Costa Blanca in the province of Alicante in Spain begins in the north in Denia and goes 200 kilometers, or 125 miles south to Torrevieja. Costa Blanca is Spanish for the White Coast. White beaches, white water caps and many white buildings highlight the area and give it its name. The beaches on the Mediterranean sea make this area a very popular tourist attraction. Tourism and fishing are the area's two major industries. Costa Blanca as a concept was introduced to market a new flight made available from London to Valencia by British European Airways in 1957. The strip of beach includes the resort towns Benidorm and Altea, Javea and Guardamar, Moraira and Alicante.



Alicante has an international airport the Altet, and is therefore a typical starting off point for a vacation on the Costa Blanca. There are buses, mini-buses and taxis available to take you around town. The city is on the foothills of the Saint Barbara Castle. The Carthaginians built the Saint Barbara Castle in 300 BC. Although the area was in a very good location on the Mediterranean for trade and therefore a constant site of struggle for many centuries, the castle has been well preserved. There is a restaurant now located inside the castle for the public.

The beach is separated from the city by a beautifully decorated tile inlaid walkway. There are flowers and plants along the edges and people set up booths to sell all kinds of handmade articles. There is also a variety of music during the summer. Different orchestras and bands often come to play in Alicante.

Alicante is also famous for its many festivals, including the Saint John Bonfires, where the locals build and burn down large images of different international and local figures. The images are set on fire in a nod to the pagan tradition of bonfires used to dispel evil spirits.

Benidorm is also convenient to the Alicante Airport, and is a very popular tourist town. There are many stretches of beautiful beaches, and an amazing collection of theme parks, from the Terra Mitica Ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman themed roller coaster park to the Aqualandia, Europe's largest water slide park. Terra Natura is another popular attraction, with beautiful displays of all sorts of exotic animals, including tigers, rhinoceroses, elephants and many, many others. For marine animal lovers, Mundomar is filled with informative underwater dolphins shows, aquariums, and the like.

Benidorm is famous for its nightlife. No matter what your idea of fun is Benidorm has a place for you. Cabarets, British pubs in the "Square," tapas bars, adult clubs and restaurants, bars and dance clubs are all over Benidorm and more than 4 million tourists a year come to visit each year.