General Information
Northern Costa Blanca
Southern Costa
Blanca
General Information about the Northern Costa Blanca
The Northern Costa Blanca coast starts around the La Safor region, with towns
such as Gandia and Oliva. This area is full of orange groves and majestic
mountains in the background. The sandy beaches are excellent and uncrowded, with
Gandia beach seemingly going on for miles and miles! Going inland in La Safor
are various towns and villages, each with its own character and unique "Spanishness".
One of the main inland towns is Xatica / Jativa a beautiful town with a superb
castle.
Moving down the coast from La Safor, you come to Denia which has a marina and
port from which you can get a ferry across to Ibiza and Majorca. On some days
you can even see Ibiza from the Denia coast, but even better are the views from
the Montgo, the mountain that separates Denia from Javea.
Javea, with its sandy beach, is popular with tourists, main because of its
fantastic beach, which is nearly always calm due to its location. Going inland
from Denia is the Jalon Valley, famous for its vineyards and blossoms,
geat for a drive when the blossom on the almond trees is out.
Further along the coast is the town of Moraira, a smaller town with a good sandy
beach.
Further along the coast the beaches become more rocky and the coastline becomes
rugged, until you come to Calpe with its two wide sandy beaches. Originally a
small fishing village, Calpe is now a busy town with high rise hotels and
apartments blocks dominating the skyline. Calpe has the famous rock called the
Penon de Ifach which rises from the sea, which is a local nature habitat and
walkers and climber paradise!
Heading further south we come across Altea and Alfaz del Pi, with the
urbanisations clinging on the side of the hills. These are the last towns until
you reach the biggest tourist resort on the Costa Blanca.
Benidorm is huge with masses of high rise skyscrapers, which grew with the
increase in the popular "package holiday" boom of the 70s and eighties. The
three beaches are excellent and the nightlife is legendary. There are plenty of
hotels, cafes, entertainment, shopping and a number of theme parks, like Terra
Mitica, for the family. The contrast between the population between the winter
and summer months is astonishing. In the winter time, Benidorm becomes a haven
for the retired and elderly, with afternoon tea dancing in the many bars along
the promenade. In the summer, the bars fill up with the sun and fun seekers.
After Benidorm the coast becomes flat with mile after mile of sandy beaches.
