I believe offer skydiver rates too! At the DZ there's also a gear shop, Zoo bar and Tiki bar. Again check out te website for more pics and info. www.skydivesebastian.com And another bonus is the cost of the AFF itself. It's just $1100 if you pay for the whole course up front (it's about $1300 if you pay for each level individually). With the current exchange rate that's only about 600GBP. Once you finish your AFF course, jumps after that are only $45. Like I said, check out www.skydivesebastian.com, message me on here or e-mail [/email][email protected][email] for more info. Hope this helps! Don't put off 'till tomorrow what you can do today Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
caz 0 #8 March 7, 2007 Quote There is loads to do in the area, lots of watersports.(Beach is 10 min walk from dz!!) Geez how fast do you walk?? Beach is more realistically 30-40 mins walk from the DZ. Empuria is a fabulous place though, I did my AFF there a few years back and loved every minute of it, I've also taken non jumping friends with me out there and they've really enjoyed it as well. I haven't been to Seville yet (am going there later this month though) but from everything I've heard it is also an excellent dz. There's also a lot of cultural stuff to do down in the south, although it will be very hot in the summer. I've been to Lillo a few times while it was under different management, enjoyed it both times but it is a very small dz in the middle of nowhere and absolutely nothing to do if you are a non jumper. ~~~ London Skydivers ~~~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
degeneration 5 #9 March 7, 2007 Hey, That price for the AFF is brilliant and if I was going on my own I think it would work out a bit cheaper to go there, but the cheapest flight I've been able to find for the time I'm likely to be going (July) is about £530. x2 to include the girlf and it becomes a lot pricier. If the flights were nearer the £300 mark then it would be a serious consideration cause I know she'd be quite happy over there!! Thanks for the replies and I'll keep an eye out for cheap flights, but from the mentions that Lillo is more in the middle of nowhere, then I think it'll be Empuriabrava unless the cheap flights to the US materialise!Sky Switches - Affordable stills camera tongue switches and conversion adaptors, supporting various brands of camera (Canon, Sony, Nikon, Panasonic). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
piisfish 135 #10 March 7, 2007 QuoteQuoteThere is loads to do in the area, lots of watersports.(Beach is 10 min walk from dz!!) Geez how fast do you walk?? Beach is more realistically 30-40 mins walk from the DZ.come on, now it's 20-30 minutes from DZ to beach. Beach to DZ is another beast (for those who don't know the place, the beach area is also the bar/pub/nightclub area).scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
degeneration 5 #11 March 8, 2007 Quote I haven't been to Seville yet (am going there later this month though) but from everything I've heard it is also an excellent dz. There's also a lot of cultural stuff to do down in the south, although it will be very hot in the summer. Been looking into Seville a bit now as well, and the website I was looking at - Freefall Addicts - sells the place very, very well. Location wise I'd quite like to go there, but I just cannot find as cheap flights there in July as I can to Barcelona... Thanks for pointing it out though, definitely somewhere I'm going to keep looking for cheap flights to! Sky Switches - Affordable stills camera tongue switches and conversion adaptors, supporting various brands of camera (Canon, Sony, Nikon, Panasonic). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
caz 0 #12 March 12, 2007 If you're looking at going to Empuria, then you probably want to go to Girona airport as it is much nearer rather than Barcelona, unless you are planning on spending some time in Barcelona itself before hand. For Seville, there are a number of airports in the south all within an hour or 2ish's drive. I'm flying to Malaga and hope to get to Seville in about 2 hours driving. As far as Freefall Addicts goes, Barry and Lamorna who run the school are fantastic people and really look after their students. I know a lot of people who have done their AFF with them from when they were based in Lillo and since they've gone to Seville. If you have any queries, Lamorna is great at answering your emails. Either way, picking Empuria or Seville, both are fantastic schools and dz's and people will sing the praise of both and I'm sure you'll have a great time at either. ~~~ London Skydivers ~~~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
degeneration 5 #13 March 13, 2007 I've decided I'm actually going to fly in to Nice in France, and then do a two week tour round from there to Barcelona (via Monaco, Marseille, Montpellier, Perpignan, Girona and anywhere else that looks good en route), where my girlf will depart back home and I'll head back up to Empuria for the course. If I book the flights soon, can fly into Nice and out from Barcelona for total ~£60 return. Bargain! And train fares for that entire route work out at about 100Euro, which is great too! Now all I have to do is find the money for accomodation while I'm doing all this! Credit cards ahoy!Sky Switches - Affordable stills camera tongue switches and conversion adaptors, supporting various brands of camera (Canon, Sony, Nikon, Panasonic). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
degeneration 5 #14 March 15, 2007 Oh bloody hell. I've gone and booked my flights and got in touch with Empuriabrava to book me on the course!!! Roll on July 15th!!!Sky Switches - Affordable stills camera tongue switches and conversion adaptors, supporting various brands of camera (Canon, Sony, Nikon, Panasonic). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
