Beaches

The Costa Blanca has some of the finest beaches in the world. The coastline from Alicante , south to Torrevieja is blessed with fine, wide blue flag beaches. The sand is white and powder fine. The waters are shallow and warm.

The best beaches in the area can be found in the following places:

• Guardamar del Segura
  
  Guardamar has excellent beaches that run from the town north to La Mata
  
  
• La Marina
  
  Playa del Pinet - to the North of the old village of La Marina
  
  Playa La Marina - running directly parrallel, and easily accessible on foot from the old village
  
  A nudist beach - accessible via a lane that runs down past the camp site to the north of the village
  
  
• Santa Pola
  
  Playa Llissa - to the south of the town
  
  Playa del Este - to the north of the town
  
  

All these beaches are marked on the map

In the summer all of the beaches are well life-guarded by the Cruz Roja. All the beaches also have a sytem of flags to indicate whether it is safe to swim. A green flag means that it is safe to swim. A yellow flag means that you can swim at your own risk (although the lifeguard may call you back to the shore if he thinks there is even the slightest possibility of a problem). A red flag means don't swim. In my experience, red flags are rare in the summer. A blue flag is an indication that the beach has achieved a standard of quality set by the EU. All the beaches refered to on this site with the exception of those at Torrevieja, have been designated blue flag for the summer of 2006.

The lifeguards take their job seriously and keep a good eye on all the people on their stretch of beach.

When you put it all together; the quality of the beaches and the water, the blue flag status of the beaches and the quality of the lifegaurding, makes the beaches a safe environment for smimming, sunbathing and relaxing. It's good to know that these beaches are only a couple of hours flight away from England and northern Europe.