The Costa Blanca literally meaning “White Coast” is over 200 kilometres of Mediterranean coastline in the Alicante province, on the southeastern coast of Spain. It extends from the town of Dénia in the north to Pilar de la Horadada in the south. Costa Blanca has a well-developed tourism industry and is a popular destination for north european holidaymakers as well as expats and retirees.
Although the region witnessed a heavy development over the last decades it retains a diversity that attracts visitors from all over the world. Large sandy beaches or secluded coves, picturesque small towns, mountain villages or bustling tourist resorts even a huge Palm Forest within the city limits in Elche Costa Blanca has it all. Its capital and main Airport Alicante is a vibrant city regional hub with a famous Nightlife.
Another characteristic is that the people in Costa Blanca speak also Valencia(the official language beside Spanish in the autonomous Valencian Community) so don’t be irritated if you see signs such as Alicante/Alacant,Elche/Elx,Xabia/Javea (Villajoyosa/La Vila Joiosa). You can spend your holiday just chilling on the beach or have road trip as we did searching for hidden gems as Altea going to the mountains like Guadalest or have a sportive alternative including golfing,cycling among others.
Day 1 : Altea
The First Day of our Trip we headed around afternoon to Altea one of the most charming villages in the area. Some history facts: The Iberian coastal settlements at the mouth of the Algar river in the wide Bay of Altea were later joined by a Greek marketplace, named Althaia so maybe the name derives from the Greek Althaia.
Tourism is the main Income and started to grow in the 1950s because of its good weather (an especially mild microclimate), beaches and the labyrinthine streets with whitewashed house-fronts that characterize the town. Altea is a very nice place to have a cocktail or have dinner at the noumerous restaurants serving Spanish and mediterranenan cuisine. Please note that the historic centre is car free so you have to park some blocks further. After having dinner we went to the seafront esplanade lined with Palm Trees and walked by the sea.
Day 2 : Benidorm and Villajoyosa
Starting our Day from our nice Playa Albir Hotel located at the centre of Albir we headed towards Benidorm or Beniyork (paralelled with New York due to the the many skyscrapers).It is one of the first places where Mass Tourism started globally but especially in Spain.At its very beginning has witnessed a controversial Transformation from a fishing village to a High Rise Building Destination. In the 1980s Benidorm developed a reputation for British drunken lager louts and violent binge drinking.
However today the problem of drunkenness and lager louts has largely gone and Benidorm has mellowed investing in attracting Families and Senior Tourists Nightlife is still popular and mainly involves cabaret acts and tapas bars.But still the main Reason visiting is Benidorm is Sea Sun and Fun.Our first stop was at the highest point with the best view of Benidorm (Cruz de Benidorm) where you can marvell the whole area.After some nice Vistas we headed straight to the beach!!
Benidorm has three major beaches: Playa de Levante (Valencian: Platja de Llevant), Playa de Poniente (Valencian: Platja de Ponent) and Playa de Mal Pas (Valencian: Platja del Mal Pas); all of them have had a blue flag since 1987. They are seperated from a Rock that divides them in the middle.Upon that rock is nestled the Balcon de Europa also a nice place where you can capture some nice images. We did our Tour to all of them but the best at my opinion and less crowded is the one at the west end of the city.Τhe Gran Hotel Bali, a four-star hotel located in this city since 2002, is a 186-metre-tall building which stood as the tallest skyscraper in Spain for five years, until it was surpassed by the CTBA towers in Madrid and Intempo building, also in Benidorm.
Villajoyosa (La Vila Joiosa in Valencian) was the next stop in our tour.It is a colourful coastal town and is known to the locals simply as La Vila.It is located 32 km from the city of Alicante. La Vila Joiosa literally means Joyful Town. It has over three kilometers of beaches, including La Platja Centre (Central Beach), close to the city center where we had our swim and Playa Paraiso and Playa del Bol Nou not far away but not within a walking distance. There is also a river called Amadorio that runs through La Vila.The area is famous for its chocolate industry (especially Valor) and tourism.The colorful old town of Villajoyosa, was a nice surprise because it remains widely unknown.
From the Paseo de Sant Pere square, small alleys lead into a labyrinth of many colorful town houses and some really pretty corners and squares. Also worth seeing are the historic city walls, of which a part is still well preserved.Τhe promenade with the lined palm trees and the cozy restaurants and cafes serving Spanish food is the best spot to relax after a full day.
At the afternoon we visited Finestrat. The old town of Finestrat is located 5 kilometers from the beach on a hill. Along the hillside, run narrow streets of Moorish origin through stunning whitewashed and colorful houses.There is also a coastal part nearby Benidorm called Cala Finestrat with a beautiful sandy beach. Finestrat is very conveniently situated in a peaceful location but within easy approach of bustling Benidorm.
Day 3 Guadalest Xabia Cabo de la Nao Calp
The third day we planned to descend from the mountainous village of Guadalest with its Castle to the Coast to the pretty village of Xabia/Javea and at the end visit the very touristy Calpe/Calp. All this with a break at the scenic point of view at the edge of Cabo de la Nao.
Guadalest is one of the most popular tourist attractions on the Costa Blanca. Guadalest is a village sitting on top of a mountain. The village appears perched on a tiny pinnacle rising into the sky which makes it look absolutely amazing. This gives beautiful views of the green valley with many other mountains in the background.Guadalest is famous for two buildings.First is Guadalest castle (Castell de Guadalest) which can only be accessed by walking through a 15 foot long tunnel carved out of the rock. When you get through the tunnel you see the old village houses and it feels like you have entered an ancient time. You can visit the restored house of the Orduna family to get an idea of what it used to be like living in ancient times in Guadalest.The streets of Guadalest are cobbled, there are little squares, a school and an old jailhouse
Make sure you look to the right of Guadlest and you will see beautiful views of the valley which contains a dam and reservoir
The other famous building is the white bell tower of Penon de la Alcala which rises up seemingly precariously perched on the mountainside
A trip to Guadalest need only half a day and you can then be back on the Costa Blanca’s beaches or resorts. And that is what we did and headed to Xabia/Javea.
Javea (also known as Xàbia) is a gem of a town situated on the Northern Costa Blanca.It’s rugged coastline is indented with secluded coves and sandy beaches.Javea is situated on the most easterly point of mainland Spain about 100 kms from Valencia and 90 kms from Alicante. Our first stop was the Main Beach of Javea (Playa El Arenal)
The bustling Arenal area is surrounded by shops, bars and restaurants .It’s a great place to walk along the promenade or ride a bicycle.Javea Old Town (Xabia Pueblo) is the Old Town of Javea where you can wander through narrow streets rich in medieval history.The Gothic fortified church of San Bartolome dominates the centre of Javea’s town.Opposite of this church we had our delicious lunch.
Cabo de la Nao / Cap de la Nau was our next stop,a marvellous view point with a Lighthouse above rocky cliffs overlooking the Mediterannean and the dramatic landscape.
Our last stop was the Rio de Janeiro of Spain..Calpe/Calp with a fine sandy beach ending in the ‘Penon de Ifach’ a gigantic granite rock towering over 600 metres high. Calpe is definitely a big bustling town far removed from it’s origins as a tiny fishing village.Like many tourist places in Spain it witnessed a touristic boom causing irreparable damages due to uncontrolled Construction of high Rise buildings.Nevertheless the great beaches the bustling nightlife and the view of the |Rock make it one of the hotspots of Tourism in Costa Blanca
Day 4 Elche/Elx
The fourth day of our Trip was a major Surprise in all aspects.Originally we where planning to relax on a beach but i just saw a picture of a Palm forest in a city that intrigued me.So i begun searching a little bit more and decided to visit the Palm city of Elx with the many hidden treasures.Indeed it hosts the largest Palm Forest in Europe and on of the biggest worldwide.The Elche Palm Grove is an orchard with over 200,000 palm trees and has been proclaimed a heritage site by UNESCO in 2000.
Huerto del Cura
The Huerto del Cura or Priest’s Garden is a hidden gem especially attractive on a hot summers day as the hundreds of palm trees there provide some welcome shade from the scorching sun.Inside you will find hundreds of species of palm trees of varying sizes, culminating in the huge eight armed Imperial Palm, the pride of the garden, which is some 170 years old and is supported by metal straps which prevent it from collapsing under its huge eight tons of weight.
Another big surprise was MAHE (Museo Arqueologico y de Historia de Elche) an incredible Museum hosting many artifacts from various periods of the region s history and the famous Dama D Elx.The Lady of Elx or Lady of Elche in Spanish, Dama de Elche in Valencian, Dama d’Elx) is a limestone bust that was discovered in 1897 It is currently exhibited in the National Archaeological Museum of Spain in Madrid.It is generally known as an Iberian artifact from the 4th century BC, although the artisanship suggests strong Hellenistic influences. It is believed to have a direct association with Tanit, the goddess of Carthage, who was worshiped by the Punic-Iberians. Similarly, the sculpture presents features of the Celtiberian culture (the mitre and the pendants).
The Old Part of the city is very pretty with well preserved buildings nice shops and cafes.At its center we climbed at the top of Santa Maria Basilica where we witnessed fabulous vistas of the Palmeral Park and the City
Day 5 Alicante
Our last stop was the fabulous city of Alicante/Alacant which combines the beach life of a cosmopolitan mediterranean city and port and numerous sights and activities of a Province capital.The area around Alicante has been inhabited for over 7000 years. The first tribes of hunter-gatherers moved down gradually from Central Europe between 5000 and 3000 BC. By 1000 BC Greek and Phoenician traders had begun to visit the eastern coast of Spain, establishing small trading ports and introducing the native Iberian tribes to the alphabet, iron and the pottery wheel. The Carthaginian general Hamilcar Barca established the fortified settlement of Akra Leuka (Greek: Ἄκρα Λευκή, meaning “White Mountain” or “White Point”), in the mid-230s BC, which is generally presumed to have been on the site of modern Alicante.
Although the Carthaginians conquered much of the land around Alicante, the Romans would eventually rule Hispania Tarraconensis for over 700 years.
Some of the main sights of the city are the Castle of Santa Bárbara at the top of the town offering marvellous views of the surrounding area the Cathedral of Saint Nicolas of Bari and Casa Consistorial de Alicante.The main beach is Playa del Postiguet with the city limits full of life from dusk till dawn. You can have a pleasant walk by the seaside at the Explanada de España which reminds a bit of La Rambla the famous tree lined promenade of Barcelona.
