Villamartin

Home of the famous Villamartin Plaza and Villamartin golf course.  There are 2 further golf courses only 5 minutes drive away. This is also a great area for family holidays, a lively place with over 30 shops, bars and restaurants. A good fun holiday for all ages. About 45 minutes drive south of Alicante airport or 20 minutes north of Murcia airport. With a superb climate..... over 300 sunshine days per year,  mild winters and hot summers you can enjoy a holiday here any time of the year. The average sea temperature in august is 23 degrees!

The nearest beach is at La Zenia, (about 1.5 miles from the golf club and plaza) which is just one of loads of great beaches along this stretch of coast. During the summer it gets busy, but I have never seen it packed. Pedalos and jet skis an be hired. Easter to October there are a couple of bars on the beach, (serving drinks, snacks, ice creams etc) with a couple of restaurants right next to it. Nice fine sand too!

Perfect weather on the Costa Blanca ensures year round golf and other sports, including tennis, swimming, sailing, water skiing, riding, go-karts, bowling greens even hot air ballooning !  If the kids get bored just playing by the pool or on the beach why not visit the water park, safari park (near Santa Pola), caves (at Canelobre), a boat trip or there is a funfair by Torrevieja marina throughout the summer. Why not try a day in the beautiful countryside with the mountains, plains, pine woods, olive and almond trees, orange and lemon groves plus 2 large salt lakes.

Villamartin Golf Course

Founded in 1972, Villamartin Golf Course has grown in fame to become one of the most popular & highly esteemed golf courses in Spain. In 1994 it hosted the Mediterranean open, & many other competitions take place both pro am & amateur. The course, with its own clubhouse, is well designed, green & lush, as is the picturesque countryside surrounding it. A beautiful rural area, yet, only a 10 minute drive into Torrevieja town centre

"Villamartin, one of the best (golf) courses in Spain, probably the best in this region and also hosted the Spanish Open" Fore! magazine, January 2000.

"Villamartin, Relish your time in this millionaires playground.

Why you should play. The place oozes class as soon as you wander through the entrance gardens complete with fountain and statue of an angelic lady golfer. You won't be disappointed by the 6037 metre, par 72 course either. There are some great holes and plenty of expensive eye-catching mansions on the courses perimeter. You'll love it. Wish you were here?

Best bit. A difficult one as there's such a healthy choice but the 303 metre par four 7th, a downhill  dogleg right to a green surrounded by cork trees, takes some beating. There's a gem of a finale too- an elevated tee where you drive over yet more trees, the hole turning abruptly left and the fairway looking wafer-thin from your position up in the clouds. Well, almost." Today's Golfer magazine, January 2001.

Torrevieja

Torrevieja is situated on the coast in the Southern Costa Blanca region. It is surrounded by two natural saltwater lagoons, which form the "Salterns of Torrevieja" considered the biggest in Europe. Located just 47kms from Alicante (the provincial capital) with its international airport, & 35kms from San Javier international airport in Murcia, it is ideally located for a 2nd home/short breaks alike. Its climate is dry & equable throughout the year with over 300 days of sunshine. This region of Spain is rated by the World Health Organisation, as being the healthiest climate on the planet.

Torrevieja was the home port of the largest fleet of sailing boats in the Mediterranean. Today the esteemed Real Club Nautico of Torrevieja & Puerto Deportivo Marina hold in excess of 1500 mooring places of high quality. Smaller marinas are dotted along the coastline (many within easy reach of the town).

Among the opportunities for recreation, the town has easy access to some of the best golf courses around. Villamartin (hosted the '94 Mediterranean Open), Las Ramblas, Quesada, Campoamor, & the newly built La Finca course are all less than 15 minutes drive away. Further a field is the renowned La Manga Golf Club. A multitude of tennis clubs, a flying club, municipal football stadium, bull-ring, water-park, fairground, theatre & several cinemas are also in place.

Also of interest is the town of Cartagena (30 minutes drive), a delightful Roman port city, which has recently been revitalised. The Moorish capital of Spain - city of Granada is also within reach (3 hours drive), this reputed to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world with an enormous amount of attractions, including a ski resort nearby.

Torrevieja like most important Spanish towns has a number of Fiestas. The procession on the night of Good Friday is one of the most admired on the eastern coast of Spain. In May the "Ferria de Mayo" is host to 300,000 people & the town comes to life with music, dance & costume. In June the "Holy Heart Festivities" are celebrated with children's games, popular dances, & musical performances. On the 16th July there is the festivity of the "Virgin del Carmen" who is patron saint of fishermen & seamen. Finally from the 1st - 17th December the "Fiestas Patronales" (Patron Saints Days) conclude the year's festivities with the main event, a procession on the night of the 8th.

Torrevieja as a town dates from the early 18th century when it was a fishing village built around one of the watchtowers that flanks the Costa Blanca coastline.  This watchtower was called the "Old Tower" or la Torre Vieja, because of the bad condition that it was in, and this is where the village took its name from.

From the very beginning, the people of Torrevieja have carried out three main professions; sailors, fishermen and salt workers.

Sailors: The men from Torrevieja were ship builders and great sailors who transported wine, salt and flat roof tiles to America and the Phillipines.  They had a long tradition of exporting salt to Cuba, and that is how the typical songs form La Habana came to us from the sailors of Torrevieja.

Fishermen: These men used to do what we call "night fishing," where an artificial light was used to attract fishes like red mullets to the nets.

Salt workers: The salt works started to be developed in the 18th century when large amounts of salt were discovered in the lagoon.  Today, the salt works in Torrevieja are considered to be the most important in the world, after the Dead Sea.

SALTY AND SUNNY TORREVIEJA

Torrevieja has a population of 100,000 inhabitants during the low season and 500,000 in the high season.  There is a saying which describes the town as "white of salt, tan of sun" and this is written on the city shield and reminds us of the city's  basic elements; the sun and the salt.

The town's salt is exported to northern Europe, Canada, the United States and Western Africa and is used for a variety of purposes such as a dressing for salting meat and fish, in industries as a water softener, and in colder countries it is used on their icy roads and airport runways.  In African countries it is used as a fridge, to conserve food and prevent it from dehydrating.

THE BEACHES

All of the Valencian coast beaches are controlled by the European Community which sets quality levels for the swimming areas.  The most prestigious award is the European Clean Water Blue Flag, which means that the beach has achieved an optimum level for swimming and recreational activities.  The Valencian coastline has 94 blue flag beaches, several of which are here in Torrevieja, such as Los Locos beach, El Cura beach, Los Náufragos beach and the Royal Nautical Club.

THE HOLIDAYS

Torrevieja has different holidays throughout the year.  The Holy Week with its processions attracts tens of thousands of people into the streets.  During the month of May, the town enjoys one week of the purest Andalusian music and dance, when more than 300,000 people gather in the town dressed in their traditional costumes and dance the famous Sevillanas.  The atmosphere is completed with horse parades and the tasting of fine wines.  In July, there is the Virgen del Carmen fiesta (the patron saint of fishermen and sailors) which involves eating paella and an array of nautical activities.  And finally in December, there are the traditional patron saint's days in honour of the Immaculate Conception.

SPORTS, LEISURE AND SERVICES

Torrevieja and its surrounding areas play host to three prestigious golf courses, where both national and international championships are held.  A total of 54 holes, covering an area of 1,700,000 m² give shape to the Villamartin, Las Ramblas and Campoamor golf courses.  The International Sports Harbour Marina offers the chance to practice different water sports, along with several hundred high quality berths.