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Property in South Costa Blanca - Spain

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Travel & Leisure - Vacations

Written by Antoni Sokrato

Tuesday, 11 March 2008

Tourists have flocked to the Spanish Costa Blanca for decades, and many of them have been Anglophones. We have sought out the region in droves just to spend a few weeks there. Then, returning home, made a life-changing decision either to return there to set up home, often for retirement. Many others find it a great place to have a second home or invest in a timeshare property.

by AntoniSokrato

Here we take a look at a few of the towns on the Costa Blanca, each one of these little gems infused with its own special character, but each one also crying out that it is a part of Spain, and proud of it. As for sun and sand, that goes without saying, and the Costa Blanca is rightly famous for that.

Alicante is the main town on the Costa Blanca. It used to be a bustling sea port and its remaining old buildings in a highly decorative style are witness to that. Alicante is very warm and sunny for a big proportion of the year, with temperatures often arriving at the 40C mark. Alicante is a fast growing metropolis which not only relies on the tourist trade to earn its keep, since it is also a thriving merchant centre, exporting olives and fruit as well as the ubiquitous wine.

Perhaps an exception to the rule mentioned above about towns still retaining their Spanish flavour, Benidorm, once a tiny fishing port, underwent huge expansion from the British tourist trade in the 60's and has never looked back. Its skyline says it all and would not be out of place in some parts of California. Benidorm is literally crammed full of hotels, with thousands of rooms. The town for many years has been one of the main package tourism destinations on the Costa Blanca.

Moving along the coast, we arrive at Calpe. A justifiably well known town and famous for the imposing rock by which it is overshadowed. This is Penon d'Ifach and it is huge, over 1 km long by three-hundred metres in height, being attached to land by only a small isthmus. By all means, you are allowed to climb it, on a clear day seeing out to sea as far as Ibiza. And if you enjoy that sort of thing, that's great, but be prepared for a very sound night's sleep afterwards!

The most northern beach resort of the Costa Blanca is Denia, which is located about a hundred kilometres south of Valencia, and located right at the foot of the stunning Montgo mountain. Denia benefits from some incredible coastline, kilometre after kilometre of it, and has won awards for the quality of the water. The town has beaches both to the north and to the south, the northerly beaches are sandy, whilst those to the south offer attractive rocky inlets where bathers can hide away.

Just a few kilometres to the south of Denia lies the old fishing village of Xabia, possessing a plethora of little streets, which can only really be navigated on foot. In spite of the encroaching tourist industry, careful town planning has ensured that this gem of a town has never lost its charm.

The typically Spanish town of Guardamar lies almost right on the beach. It is famous for its dunes and palm trees which were originally put in place so as to protect it from the frequent sandstorms. The white sandy beach of Guardamar is almost ten kilometres in length.

Watersports are a main pastime in the area of Guardamar, since to the south of the Segura River there lies almost three kilometres of sandy beaches with perfect quality water. Sun, sand, clear water - what more can one ask for an idyllic holiday in the sun!

So, for seekers of property on the Costa Blanca, the amount of choice is considerable. It's simply a matter of deciding in which little jewel of a town you wish to reside. And that's not an easy decision!

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For further information on Spanish life and culture, golfing in Spain golf homes in Spain and simply living, retiring and leisure pursuits in Spain, please visit the Costa Blanca Spanish property specialists at the Property for Sale Costa Blanca Spain web site.