Costa Blanca

Costa Blanca literal means, "white coast." It's located in the southeast of Spain, about five hours from the country's capital, Madrid and also five hours down the coast from the beautiful city of Barcelona.

Because the main draw is the coastline, that’s where you'll find the majority of the development. Despite that, many towns still retain much of their original Spanish charm. We were lucky enough to be based in one of those towns, Moraira, which has yet to be discovered by the masses. It's easy to see how little it’s changed over the years. The main part of the town grew up around the town’s marina, with little shops and restaurants dotted along the seafront. Head further back inland and you’ll find villas and residences on hills that rise up from the sea. A car is an absolute must, as walking here would be quite a hike.

We headed up the coast one day to explore the route from Xabia, another resort town set on a hilltop, to Denia, a small family-oriented resort town a few miles farther north. The drive took us through some beautiful scenery, as we wound our way on roads that passed through park lands. It’s amazing how, as soon as you leave a town behind, it feels as if you’re in the middle of nowhere, with nothing in front of or behind you except open countryside. It makes getting away from it all a very easy past-time.

Down the coast from our base of Moraira was Calp, which is dominated by Penyal d’Ifach, a rocky outcrop that looks as it comes straight out of the sea. You can hike to the top, but looking at it was exhausting enough for us! Once again, the town is set around a marina, with some beautiful seafood restaurants to be found here.

The next town you come to is Altea, overlooking the sea and full of beautiful whitewashed buildings, as much of Spain is. It has attracted artists for many years and it’s easy to see why as you look around. Therefore, it’s no surprise that the town is now home to a number of galleries, which are presided over by the town’s blue-domed church.

Altea is also home to one of the area’s biggest flea markets, which has hundreds of stalls selling all sorts of souvenirs, including belts, handbags, clothes, and kitchen ware. It was a struggle to get out of there without losing a fortune. Everything was reasonably priced and very unique, although haggling with the sellers is part of the fun!

From Altea, you can head inland to one of the major attractions of the Costa Blanca – and one of the few that doesn’t involve beaches! The mountain community of Guadalest draws visitors from the major coastal resorts and it’s easy to see why. As we drove along narrow and winding roads to get to it, suddenly you could see the village appear before you on top of a rock! It’s the most bizarre sight and you can’t help but wonder how safe those buildings are.