The region of Murcia has many golf courses to choose from, La Manga is probably the most famous, right at the southern most point of the Costa Blanca coast and next to the Mar Menor, an inland sea famed for its healing properties. The costal town of Torrevieja, with its port and new marina, is an ideal location for golfers to stay. Nearby are the golf resorts of Villamartin, Campoamor, Las Ramblas and Ciudad Quesada. Many people have visited this area from abroad, fallen in love with it and bought a home, either to settle down here or use as holiday accommodation or an investment.
To the south of Torrevieja is the rocky headland of Cabo Roig, often referred to as the jewel of the southern Costa Blanca with its hidden bays and blue flag beaches. Between Cabo Roig and Torrevieja are the resorts of La Zenia and Playa Flamenca with their family safe sandy beaches. Inland from Torrevieja are the salt lakes which have been mined for salt for centuries. The lakes are an ideal location for bird spotters as Flamingos can be seen here.
To the north of Torrevieja the sandy beach stretches some 17 km to Santa Pola and the resort village of La Marina. Both these vacation resorts are about 20 to 25 minutes from the airport at Alicante. La Marina and Santa Pola are near to the La Marquesa golf course at Rojales 8 km inland. The area is known as the market garden because of the numerous olive, orange, lemon groves.
Alicante is much more than just a setting for the airport. The town is steeped in history and has a beautiful promenade and excellent shopping district amongst the historic buildings. You can also catch a boat from here to the nature resort on the islands of Tabarca.
The Costa Blanca region stretches for some 200 kilometers along the Mediterranean coast of Spain. This is a popular Spanish tourist and holiday destination, but not quite as popular or built up as the well known Costa del Sol to the south. As a result, the region has much to offer those who like the beautiful countryside as well as the wonderful beaches and warm weather without all the commercialization and crowds of the southern areas. There are still tourist resorts, but there are also quiet Spanish villages, beautiful coastline and lots of things to keep anyone, young or old, busy.
As you travel south along the coast, the weather becomes hotter in the summer and milder in the winters. The Costa Blanca is in the middle of the Spanish Mediterranean coast, so it has a little more mild weather than the costas to the north and south, but there isn't too much difference. The days in the summer are hot and dry, while winter isn't ever really cold. It is an ideal place to set up a vacation or retirement home.
The Costa Blanca starts below Valencia around the town of Gandia and travels south along the coast through the resort town Benidorm, then Alicante and ends around Torrevieja. At the north end of the Costa Blanca are several small towns that are ideal for places to visit or have a house. Denia and Javea are smaller towns that make a nice retreat from the larger, more tourist oriented towns on the southern end of the region.
The town of Javea is located on a promontory with gorgeous beaches tucked into small bays. The town itself is really two towns in one - the seaside, harbour area and the old downtown in the Arenal area. Aduanas del Mar is the urban center developed around the harbour, where you will find plenty of restaurants and café bars spread around the port. To the north of town is the Montgó Natural Park (Les Planes). Here, you can the visit the historic windmills and get lovely views over the bay of Jávea. There is plenty of nature to explore with trails and lots of scenery in the park.
The beach resort of Calpe,a modern beach resort, is a bit farther down the coast. It has an attractive old quarter and the distinctive Gibraltar-style Peñon de Ifach rock which dominates the skyline for miles around. Altea is considered one of Costa Blanca's most beautiful towns with its medieval cobbled streets leading up to the blue-domed church. The plaza here has one of the best views on the Costa Blanca.
A bit further south is the quite town of Villajoyosa. The laast stop along this stretch of coastline is Torrevieja. This is an international tourist resort preferred by British and Scandinavians, and is quite popular with those who have decided to stay for good. Right in the middle of the region are the two major towns for tourists and those who work - the tourist capital of Benidorm and the regional capital of Alicante.
The largest resort in the region is Benidorm, with one of the highest concentrations of high rise hotels and condominium towers in all of Europe. There is the Terra Mitica theme park on the edge of town and several of the best beaches in Spain. The nightlife is also quite popular here, with many younger people out until all hours. The Balearic Islands are an easy ferry ride or short plane trip away, particularly the closest island of Ibiza.
Alicante is the regional capital and largest city on the Costa Blanca. It is also one of the fastest growing in the country, thanks in large part to tourism. The city has some 325,000 residents and 740,000 in the greater metro area. Many retirees from throughout Europe make this city and its surrounding area their home for much of the year. Alicante offers 7 kilometers of golden sand beach, a beautiful seafront esplanade, the Paseo de la Explanada, as well as superb shops and restaurants. The seafront esplanade was laid in 1957 and consists of more than six million small marble tiles that represent the colors of Alicante, which are red, cream and black.
There are plenty of golf courses and resorts along the whole Costa Blanca for those who like to enjoy the game. Near Javea is the Club de Golf Oliva Nova. The 18-hole course here was designed by Seve Ballesteros and is one of the most popular golf resorts in the country. The Club de Golf La Sella Denia course, also nearby, was designed by another famous Spaniard, golfer Jose Maria Olazabal. In Benidorm is the Real de Faula Benidorm golf course, designed by Nicklaus Design, and it is one of the best known courses on the Costa Blanca. Another Seve Ballesteros designed course is the Alicante Golf Club, just north of the city. These are just a few of the many options for golfers in this region.
Travel to the Costa Blanca is easy, and you can get here from most anywhere at any time of the year. Alicante is the major regional transportation center, with Alicante International Airport (ALC). This airport handled over 9 million travelers in 2007 and has flights to most major cities in the UK. On the other end of the Costa Blanca to the north, Valencia Airport (VLC) handled nearly 6 million passengers last year and also has flights to most UK airports. Both airports have many flights on discount carries and offer reasonable prices and schedules. For those who want to take the train, there are RENFE trains from Barcelona down the coast and Madrid.
Both Robert Palmer & Nicholas Marr are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Robert Palmer has sinced written about articles on various topics from Destinations, Home Improvement and Health Insurance. Warren Ward runs the vacation owner rental website of which advertises hundreds of holiday villas and apartments throughout Spain.. Robert Palmer's top article generates over 14800 views. to your Favourites.
Nicholas Marr has sinced written about articles on various topics from Real Estate, Property Investment and Home. Travel to Spain is one of the most popular things to do in the UK, author Nicholas Marr has written a guide to Costa Blanca he has a unique perspective of Spain as the director of Spanish property website at. Nicholas Marr's top article generates over 74000 views. to your Favourites.