Be it an exquisite retreat or a family getaway, Costa Calida has the beach of your dreams. From popular to secluded beaches, from all-night parties to all-day siestas, from pristine sand to aquamarine waters, it is all here in Costa Calida, whatever you desire.

The Mar Menor, Europe´s largest lagoon, boasts clear warm therapeutic waters and a bevy of beaches. The suburb of Lo Pagan has two blissful beaches separated by a marina and a fishing harbour. A scenic promenade stretches to the end of these two beaches that connects them to the next resort town of Santiago de la Ribera. From the exclusive Royal Yacht club to the beautiful tranquil waters of its beaches, Santiago de la Ribera is a welcome respite from the daily stresses of urban living. Loz Alcazares has extensive beaches bordered by a four-kilometre long promenade. Inviting beach bars and restaurants line the beachfront.

Along the coast of the La Manga Strip, there are distinctly enticing Blue Flag beaches with powdery white sand. What is so special is that even in the height of the holiday season, the beaches never get jam-packed. The seemingly endless stretch of beaches is ideal for sunbathing, engaging in water sports and of course swimming. The relaxing, cool warm water in the summertime is irresistible.

In the protected Calblanque Regional Park, a secluded area of rugged coastlines and hills, one can find the best golden beaches vis-a-vis craggy cliffs and hidden coves.

The beaches at La Azohia, a picturesque fishing village nestled beneath hills at Southern Costa Calida, are a colourful mixture of ash-gray pebbles and fine sand. Puerto Mazarron has two sandy beaches bordered by marinas and promenades.

Levante Beach in the town of Aguilas is a Blue Flag awardee. It is a favourite destination because of its modern facilities. Hornillo Beach which stretches up to 200 metres at the edge of Agulas beckons with its radiant golden sand and crystal clear warm waters. The coast of Hornillo Beach affords one a wonderful view of the enchanting Island del Fraile, truly a sight to behold.

One has only to catch glimpses of these beaches in Costa Calida to realise that they are not only beautiful, each of them is distinctly unique. So, head off to the beach of your dreams.

The town of Almoradi offers a unique view. The town is popular for its Saturday market which contributes to the village´s increasing profile. Another contributing factor is its accessibility due to the nearby motorways which allow both tourists and residents easy access to the markets and village centre whenever they like.The village of Almoradi is a typically Spanish village. Almoradi has many restaurants serving authentic Spanish cuisine, tapas included of course. There are also many bars of the typical vibrant Spanish style in the town of Almoradi. The town is within the reach of the coast, and so tourists can quickly access the beaches of Torrevieja and Guardamar del Segura given that the beaches are very close to the town. Almoradi town is filled with various modern and attractive institutions that make the village more appealing and well known amongst tourists.

Conversely, if you are looking for adventurous water sports, take yourself to the town of Guardamar. The town offers sports like sailing, wind surfing, water skiing, under water diving, canoeing, jet skiing and more. It is a famous beach resort and a great place to relax and unwind. Whilst gazing at the town´s incredible landscapes and sandbank you won´t question why the village is a tourist hotspot and appointed as one of the most attractive tourists destinations in Costa Calida. Sports addicts will love the Guardamar del Segura where they can find a wide range of sports amenities. There is also the impressive Las Rabosas sport center that will quench any sport´s fans thirst. This centre has Olympic swimming pools, football pitches, basketball courts, tennis courts, and five aside soccer pitches.

Finally, a tour to the village of La Zenia is a fantastic idea. This village also has great beaches to drench and bathe you. It is a perfect destination for sunbathing, beach sports and more; with the pristine beaches it unsurprising that it is a popular area for tourists worlwide. The beaches of Playa Flamenca, La Zenia, Cabo Roig and Campoamor are the best location for swimmin. In general, Costa Calida is home to an amazing landscape that you will never forget if you are lucky enough to see it.

I came here with three other Filipinos and we experienced something different. It really was an exhilarating experience as we come from a tropical country and naturally, we wanted to find somewhere that isn´t too cold during the winter. We opted for Costa Calida because we know that the temperature here is very hot by European standards. Many people travel to mainland Spain during the summer and the majority of them are either British or Scandinavian tourists, whereas the people of the Philippines and other tropical countries including those in Africa would rather go to Costa Calida. This is the only place along the Mediterranean stretch in Spain which is “friendly” to Asians, so to speak.

The rest of the group in our excursion tour who came from Germany and France went to Palma del Mallorca. Only the four of us from the Philipines chose Costa Calida. We ended up staying here for more than a month because we liked it so much. What´s more, the food was excellent: it´s a mix of Mediterranean seafood and the best lamb in town as well as the odd glass of delicious Spanish sherry. And the Mediterranean seafood is sautéed in olive oil, said to be the healthiest cooking oil in the world because of its relatively low fat content.

When we first arrived here, we rented a vacation home for us all which was already complete with a grill where we cook the seafood that we buy directly from the fishermen. I was amazed at first with the Spanish people and really admired them because they never refrigerate sea catch. Instead, they want it to be directly cooked. That´s why there´s an abundance of restaurants here in Costa Calida where customers can directly order lobsters and fishes from the aquarium and just let the chefs cook them in whatever sauce or marinade you want. Service is really personalized. That is how the Calida tourism industry has managed to flourish throughout the decades since the time of Francisco Franco.

You will inevitably be impressed by the many activities available here including hiking, hill-climbing, water sports and more. If you want to try our or learn about water sports, you can learn the basics here in Costa Calida. The best thing about Costa Calida is that the hotels are within reach of the beaches. The Cartagena area is full of museums that boast the past history of the island, and also a Roman theatre. The island´s 3000year old history is still reflected in its culturetoday. When you get to Costa Calida, don´t forget to drop by The Mar Menor. The Mar Menor is popular worldwide as the largest naturally occuring pool, nestled in the Southeast of Murcia. A shallow lagoon of 170 square km with warm waters and a gentle tide; your Costa Calida excursion will definitely be one of your more memorable vacations.

But, if you wanted the beach near you as well as the nightlife is accessible, you can choose of lying at the hotels of Mazarron and Aguilas. It is rather a great choice because this part of Costa Calida is very much near to the pristine beaches as well as the lively vibrant nightlife. There are many choices actually in Costa Calida, and everything you found in here is never fade in your thoughts even when you are through with your summer vacation in Costa Calida.

In Costa Calida too, lifeguards are limited only to the public beaches and to designated beach resorts so if you want to enjoy the moment skinny dipping alone, then make sure to accompany someone with you. Costa Calida is also home to the finest beach resorts you can find in Spain. These beach resorts have all been checked by the Spanish authorities and being given a blue flag accreditation. A blue flag accreditation means that the beach resort has followed strict cleaning practices. This means that tap water in the beach resort could be drunk. Another feature of this kind of beach resort is that littering is definitely not tolerated. Even the off-road vehicles that you rent from the airport cannot be parked here so as not to taint the pavement.

Here in Costa Calida, beach resorts are often accompanied with golf courses. These golf courses are excellently equipped with PGA-certified instructors and caddies. On the other hand, some beach resorts in Costa Calida have scuba diving resorts. These scuba diving resorts are likewise equipped with highly qualified diving instructors.

During winter though, there are few tourists left in Costa Calida except those who have dedicated themselves to live here for the rest of their lives. These are a few British couples who have already retired from their daytime jobs and who want to spend the rest of their lives as retirees here. They want to spend their second honeymoon here in a place far from stress and far from their children.

That is why Costa Calida has plenty of real properties for sale. These properties range from mere beach cottages to manors, villas, mansions, fincas and even castles. There are only a few authentic castles left though so developers in Costa Calida simply follow the design of these castles and build new ones. There will definitely be a disclaimer though that these castles are just artificially made although some of the authentic castles have really been restored and decorated to modern grandeur. Even such amenities found only in modern homes as cable television, high definition DVD player, television with LCD screen and dishwashers can now be found in these castles which are either for rent or for sale. And they fetch such a huge price too as the real estate industry here in Costa Calida is definitely booming. So if you are on an excursion here in Spain, why not drop by Costa Calida? It will definitely be fun.

Costa Calida features the largest lagoon in Europe, the Mar Menor. Because of these natural tourist attractions, Costa Calida has large numbers of beach and golf resorts. In fact, golf and football are the most popular sport in the Costa Calida area. The merger of two or even multiple sports activities is not uncommon in Costa Calida especially during summer. For instance, one of the pastimes they play here is beach flag football. Just like beach volleyball, beach flag football players can have the option to wear skimpy bikinis or nothing at all. Since Costa Calida is located in the Mediterranean portion of Spain where the weather is just right for frolicking and tanning by mostly British tourists, it is not surprising to find a nudist beach or two here. Sports blend well with entertainment and there are some events like bikini competitions, skim boarding competitions, skydiving competitions, scuba diving competitions and paragliding competitions happening one after the other or even simultaneously during the two months stretch of summer.

Along with these so-called collaborations, the Torre Golf Society and the F.C. Torrevieja which are both based here have inked an agreement that members of one club must also be members of the other club. So golf enthusiasts must also become football enthusiasts too. To lure in more members who pay just a very minimal annual fee, they are given discounts at selected high-end bars, restaurants and shopping malls here in the Costa Calida region. The home for the newly-created Torre Golf Society will then be El Plantio Golf Resort. El Plantio is said to be one of the most beautiful, if not the best, golf course in all of Spain.

It has 36,000 trees and three lakes. There is a waterfall on the 13th hole. Some of the greens ascend and descend into wonderful slopes which mean a really challenging delight to tourists in Costa Calida who find golf to be more than just a game. The regular fee for the greens here is 78 euros. Amenities at the El Plantio Golf Resort include golf carts, a golf academy, a golfing gear shop and a restaurant. El Plantio Golf Resort has likewise passed the blue flag accreditation of the European Union. The blue flag accreditation is only given to a resort in the European Union who has passed the stringent periodic sanitation tests.

Torre Golf Society will start adopting El Plantio Golf Resort its home come October 1 via a commemorative first round of playing. The newly-created Torre Golf Society is bankrolled by one of the most credible banks in the region, Cajamurcia. Upon membership, Torre Golf Society applicants will receive customized shirts with their names embroidered in front.

Most of the people here love to eat foods coming from their wealthy oceans; they usually catch these fishes from the Mediterranean Sea and immediately cooked it fresh. They hate cooking frozen fish and they mostly prefer those freshly coming from the ocean since they said the taste is much different. Other hauled fish are immediately delivered to their nearby restaurants, making it the best cuisine. As usual, they serve it fresh and unfrozen to their customers.

Costa Calida also features some mines and the beautiful scenery of gardens. It is also in this place where you can find Catagena. In Catagena you will discover various museums and ruins of ports. The midshipman school is also situated here. The beach of Playa Blanca also lies here in Costa Calida nearby the Cartagena side. The amazing mud volcano emerge its beauty and gives mud bath to the tourist who visited the area, after the mud bath you can have your drench in the nearby side of Laguna.

The largest persuasive swimming pool of Costa Calida which is the Mar Menor boasts off its natural beauty. The water in this pool is actually coming from the Mediterranean Sea. No wonder it taste salty, and it has the total vicinity of 170 square kilometers. On the northern part of Costa Calida initiates the ecological reserve while on the southern part set off for the vivid skiing and extra water sports. You will also enjoy the boat tours, restaurants and gaming facilities available in Costa Calida.

By the way, Costa Calida does not only focusing on their fish cuisine. They actually served beefs to their customers and make the dish unusual to your taste. The ways they cook their beef cuisine here just like designing a breath taking paintings. Folks here are very proud of their wealthy cattle ranches where they get their supplies for making the best cuisine of beef in town. Spanish cooks love to blend olive oil to their foods, which make them popular and got the highest expectancy rate when it comes to food around the world. Since accordingly, the olive oil contains a lot of nutritional advantages.

With the unusual ambiance of Costa Calida, you will surely enjoy your stay here. The foods, the beaches, sports everything in here you will surely miss in coming home. And those who have not been here, it´s your time to go and have a happy trip around the place. You will never feel sorry of the money you spent since Costa Calida is a deserving place you go.

Here in Costa Calida lies what rural Spain is all about. There are about two million inhabitants here. So if you´re adept at the Spanish language already, you should take a rest here for about a week and admire the locals rush to the shore after fisherfolks have garnered their catch for the day. Locals typically buy fish immediately from the shore and cook the catch from the Mediterranean. These fishes are usually cooked or grilled hurriedly as Spaniards hate cooking frozen food or eating cooked food that was frozen. Some of these fish catch are hauled off by restaurant delivery vans to be delivered directly to the restaurant kitchens.

Elsewhere beyond the coastline, Costa Calida features some mines and scenic vegetable gardens. It is also in Costa Calida that Cartagena can be found. Cartagena has ruins of a 3,000 year old Roman architecture – a theatre. Also found there are Roman museum and port ruins. Because of that, Cartagena is declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The old Roman port is now home to the biggest naval base in Spain. A midshipman school is also located here. Other featured sights in Cartagena are the fort, the walled city, the Castillo de San Felipe (with daily tours) and the Palace of Inquisition. Playa Blanca is one of the beaches in Costa Calida on the Cartagena side. Another feature in Cartagena is the mud volcano. You can have your mud bath there and then rinse your body in a nearby laguna.

Costa Calida is also home to Mar Menor, the world´s largest natural swimming pool. It is actually a saltwater lagoon-cum-lake depending on how you call it. It is more or less part of the Mediterranean Sea if not for the 22 kilometer long sandbar that separates it from the Mediterranean. The sandbar itself has a width of only 1200 meters. Mar Menor´s total land area is 170 square kilometers. The northern part of Mar Menor is an ecological reserve while the southern portion is for fanatics of water skiing and other water sports. There are also boat tours, eco hikes, gaming facilities and restaurants. Mar Menor encompasses four municipalities – Cartagena, Los Alcazares, San Javier and San Pedro del Pinatar.

Real estate developments have continually sprouted all over Costa Calida. Extras not included in the unit package are the following: swimming pool, independent car port, gardens, heater, and split air conditioning system all around your house, fireplace, a few furnishings, window shutters, satellite television and alarm.

Just like the Italians, Spain makes heavy use of olive oil in their sautéing. That´s why Spain has one of the highest life expectancy rates all over the world because they say olive oil has lots of nutritional benefits.

Speaking of Mediterranean seafood, restaurants here in Spain serve only the freshest dishes. Frozen fish is a no-no in Spanish restaurants – fish are delivered directly from the fisherfolk to the restaurants for cooking. One such dish derived from Mediterranean catch is the calamari which is basically fried squid dipped in flour or some other butter. The calamari is so popular all over the world that it has found its way in many Western restaurants like those in London, New York, LA, Vegas and Chicago. Calamari has even wound its way towards former Spanish colonies like the Philippines. In the Hollywood movie starring Mandy Moore and Goldie Hawn Because I Said So, calamari is featured. In cooking calamari, you need to have two pounds of squid. Remember again that this squid must not be frozen, it must be fresh catch. Cut them into circles of ¼ inch each. Mix flour, powdered pepper and salt in a separate bowl. Use olive oil in the actual sautéing. Dip the squid in the flour mixture and proceed frying. While the squid is being deep-fried, add in hot sauce. In serving the calamari, you may serve it any way you want.

One of the tapas or beef-based viands in Spain is the cocido. Cocido is such a unique dish peculiar only to Spain because it is simmered all day long without hardly detecting a bubble. There are three kinds of meat in the cocido – fresh meat, frozen meat and smoked sausage. Very hard portions of the meat are chosen so they would be soften through the all-day simmering.

In eating out at Spanish restaurants, don´t give that generous a tip. Lunch is usually served at 2 p.m. so if there´s a wedding that you have to catch at 12 noon, don´t be surprised that it will last almost two hours and you´re hungry already but the local guests are not. Also during lunchtime, even streetside shops are closed for two hours. Dinner is also served late at already 10 p.m. Parties are expected to begin immediately after dinner.

THE LURE OF ITS COASTAL TOWNS

Costa Calida´s coastline runs from San Pedro del Pinatar at the northern end of the Mar Menor to the south of Puerto de Mazarron. The north is made up of the La Manga Strip and Mar Menor and the south extending from Cabo de Palos to the resort town of Aguilas.

Lo Pagan, a suburb of San Pedro del Pinatar boasts of two white sandy beaches. A long palm-lined promenade stretches to the rear of the beaches and joins up with the next resort town, the Santiago de la Ribera. Los Alcazares is the largest resort town on the Mar Menor with a four-kilometre promenade, tranquil beaches and a large marina. Further are the four charming seaside resort villages of Los Urrutias, Los Nietos, Mar de Crystal and Playa Honda.

Nestled between the Mar Menor and the Mediterranean Sea is the popular resort town of La Manga aptly dubbed a Paradise Between Two Seas. Cabo de Palos, a quiet fishing village located at the start of the La Manga Strip has a famous lighthouse and gourmet restaurants.

Southern Costa Calida has a diverse coastline where one can see beaches mold into rugged cliffs soaring into the sky. The historical town of Cartegena showcases several ancient edifices as well as boisterous fiestas. La Azohia is a scenic fishing village known for its tuna and calm aquamarine water, best for diving. Further south is the Puerto de Mazarron, a seaside resort town that boasts of excellent hotels, vibrant nightlife and pristine beaches. The exciting fish auction in the port is a must experience. Finally, furthest south is the ancient Roman fishing port of Aguilas. A must visit here is the Castle of San Juan de Aguilas built in 1579.

THE FEEL OF ITS WEATHER

Costa Calida is recognised by the World Health Organisation as one of the healthiest places to live in due to its ideal weather. Blessed with the typical Mediterranean semi-dry tropical climate, it experiences an average annual temperature of 18 degrees centigrade. Hot summers register maximum temperatures of 40 degrees centigrade and 11 degrees centigrade during the winter months of December and January.

Costa Calida enjoys more than 300 days of sunshine annually. Rain is generally scarce occurring mainly in the spring (April) and autumn (October) ensuring an almost dry summer.

THE CONVENIENCE OF GOING AROUND

Costa Calida has excellent transport services. From the City of Murcia, trains travel daily to Madrid. Trains also operate hourly to Lorca and Alicante. High sped train will soon be traversing the Region of Murcia connecting it to Madrid and the Region of Valencia.

At present, Murcia has one international airport at San Javier, 15 minutes from the City of Murcia. A new international airport is soon to open end of 2007 in the City of Corvera.

Daily flights to San Javier Airport are scheduled regularly. Car hire companies have booking areas at the San Javier Airport.

Local bus services operate in Cartegena, Alicante, Orihuela and Lorca. There are also daily buses going to Granada, Valencia and Madrid. If you have more time, you may also opt for a cruise (crucero).