BENIDORM
Some 4 million visitors each year are testament to the resorts amazing organization and facilities here. With more restaurants, clubs, shops, pubs and bars than you could fit in a lifetime the facts are plain to see; Benidorm really does offer something for everyone.
Of course, this thriving resort would never have developed the way it did if it weren’t for its beautiful setting with two wonderful sandy bays separated by a rocky promontory that offers great views in each direction to Poniente and Levante beaches. A towering offshore fountain adds to the ‘big resort’ spectacle.
Old Benidorm meanwhile lives on in the narrow streets near the castle, where English-owned pubs and bars have long been part of the scenery. But for a taste of Benidorm at its most cutting edge head for the nightclubs, discos, pubs and cafes spreading out to the east or the Levante beach, not forgetting the major attractions focused in the Rincon de Loix area.
Once in Benidorm, you should visit that mysterious rock looming offshore, popularly known as Peacock Island because of the birds there. The 10-minute boat ride from the port gives you splendid views of Benidorm’s skyline. The waters around the island are a marine reserve, and you can journey beneath the waves in the Aquascope for a mesmerizing look at the schools of fish and colourful underwater life. Afterwards, visit the bar or the peacock aviary or hike the island trails. Boats return to Benidorm roughly every hour.
For the best views of the coastline, in summer you can take a boat ride from Benidorm to Calpe. There’s time to wander around the port beneath the majestic Peñon de Ifach before your return journey.
If you enjoy water sports, you’ve come to the right place. During high season the Cable Ski operates at the Rincón de Loix. And there are many opportunities to hire boats, jet-ski's, or have a diving course. Benidorm offers plenty of choice for mini golf fans as well. The Old Lead Soldiers Museum – complete with 2,000 figures - is also worth a look.
Benidorm offers two main choices of beaches: the easterly Playa de Levante (Sunrise Beach) which can get very crowded in high season and is backed by a broad promenade, bars, cafes and other eateries, and the longer Playa de Poniente (Sunset Beach). The latter is a touch quieter, has no rocks and has the added bonus of great sunsets. Mal Pas is a smaller beach beneath the port and the castle cliffs.
Other quiet sandy beaches include La Cala and some surroundings.
Your own hotel is often a good starting point at night, many offering high quality live entertainment from cabaret to jazz, rock and dance.
Make for the Levante side if you like it lively, where countless disco pubs and cabaret bars are clustered and if you’re from the north or the south you’ll soon feel at home with the relaxed northern club circuit humor. Look no further for a holiday if you like a good sing along or are brave enough for karaoke!
The Square, behind hotel Marina, is where you’ll find buzzing disco pubs aimed at a younger, more international set.
When it comes to the Old Town take your pick from countless small pubs in the C/Sant Vicent and other narrow streets nearby.
To see Benidorm at its biggest and brashest, head for Benidorm Palace where a glittering 3 hour, Las Vegas-style show awaits your delectation. Spanish dancers and flamenco, jugglers and magicians are just some of what’s in store, along with a live dance band/orchestra to fill in the gaps between acts. Show admission includes the first drink and you may also have dinner there if you wish.
The Costa Blanca Casino is one of the largest casinos in Spain, and you’ll find it on the road between Benidorm and Villajoyosa. There’s also a restaurant and bar. Dress is smart casual. There’s an admission charge, and you’ll need your passport. Open 8pm-3am.
The Medieval Tournament on the outskirts of Benidorm offers feasting and merrymaking medieval-style for all ages. Armoured knights on horseback joust and duel before the king and queen. Sing along with court jesters, or descend into the Pit of Terror. There’s a disco following the entertainment.
ALFAZ DEL PI-PLAYA D'ALBIR
The little resort of Albir in the area of Alfaz del Pí is wedged between Benidorm and Altea. It is ideally suited for those who’d like an alternative to the busy beaches of Benidorm, but still like to enjoy ‘sol y playa’ and all the other amenities of a good beach resort.
So... once you have arrived in this lovely place and are preparing to have the time of your life, you may as well put some facts under you hat – while you’re ahead.
Beach and Sea
Albir’s beach is called “Playa de Racó de l’Albir” and is approx. 590 meters long, continually receiving the coveted European Union Blue Ribbon award annually since 2001.
If you’re early enough – or just lucky, you can park your car right on the ‘Paseo de Estreles’, behind the beach with views accross to the impressive ‘Peñon de Ifach’ and the resort of Calpe. Almost as pleasant as the view, is the spacious and quiet atmosphere of the beaches (these pictures were taken in August!).
During the swimming season, the beach is constantly monitored by 3 life-guards. At daytime an ambulance is permanently parked on stand-by and for minor injuries (such as abrasions) you can visit the permanent first-aid post at the beginning of the boulevard.
There are public toilets situated in the middle of the boulevard so you have to walk (or run, depending how pressing the call of nature is) an equidistance from either end of the beach.
Also, along the beach you will find facilities to rinse your feet with fresh water before you step onto the boulevard. And for the junior visitors to the beach, there are 2 children’s playgrounds where the little ones can have some safe fun. The playgrounds are unattended so parent will have to arrange that for themselves.
Spacious Albir
When the architects designed how the modern Albir would look, they made some very good decisions, they took care of wide streets lined with trees providing the spacious atmosphere that are so well known from the beautiful cities of Spain. Well, Albir certainly breathes this atmosphere but with a big difference - there’s plenty of parking space (except the beach) and it’s free! Can you say the same of you home town?
Restaurants, Cafes and the Bars
In the quiet and calm atmosphere of Albir, you will still find plenty of occasions to excite your senses. Because the service providers of Albir are geared towards catering to the northern European public, you won’t find much to be desired for. You’ll discover an abundance of restaurants, bars and café’s – some having cool and shady terraces - all on the roads leading from the entrance of the village to the beach, so you don’t have to walk a marathon to be able to enjoy them all!
Get yourself a front row seat at one the many places on the boulevard with excellent food, drink and fair prices.
Getting around
Now there are times when you may get the urge to swap Albir’s tranquility for some serious Benidorm shopping, eating, drinking or partying. Then you should know how to get around. You can make your way from Albir to Benidorm by bus or by taxi. Bus stops, called parada’s, are conveniently located along Albir’s main roads (see the map) and are no more than a 10 minute walk apart. Bus nr. 10 leaves every 15 minutes to Benidorm from 10:00 in the morning until 21:00 in the evening
The ride takes approx. 20 minutes and you can get off at the stops in the Benidorm Levante area (you should change buses in case you like to visit other areas of Benidorm). A single ticket costs € 0,90. A 20-ride pass will set you back € 16,20. Do not hesitate to ask the busdriver any details, they are very friendly and helpful.
Taxis
A ride from the taxi ranks at the Avenida de l’Albir to the Benidorm old town takes approx. 10 to 15 minutes (depending on traffic) and will cost anywhere between € 8,- and € 11,-. You can either call the taxi-central for a ride at 966 810 010 or 902 075 073, or just stroll to the taxi rank and get into one over there.
Groceries & Shopping
Should you be staying at one of our beautiful apartments, and need to get some groceries into ‘the house’ or just want to get some yummy to snack on the beach, again Albir will not let you down. Scattered across town are some excellent supermarkets with an internationally oriented assortment of food, snacks and drinks. Some of them even stock articles from home. And in case your mindset is ‘hypermarket’ instead of ‘supermarket’, then you can make your way to the Benidorm Finestrat shopping area. The Carrefour hypermarket is big enough to park a Boeing 747 in and still have room for some manouvering – we kid you not!
Health
Although no-one on holiday plans to get poorly or even sick, one cannot always prevent this. Heck, one might even have some blood in their alcohol from last night’s celebrations. We’re speaking of your neighbor of course, you would never let it come to that. Anyway, should you need any self-medication or get a prescription fulfilled there are some good pharmacies in Albir.
Leisure
Right in the centre of Albir, lies a true gem, the Albir Golf. This is a wonderful, multifunctional piece of… well, grassland actually. It’s covers approx. 2 hectares and is lined with beautiful trees and shrubs. It is owned and cared for by the council of l’Alfaz del Pi. One very nice consequence of this is that the grounds are freely accessible to the public and that using the grounds are free of charge.
On Albir Golf people play cricket, football and of course golf. There’s room to practice both your drive on the 130 meter range, as well as your put. The lookers on are certainly not forgotten. They can sit and watch what’s going on from fixed wooden benches or plastic seats which can be picked up at the wooden building at the entrance of the premises. Refreshment and snacks are also available there. Is there something you cannot do there? Actually there is, you cannot walk your dog there for obvious reasons. But perhaps best of all, Albir Golf is at walking distance from nearly every hotel, apartment and the beach. The timetable for the different activities may vary a little from season to season, but for the time being (summer 2005) the golf-schedule is as follows: weekdays 09:00 – 12:30 and 16:30 – 19:00 (except op Wednesdays), Saturday and Sunday 09:00 – 12:00. On the other times other sports can be performed.
Beauty
Gentlemen, your attention please! Should you have to make up to your wife because you, well, e.g. got home late and “under due influence”, you can do so by having her pampered by a beautician. The Albir Bowls and Squash Club gladly offers you this service. So you’re off the hook once again.
Fiestas
Well, you can blame the Spanish for lots of things, but lack of fiestas is certainly not one of them. And, again, Albir is no exception. Aren’t we the lucky ones!
On the 19th of March the fiesta of San José is celebrated. In the month of May, at the first weekend, the “fiesta de la Creuta” takes place. In the first week of July one of the highlights of the season is organized: the film festival. By the way, the sea boulevard, called “Paseo de las Estrellas” is aptly named because all the famous moviestars who attended the early film festivals have their names mentioned on the very marble you walk on. From August 1st until 15th the summer fiesta is celebrated. And finally in the months of November end December the fiestas of “Honor del Santisomo Cristo” and “El Buen Acierto y la Purisma”, take place respectively.
Culture
During wintertime Albir does not get much quieter than in summer. When the tourists leave, the (semi)residents return. You will not see a noticeable drop in activities, facilities or services. Of course, the beach activities will cease. The “Casa de Cultura” in Alfaz del Pi offers activities in wintertime like language lessons, theatre, concerts and expositions.
Albir is simply a fun place to be. One of the best spots on the Costa Blanca for grandparents, parents, children and grandchildren to have family fun.
POLOP
It has a wealth of history, with its castle on the hill top being of strategic relevance over the centuries and throughout the varied war and conquests. It was a fortress and yet also used to control the entrance route of the Mediterranean coastline. At one time the region was central to all the surrounding areas. Its natural surroundings home more than 600 plant species and the mountains leave you speechless by their natural beauty and proportions.
It's mountain Puig Campana has an altitude of more than 1000 metres, the top is very rarely seen because of the clouds which surround it at the summit. Aitana its fellow mountain, is even higher and is crowned with snow every winter. Together with Serrella and Bernia they form an awe inspiring and inmense mountainous massif divided by small valleys that water numerous terraces and vegetable gardens, orchards of orange and lemon trees, and in its midst 3 legendary villages, La Nucia, Polop and Callosa de Ensarria, all worthy of Gabriel Miro’s fountain pen (well known Spanish author who was born in Alicante)
For those who enjoy walking, mountaineering and/or mountain biking, there are various rural roads and tracks that start out in the village and lead up the different mountains, these are marked into varied categories by grade of difficulty.
There are also interesting car routes, taking you to places such as Petracos (which has cave paintings) in Castell de Castells, Cape de la Nao and all the other villages in surrounding areas.
Places for the Children to have fun are only 15min. away, Sea world (Mundomar), Aqualand, Fuentes de Algar (Callosa)
Polop has an old part of town that is very interesting.
Pedania de Xirles (In Polop) is a small village located in valley of Guadalest, surrounded by pine trees, and much vegetation. From there you have access to the mountains and valleys of Alicante, those of the Sierra Aitana and Xorta.
The villages in the valley: Guadalest, Beniarda, Confrides and the Mediterranean village of Altea a beautiful maritime village with the Palau de Altea for theatre and music productions. Not far is Benidorm, Benissa with their coasts and beaches. (and many other activities and tourist attractions).
It is worth a visit just for the flora and awesome mountainous regions, the rocky surfaces and images that are such an ingrain part of the views.
The gastronomy is richly rooted in its arab and Mediterranean origins, making it unique and extremely enjoyable.
Other places of interest:
- Guadales
- Polop de la Marina
- Sierras de Bernia
- El Puig Campagna
- La Nucía
- Monte Ponoch, conocido como El León Dormido
- El santuario de la Divina Aurora
- Vía Crucis con cerámicas del siglo XVIII
- El Museo del Alambre
- La Fuente de la Provincia
- La Font d´El Garrofet
- Las Fuentes de los Chorros
- El Molí de Xirles
- La Cueva del Cid Campeador
Appeals to:
- The nature lovers: diversity of plants, flora, mountains and ingrain rock.
- The hiker: with its rural walking paths and mountain slopes, walk the entire mountaneous regions through different villages full of new and hidden treasure troves, try the honey cellar with as many varieties of honey as you thought possible.
- The family: In safe and rural surroundings yet 15min. from civilization as we know it.
- The writer: a place of true inspiration, awe inspiring, beauty and history.
- The mountain biker: with daily challenges to better yourself.
