Costa Blanca Travel Guide

Cabo Roig – Gem Of The Orihuela Costa

The fabulous seaside resort of Cabo Roig sits on the Mediterranean coastline like a jewel in a crown. Actually known as “the jewel of the Costa Blanca”, Cabo Roig is best known for its fine sandy beaches, its luxurious detached villas and its prestigious marina. Cabo Roig is possibly the finest resort along this stretch of the Costa Blanca coastline and this fact is reflected in the number of holidaymakers who visit and return year after year.

Alicante is the centre of the Costa Blanca region, situated on a bay between two capes. Most popular for tourists between May and October when the weather can be guaranteed to be sunny and hot with temperatures often touching 40 degrees. The town is one of the fastest growing in spain and is Valencia's second largest. It is a real town in every sense and whilst its economy today is based around tourism, it exports wine, olives and fruit and has its industries such as leather, pottery and food-processing, the central district is filled with Baroque building bearing testimony to the days when it was a busy seaport.

Located 10 km (6 mi) south of Calpe and 11 km (7 mi) north of Benidorm, Altea is an old fishing village - one of the best conserved towns on the Costa Blanca - with its white houses and striking blue ceramic-tiled domed church of La Mere de Déu del Consol. Altea has long attracted artists, being a picture perfect town.

11 km (7 mi) south of Altea, 42km (26 mi) northeast of Alicante, lies the biggest, the best-known, over-developed resort of Benidorm with its tens of thousands of hotel beds and a seamingly bottomless capacity for tourists. A mini-Manhatten skyline of skyscrapers shouldering its bay with two white cresent-shaped beaches which were its claim to fame back in the 1960's when Benidorm first became popular with mass tourism from northern Europe. Up to the 1960's, Benidorm was just a quiet fishing village with a population of no more than 5,000.

Originally built several miles inland for safety from the pirate attacks, is the beautiful small town of Benissa, situated in the northern part of the province of Alicante. Everything of interest in Benissa can be found in one, long narrow strip running from the top to the bottom of the town.  In Calle Escoto is the franciscan Convento de los Capuchinos, founded in 1611 and built from soft golden stone. The Calle de la Puríima is lined with old medieval houses.

Benissa has over 4 km of coastline with some excellent beaches, many of which are just waiting to be found, cut into the cliffs and hidden away. La Fustera, La Lobella, Els Pinets to name a few, well worth watching out for!

Cartegena

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Denia is located 100 km (62 mi) south of Valencia, 8 km (5 mi) north of Javea and east of Ondara and is the northern most beach resort on the Costa Blanca. Situated at the foot of the majestic Montgo mountain, the area boasts some twenty kilometres of coastline which are regularly awarded by the European Blue Flag for their water quality, infrastructure and services. Denia's beaches to the north, Les Marines, Les Bovetes and Les Deveses are smooth and sandy, while the coast to the south rocky forming calas (tiny secluded inlets).

If Alicante can be described as torrid in summer, Elche is ever hotter. Elx, as it known in Valencian, is located 24 km (15 mi) southwest of Alicante,  34 km (21 mi) northwest of Orihuela and 50 km (36 mi) northwest of Murcia. It is situated in an area of the Costa Blanca, standing 86 metres above sea level, known as El Baix Vinalopó. Elche dates back to the Neolithic period and was actually a mile south of the present town, which is now only a few kilometres away from the coastal resort of Santa Pola.

With a population of just 207,000 inhabitants, Elche has a varied history dating back over five thousand years.

The largest palm forest in Europe surrounds Elche, first planted by the Moors for dates, Europe's most reliable crop, and are still produced today along with yellow fronds. There are 200,000 palm trees growing within the city, many of the plantations have been turned into public parks. One of which, the Huerto del Cura is a 13,000 square meter garden with an impressive mixture of Mediterranean and tropical plants. Another attractive park is the Parque Municipal (town park).

Guardamar, sometimes referred to as Guardamar del Segura, is a typically Spanish town with a growing number of Ex-pat residents. Well known for its white sandy beach, almost 10 km long. Guardamar is also well known for its impressive dunes with palm, eucalyptus and pine trees. The dunes were originally built to protect the town from sandstorms, as it lies so close to the beach.

From the north to the south, the coast consists of two main beaches separated by the mouth of the Segura. In the south are three uninterrupted natural beaches stretching 3 km up to the border of the Torrevieja beach. All beaches have fine sand and clear waters, making them ideal for sunbathing and watersports. 

This town has a definite leisurely feel to it, however, on a Wednesday, the town changes into a whirlwind, this being market day (not to be missed).

4.5 km east of Santa Pola lies the only inhabited island of the Valencian coast. A base for the Barbary pirates back in the middle ages, it was fortified and populated with 600 Genoan fishermen in 1796 by Carlos III after an agreement with the King form the Tabarka peninsula (between Tunisia and Algeria). These ancestors account for the Italian surname of many of today's dwellers.

The island is little more than a mile long, 437 yards wide and car free. There are many excursions to the Island from Alicante and Santa Pola taking a leisurely cruise taking approximately one hour and half an hour respectively.

Javea / Xabia, 108 km (67 mi) southeast of Valencia, 92 km (57 mi) northeast of Alicante and 8 km (5 mi) south of Denia is a labyrinth of tiny streets and houses with Gothic windows which can only be appreciated by walking on foot. This ancient fishing village still holds its charm even with extensive tourism facilities. Javea's careful planning policies - restricting the height and type of new buildings -  have preserved the beauty of the town and combined it with the modern and have made sure that Javea stays a true jewel of the Costa Blanca.

Situated 12 km (7 mi) southeast of Calpe, 20 km (12 mi) southeast of Javea. Moraira and Teulada are actually two adjacent towns, with Moraira situated at the coast, and Teulada slightly in land. Between them approximately 10,000 people live in the area.

Explore Murcia

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Orihuela is the capital of the Vega Baja, the largest district in the Alicante Province. The municipal district of Orihuela has a population of approximately 75,800 inhabitants and is bordered by the region of Murcia to the west, Torrevieja and Pilar de la Horadada to the south east and Pinoso and Abaniila tom the north.

Located 57 km from Alicante in the north, 22 km from Murcia in the south west and 32 km from its beaches: Cabo Roig, Playa Flamenca, La Zenia, Campoamor, Mil Palmeras and Punta Prima.

Pilar de la Horadada lies 67 km (41 mi) from Alicante and marks the southern limit of the Costa Blanca. It has four kilometres of quality beach. Las Villas-Higuericas beach is a well served Blue Flag beach with lifeguard duty everyday from 15th June to 15th September (11.00 - 19.00h).

Pilar de la Horadada is home to numerous fantastic market gardens producing some superb fruit and vegetables for export to many countries around Europe.

Punta Prima is located on the southern outskirts of Torrevieja, north of Playa Flamenca. It is sliced in two by the busy main coastal road, the N332. Punta Prima is about 25 minutes from Murcia-San Javier Airport and about 40 minutes from Alicante Airport. 

Punta Prima has a more than ample selection of fine Bars and Restaurants. A well known landmark of Punta Prima is the iron bridge; a pedestrian bridge located at the northern end, providing a safe place to cross the very busy main road (N332). The area has an excellent selection of supermarkets, banks, diy stores, gift shops a garage and a filling station.

The fishing town of Santa Pola has nearly 15 km (10 mi) of fine sandy safe beaches with shallow water - an ideal family location. Santa Pola is the closest mainland town to Tabarca Island and has, at its port, regular boat trips available to the Island. According to records, the town has been inhabited since the third Millennium BC. A fortified city was built in the forth century BC to provide protection to settlers. With the coming of the Romans in the 1st Century BC, the population increased, as they made it one of their main ports, naming it Portus Illicitanous. Many of the fortification seen today date from the 16 century and where built to defend the town from the Barbary Pirates had at that time taken over Tabarca Island.

With its relatively low-key resort feel, and 320 days of sunshine each year, Torrevieja is an excellent family holiday venue. It has some excellent fine sandy beaches, an attractive sea front and large harbour. The cost of living in the area is very reasonable with many excellent quality restaurants and bars. You are sure to find some mouth-watering dishes from the fish restaurants close to the harbour. You can expect 320 days of sunshine each year with an average temperature of 18 degrees. It is a little known fact that the climate in Torrevieja is closely matched to that of the Canary Islands.

Situated approximately 5 km south of Benidorm and 32 km north of Alicante, the fishing town of Villajoyosa is certainly worth a visit. Many town and cities on the Costa Blanca are referred to as a ‘jewel’, however, Villajoyosa literally means 'Jewelled town’. The town runs along its 3.5km fine sandy beach and ends at the fishing harbour. Of the many beaches, the Centro Beach and El Paradis might be deemed to be the best. There are other beaches such as Xarco with its watchtower and Torres beach with a roman tower. There is a small cove used for diving and naturism, the Raco Conill and the Bol Nou and La Caleta beaches with their transparent waters are also well worth a visit