BEACHES AND SEA SIDE TOWNS
Costa Blanca, touches the
Costa Blanca
is the area from Benidorm to Torrevieja.
Costa Calida
then carries on south until
The marina is pleasant to stroll around. The castle has a panoramic view of the city
and a visit is currently free of charge (including parking). You can drive up to the castle or take the
lift. The lift is near the coastal train
station, on the opposite side of the road, down a long tunnel.
Castle Parking 63 km’s (N
° ??.??? W ° ??.???)
BENIDORM
The architecture is different; there are lots of
high rise buildings, as this was the home of the package holiday deals. The
beach is large, however, it can get crowed in summer. There are great fish and
chip shops. Out of season, there is a
lot of free entertainment. There are lot of night shows with cheap hotel
accommodation (the city is twined with Black pool!) Free parking km’s (N
° ??.??? W °
??.???)
Water
falls near Benadorm
http://www.alicante-spain.com/algar_waterfalls_video.html Take
your swimming gear and a picnic. Drive through village and park in their free
park. Thereis also a Cactus garden www.cactusdalgar.com km’s (N °
??.??? W ° ??.???)
If you travel to Benidorm this is well worth a visit.
The harbour is spacious with shops and restaurants; on show is one
of the world’s first submarines. The
area is modern with bars and expensive boats. The old town in contrast has
great architecture and many small alleyways.
There are museums, castles, a Roman amphitheatre (which is being
restored) and the best shops in the area.
The high hill over looking harbour and town is great viewing point. Best to head to the port area to miss driving
through the main city centre
Castle Parking km’s (N
° ??.??? W ° ??.???)
Harbour
parking km’s (N °
??.??? W ° ??.???)
The town has lots of history and is surrounded by palm trees.
Basilica tower is a good vantage point, it overlooks a museum that links up
with a restored castle. There are several botanic parks worth walking around
and shoe shops should you wear your shoes out!
Castle/museum
3€ Tower cost 2€ church is free 38 k m’s (N 38° 16.064 W 0° 41.900).
Huerto
GUADAMAR
Has good beaches and good parking. The northern end
of Guadamar is one of our favourite spots to bathe.
Fishermans
cottage beach area. 30 km’s (N 38° 05.618 W 0° 38.767)
Large
beach area. km’s 30km’s (N
38° 04.470 W 0° 38.926)
HURCHILLO
apartment (N
38° 03.429 W 0° 55.360)
The area is great for walkers, cyclists and twitchers or you might
want to relax in the swimming pool or to sun bath and have a barbecue on your
own roof top solarium. Although
Hurchillo is a small village there are several shops, bars and
restaurants. A culture centre, library
and computer access centre is being built by the play park in the old water
distribution building. You can walk or drive to the top of the hill that over
looks the village (turn right at the church on the Tormenlendos road). Be aware of the Pine Tree Caterpillar. Their nests look likes a ball of spider’s
webs and are easy to spot. They spit
poison up to a metre and this will sting.
LA MANGA (strip)
Next to the long promenade facing the Mar Menor there are extensive beaches. The watery setting, combined with the facilities at its marina, mean you can do a great many great water sports. Try the humped back bridge at the end of the strip!
LA
ZENIA 32 Km’s
The area has several small clean beaches with in a
populated residential area.
Cabo
Roig, (N 37° 54.735 W 0° 43.502)
La
Zenia(N °
??.??? W ° ??.???)
Cala
Captain (N37°
55.235 W 0° 43.411)
Faro
Fuentes
del Algar, Km’s (N °
??.??? W ° ??.???)
PILLA
DE LA HORDADA
The area has several small clean beaches with in a
populated residential area. This is one of our favourite spots to bathe. 36
Km’s (N 37° 52.163 W 0° 45.406)
The largest city in the area: the river
Central
car park km’s (N 38° ??.??? W 0° ??.???)
Nueva
shopping centre km’s (N 38° 02.633 W 1° 08.250 )
ORIHUELA
Is
an inland town that has lots of history. It has been a settlement of several
civilisations that have all left their mark on the city. The centre is full of truly beautiful works
of architecture, churches, public buildings. It is on the River Segura, making
it a wonderful Spanish town to visit.
You should visit the monastery and check out the view of the city. The
surrounding fertile lands and the closeness of the sea mean that the gastronomy
of Orihuela offers the pleasures of the healthy Mediterranean diet.
You can visit
the under ground working free of charge.
km’s Parking
(N 38° 05.149 W 0° 57.168)
There is a
monastery up the hill. km’s (N °
??.??? W ° ??.???)
SANTA POLA
There are
several salt lakes just inland: look out for the bull! The port has been there since Roman times.
The castle was built to repel
Quite beach
km’s (N
° ??.??? W °
??.???)
SAN MIGUEL
Explore the cave restaurants and dwellings.
Market day, Wednesday. 18 km’s (N 38° 03.436 W 0° 55.377)
SAN PEDRO DEL PINATAR
Is a quiet Spanish town, bordering the
inland sea (saltwater lagoon) of Mar Menor.
The beaches are clean golden sand. The water is shallow and calm and is very safe for swimming
and good for water sports, such as sailing,
scuba diving or windsurfing. San Pedro
Nature Reserve is where you can observe many species of flora, fauna and birds.
Separating the two areas is a lovely promenade with walks leading to the
reserve and marina near the salt lakes.
Many people go in the salt lakes and cover themselves in the mud and let
it dry. This is supposed to be good for
the skin (it also good for the nose!) or you can hire a bike (€4.5per hr or
€9.50 per day €50 deposit)
Walkway @ Mar Menor/ 42 km’s (N 37° 49.228 W 0° 46.585)
Salinas reserve (N 37° 50.086 W 0° 46.510)
TORREMDO RESIRVOIR 6.3 km’s
Just a few kilometres away is a large
lake/reservoir, a great place to chill out and have a picnic or fish (subject
to licences). You can drive or cycle all
the way round
Visit the Grand Design house Café swimming & out door
pursuits. (11km’s? (N 38° 01.279 W 0° 50.776)
La Rufete out door pursuits. 15 km’s (N 37° 59.842 W 0° 49.241).
TORREVIEJA
There
are two large salt lakes just inland; Salt production is was of the main
industries for the area. However,
tourism has now taken over. Torrevieja has many beaches with entertainment areas
for children. There are many cafes and restaurants along the promenades for
refreshments. The
town has a lot of different shops. There
are market stores open every day by the marina. Parking in the old town and
beach area can be difficult.
Market and sea front car park? not
correct 26 km’s (N 38° 00.642 W 0° 41.674) about 3km’s short
but will get you nearly there.
On
the outskirts, there is a large commercial area with hyper-stores and a
shopping mall. Close to there is a bowling alley and a water park.
North shopping centre. km’s (N 37° 59.355 W 0° 41.286)
Friday
market: this time can be difficult to find a parking spot km’s (N 37 ° 59.040 W 0° 40.33)
There
is a large market held on Fridays near the blue coned building just of the N332
road, Centro Commercial junction.
El ZOCO MARKET
20.8 km’s (N 38° 03.309 W 0° 44.877)
Open
Sunday, Very popular with Brits. Need to arrive fairly early.
LIME TREE MARKERT 31.7 km’s (N 38°
03.426 W 0° 40.218)
Open
Sunday, Very popular and larger than the above, but not recommended when wet!
About 10 km’s further.
Car Parking Pay in blue bays Mon. to
Sat. inc. 9.00 to 13.00 and 15.00 to 17.30 & Sun 9.30 to 13.30.