La Marina Area Guide

La Marina comprises of two separate areas with the village, or pueblo, around 600 metres from the sea and the urbanisation where the majority of the newer properties are built about a mile inland. The village has retained its Spanish feel although with the new El Pinet development close to the beach a number of new bars and restaurants have opened with a more international flavour.

Having just one main road running through the village with numerous plazas and roads running off of it makes it easy to find your way around and everything that you need can be found here with the exception of a large supermarket, but there are three on the urbanisation and others in Guardamar the next town going towards Torrevieja. If you are not hiring a car, a bus service runs to Santa Pola and Alicante to the north and Guardamar, Torrevieja and as far as Cartagena in the south and stops along the main road through the village. During the summer months from the end of June until the first week in September there is also a bus service from the urbanisation down to the beach.

There is also a local bus service to Orihuela, Elche and the local villages in the Vega Baja; click bus timetables for more info. Down on the beach there is plenty of free parking just behind the dunes at La Marina beach and also at El Pinet. They are blue flag beaches and have all the amenities to hand along with a restaurant by each car park and a beach bar at the La Marina beach. Alternatively there is a restaurant just behind the La Marina beach called La Pinada that specialises in fish and grilled meats, but also serves snacks and drinks both inside and on its terrace. The urbanisation starts about a mile back from the beach and is a large residential area.

It has four commercial centres, with another one opening summer 2005 that provide a range of bars and restaurants as well as three large supermarkets and a few smaller ones that cater for the UK and northern European needs. There are two swimming pools open to the public, one between Calle Bilbao and Calle Andalucia which is the smaller of the two and has sunbed hire and a snooker club adjoining it. The other is by the Satellite roundabout and is part of the La Marina sports complex which incorporates the bowling club. Admission is daily and includes sunbed hire for those of you without access to a private or communal pool, and if you are planning a lazy holiday you can buy a weekly ticket. Wherever you stay in La Marina you should not be more than a 10 minute stroll to shops bars and restaurants and in most cases a lot closer than that. There are good road links to the Benidorm and Denia area to the north and to the Mar Menor and Cartagena area of the south.

Travel by car for 20 minutes inland and you could be in another world were the day to day life in some of the mountain villages has been left untouched by the advent of tourism. In fact much of the area between Alicante and Torrevieja has been left alone by the big tourist companies, and has been left in the main for either residential or holiday home development. There is still an abundant supply of bars and restaurants to suit every taste and pocket, as well as supermarkets to supply all your needs for a stay here.

There is an abundance of wildlife close at hand with the Salinas de Santa Pola having one of the largest flocks of flamingos in Spain and the famous El Hondo nature reserve close by. With mountains inland and salt lakes to either side the area has its own microclimate with little rain. The World Health Organisation recognises it as the healthiest place to live in Europe.