Packing for a villa stay in southern Spain

The villa provides bed linen, bath towels, a hairdryer, an iron and a full kitchen. What it does not provide is pool towels, so bring your own or plan to buy a couple.

The things guests most often wish they had packed: a European travel adapter, high-factor sun cream (much cheaper at home than at the resort shop), swimming shoes if you are heading to the rockier stretches around Cabo de Palos, and something warm for the evenings between October and April, when the temperature drops quickly once the sun goes.

Everything else — food, drink, nappies, beach toys, a decent bottle of Jumilla — is available at the supermarket on the resort plaza or at the larger shops in Roldán, five minutes away.