Altea Holidays

Even though there’s only a small mountain separating Altea from the Costa Blanca’s loudest resort, Benidorm, the two towns couldn’t be more different. Altea lives life at a much slower pace – neon-lit nightspots make way for seafront tapas bars, and you’ll find traditional restaurants in lieu of Brit-style pubs and fast food joints. The bustling centres of the area's two biggest cities, Alicante and Valencia, are an hours' drive up and down the coast, too.

Thanks to an eight-kilometre-long coastline, Altea’s beach scene gives you a number of options. There are big beaches, quiet coves, and bays backed by cliffs, all carpeted in a mix of sand and shingles. You’ve got the Blue Flag-flying Roda Beach near the old town, and the black-stone Cap Negret Beach, which is great for watersports. And there’s Playa de l’Olla, which hosts one of the biggest fireworks displays in Spain during the summer.

If you fancy upping the ante a little, bustling Benidorm is less than 20 minutes’ drive down the road. In these parts, the beaches are bigger and livelier, and the after-dark scene is second-to-none. Go for dinner in the old town, before seeing in the small hours to the sounds of live tribute acts.