Russian VersionIntroducing Murcia
The Costa Calida, ‘the warm coast’, is a small paradise of mild temperatures with fresh, clean air.
A hilly pine clad countryside protects the area from the winds of the Meseta, winter is wonderfully warm and summer temperatures go up to around 30ºC. The Costa stretches for 250km of coastline from the beach El Mojón alongside the border of the province of Alicante in the north, down to the beach of La Carolina in Aguilas close to the border of Almería in the south.
One of the most famous assets of this coastline is Mar Menor, Europe’s largest salt water lagoon with over 170km² of shallow water. Due to the shallowness of the water and the warm air Mar Menor is very popular for water sports and is lined with some very nice beaches. Nearby Mar Menor are a great many natural salt lakes where people come on a daily basis to coat their bodies in the mineral-rich mud from the bed of the lakes. The Spanish believe that this ritual relieve aches and pains and is very popular with those that suffer from arthritis and muscular problems. Doctors and medical experts across Spain and Europe support this theory and indeed the World Health Organisation states that Costa Calida is one of the healthiest places in the world to live.
The 22km spit of land that separates Mar Menor from the Mediterranean is called La Manga del Mar Menor. The beaches along the spit are both wide and clean and many nautical clubs can be found across its length offering various water sports. The most famous and exclusive resort on the Costa Calida is La Manga Club, established in 1960 and just recently acquired by MedGroup from P&O who bought it 1987. The 1,220 acre estate, a favourite with celebrities, includes three (soon to be four) 18-hole championship golf courses, 28 tennis courts, eight football pitches, a five star hotel and 23 restaurants.
Apart from rolling around in mud and rubbing shoulders with celebrities, the Costa Calida has plenty of other attractions on offer. The region’s main city of Murcia is typical of all historical Spanish cities with a bustling Cathedral square at its heart with pavement cafés, tapas bars and restaurants. The main shopping street, La Trapería, is filled with hundreds of modern chain stores and boutiques selling quality leather shoes and bags. Kilometres of sandy beach are also on offer for watersports, sunbathing and beachfront dining.
The Costa Calida is best accessed via Alicante or Murcia airports, both of which offer regular flights to the UK, including with a whole host of low cost carriers, with flight times of around two hours.
Population:
44,395,286
Area (km²):
505,992
Capital:
Madrid
Language:
Castillian is the official language of Spain. Catalan, Basque and Galician are all official co-languages.
Religions:
95% Roman Catholic
Currency:
Euro (since 1999) EUR1 = £ 0.676
Dialing code:
+34
High season:
July - August
