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Alicante heart of the Costa Blanca region

By: Robert Carlton, Tue Sep 5th, 2006

The Costa Blanca, Spain is synonymous to sun and fun in the coastal area of the Mediterranean Sea. This belongs to the Province of Alicante, starting in the town of Denia and reaching to Pilar de la Horadada or Torrevieja as the last important town in the province, and part of the Community of Valencia. As the name tells us, the White Coast is thanks to all the white, clean sandy beaches that are at your disposal to enjoy such as Javea, Moraira, Altea, Benidorm, Guardamar and Torrevieja.

Lets take a closer look at some of these fantastic holiday spots. Each village is considered to be someones favourite because it has something extra special that will tickle your fancy!

Javea on the east iberian peninsula

Javea is found about 90 kilometres from Alicante and a little over 100 km. from Valencia city. Both of these cities have international airports which make travel very easy. When you look at the map of Spain, the highway A-7 connects Javea to the rest of Europe with exit ramps at Ondara no. 62 or at Benissa no. 63.

Found near the landmark of the mountain peak Montgo, Javea is rich in natural landscapes, beautifully cared for beaches and a World Heritage history which has given Javea some of its most interesting cultural and traditional past times.

Bullfighting in the streets - You might have always thought that you would have to buy expensive tickets to get a good seat in the bullring, but in the summer time, it is very popular here to bring the bulls out into the streets. The young lads who are or will be 18 years old make all the plans for this traditional show. They block off a series of streets and at the end of one of them, a makeshift corral to enclose the bulls is installed. The idea behind this is for the young lads to show how brave they are once they have become young men. Sounds prehistoric, doesnt it? On some occasions at night, rags, which have been soaked in petrol, are tied to the bulls horns and then lit up. The young fellows once again try to defy these brave bulls.

The Raisin Market - This activitiy was transcendental in Javeas past. In summer, the majority of the local people go to their country villa homes not far from the town centre where they harvest grapes. Harvesting grapes is a very long and hard process, using part of the moscatel grapes characteristic in this area for making raisins. The grapes, once they have been cut, are taken to the scolding bins where they go through a mixture of water and boiling saltwort which cracks the grapes skin so that they dry quicker. Javea was a great exporter and became internationally known, bringing an economical growth to this area. So in the market there are many products which now include raisins.

Pick another city around the Costa Blanca for your holiday

Not letting the plants grow under your feet, you can quickly move onto the seaside town of Moraira for a relaxing apperitive sitting right on the waterfront of the fishermens wharf, or continue down the coast to Calpe which is just before you reach Altea. Calpe has always attracted a large German and English population because its beaches were practically untouched and there were a lot of villa to be rented instead of staying in a hotel. But this has changed considerably, for the better, and now there are more accomodations, international restaurants and the typical ones in the port area which serve a delicious lobster stew called caldereta or you can point your finger at the live fish or seafood you want and it is done right then and there. Altea is another town which has grown with the demand of travellers to the Costa Blanca area. In July it has a spectacular water fireworks show which starts at around 9.00 p.m. after everyone has set up their picnic equipment on the pebbly beaches to enjoy this event, dining under the stars. Benidorm is a year round holiday spot thanks to its weather and variety of entertainment for people of all ages. Other than the theme parks, which are quite a few, you can explore the crystal clear waters in a submarine like catamaran. As you sing the Beatles famous song, We all live in a yellow submarine, sailing to Benidorms island, you will see colourful beautiful birds and fauna. Or you can leave Benidorm Marina at 11.00 a.m. to take a boat ride along the coast to Calpe, returning at 3.00 p.m. Never a boring moment!

Count on Alicante, too

Either starting from the north of the province and having flown into the Valencia airport in Manises or directly to the south, into the Altet airport in Alicante, your travel plans can be completed with no sweat. The Altet airport is only 10 kilometers from Alicante city, having incredible connections with other fantastic countries all over Europe like England, Ireland, Swedan, Denmark and Germany to just mention a few. From the airport to the city, you have public buses which cost 1 euro and run hourly, taxis or car rentals. Many of the hotels have mini buses which also pick up clients when having been booked beforehand. If you are to go to Benidorm for your holiday first, there are buses which cost 6 euros, running all week. At almost any time of the day, you can go back to Alicante to spend a fun day there visiting the Mendez Nunez Promenade for hand made crafts, any of the many museums or choose a special date like in June for the famous Saint Johns Fire Festival or the Saint Faz - Jesuss Face-Pilgrimage which is usually two weeks after Easter. And still travelling south without leaving the Costa Blanca is Guardamar and Torrevieja, both sea shore towns, with their own history, specialty cuisine and traditions.

Even though the Costa Blanca in Spain seems to take up a large extension of land, if you plan your days carefully, looking at exactly where you wish to visit on you first holiday on a good map, you can surely immerse yourself into the charming Costa Blanca rythym.