The Costa Blanca offers surprising contrasts, allowing you to make unexpected jumps between different types of tourism in a matter of minutes. For example, Benidorm, the capital of sun and beaches, is less than an hour's drive away from the beautiful mountains of the Aitana mountain range. It doesn't matter where you start, whether you decide to head north or south from the Vall de Guadalest, the experience will be unforgettable nonetheless. If you decide to start with Benidorm, and the rest of the coastal towns in the Marina Baixa, such as Altea, l'Alfàs del Pi, Finestrat and Villajoyosa, the sea will always be present. Incomparable coves and beaches, water sports and attractions such as cable ski, spectacular theme parks and leisure activities, discos and bars in which to enjoy endless music, bars to suit all tastes and urban areas built by some of the best architects and town planners, such as Ricardo Bofill (l'Aigüera park), Carlos Ferrater (Poniente promenade) and Oriol Bohigas (Levante promenade). The area also has an incomparable hotel industry, offering tourists everything they could possibly dream of for 24 hours a day and enabling them to live wonderful experiences.
All this happens without sacrificing the taste of the sea and the beauty of its respected environments due to Benidorm's compact nature, whose skyline is now a referent in the tourism industry. A few kilometres north of Benidorm is Altea, a picturesque village famous for its legendary Nuestra Señora del Consuelo church with a blue dome. Altea offers handicrafts, water sports, a wide variety of restaurants and beautiful coves.
Villajoyosa's coast is full of painted fishermen's houses, making it one of the most picturesque images of the Costa Blanca. Tourists can visit its coves and beaches with crystal clear waters, such as Bol Nou, Paraíso, El Torres and Estudiantes, where the small bars and kiosks create a good atmosphere, as well as its chocolate museum and guided tours about the Berber pirate raids. Villajoyosa is also famous for its Moors and Christians Festival, declared of International Tourist Interest, featuring the spectacular "desembarco" (the Moorish disembarkation).
If you are looking for a change of scene and a breath of fresh air, we can think of nothing better than to visit the Valley of Guadalest, a cirque of 18 kilometres in length and 4 kilometres wide which is surrounded by the mountain ranges of Ponoig (1,181 m), Aitana (1,558 m), La Serrella (1,379 m) and l'Aixortá (1,219 m). You can visit the picturesque village of El Castell de Guadalest, which you can get to by travelling through La Nucía, a town famous for its sporting facilities, and passing through Polop with the Ponoig mountain to your left (described as the "sleeping lion" by the writer Gabriel Miró), or through Callosa d'En Sarrià, which offers an orchard of loquats and the refreshing springs of El Algar.
It has been decades since the use of donkey-taxis and poncho stalls, but El Castell de Guadalest still provides tourists with a mix of historical solemnity and shopping opportunities. Museums of curiosities and miniatures and gift shops set the tone of your visit, while the fortress, the castle of San José, the Casa Orduña and the spectacular views of the reservoir and the Mediterranean provide an additional bonus.
If you have time to spare, you can visit beautiful rural houses, climbing areas (such as the schools in the Barranc del Arc and its surroundings, which are famous worldwide and can be accessed from the town of Sella), unforgettable MTB itineraries and El Abdet ravine, allowing you to satisfy your craving for adventure in a Pyrenean landscape.