Welcome to the Costa Blanca
Spain is a country of sunshine and friendly people, it is full of different customs and lifestyles and welcomes over 50 million visitors each year, and around 1 million non-Spanish have homes in Spain. The Costa Blanca has some of Europe's most beautiful beaches; long sandy stretches to bays with rugged cliffs.  Many beaches have been awarded the exclusive EEC flag for cleanliness and facilities offered.  Costa Blanca is situated on the eastern coast of Spain, with it's cooling Mediterranean winds it is commonly known as the 'White Coast'.

Scubaworld lies close to the beaches of Playa Flamenca on the Orihuela Costa, the nearest large town is Torrevieja; it is a coastal town and is located in the south of the Alicante province. Torrevieja has a population of approximately 81,000, which rises to around 650,000 in the summer, during the year it receives more than two million visitors. The locale is sited between two busy airports, Alicante 40 minutes to the north and Murcia 20 minutes to the south.
Both airports offer local bus services or you can book a private taxi from Alicante Airport or arrange a Murcia Airport transfer. The regions surrounding Torrevieja are largely, protected Natural Parks and have two working salt lakes nearby. Towns that are in the vicinity include Guardamar del Segura to the north, Rojales and Benijófar to the west, Los Montesinos and San Miguel de Salinas to the southwest and the Orihuela beaches to the south. Torrevieja has around 20 kms of beautiful coastline and sandy beaches, the surrounding areas offer many day and night activities such as go karting, golf, windsurfing, restaurants, pubs, bars as well as cultural tours. For the adventurous, there are a wide range of excursions to the nearby historic cities of Alicante, Murcia, Benidorm and Cartagena to mention just a few.

The climate
In the Torrevieja area the climate is very stable, it belongs to the temperate continental type. Temperatures are comfortably mild in winter but soon reach the pleasant heat that sun worshiper's favour in the summer. The coldest months are January and February when temperatures range between 12 and16 degrees centigrade, the hottest months are July and August when temperatures regularly climb to 35 degrees centigrade. The autumn, which is between October and December, is the mild season, during this period temperatures range between 21 and 27 degrees centigrade



hotels
Torrevieja has around 2,500 hotel beds; hotels are situated in the town centre and extend along the beaches of the coastline. They vary in category, and prices differ according to season: high season - summer and Easter, middle season - September, May and Christmas with the rest of the year being the low season. The average price per room can range from 40 euros to 150 euros a night, depending on the category of the hotel. For those who prefer to self cater, there are also hundreds of apartments or villas to rent all year round.

Restaurants
Amongst Torrevieja's many attractions as a Mediterranean tourist centre, superb gastronomy can be found in most of the town's restaurants, fish forms the basis of traditional Torrevieja cooking with many mouth watering delicacies available, there is also a wide variety of restaurants from many different nationalities, from the Israeli an kebab, Asian wok, Indian or Hungarian kitchens, not forgetting a whole range of traditional English meals.



night entertainment
The local area offers a wide range of leisure activities and night entertainment. Down town or along the N332 between Punta Prima and Cabo Roig there are many bars, pubs, discos and restaurants. Should you fancy a social drink, you can choose between a huge variety of premises, all with different musical atmospheres and styles. For example there is also a big range of establishments that provide an Irish style. Normal opening times are from 9 p.m. to 3.30 a.m. in the morning, Torrevieja also offers the opportunity to end the night, or morning in one of its numerous "after-hour" establishments or discotheques located at the Avenida de las Cortes Valencianas and in the Avenida de las Habaneras. The town's discotheques specialise in different styles of music, from "techno" to salsa. Closing times are at 5 a.m. in the winter and 6 a.m. in the summer.

An active holiday or just laying in the sun?
Whatever your idea of a holiday, this area of Spain can cater for your every enjoyment and is central to many activities. You can spend easy days on one of the many nice, safe beaches or choose from many daily or nightly activities. If you fancy a round of golf, then you are definitely at the right spot, here on the Costa Blanca you can choose between many top quality golf courses, there are also fun 9 hole courses for all the family to involve themselves in, this can also be a great way to introduce yourself to the game. There are 3 international 18 hole, par 72 golf clubs close to each other: Villamartin, Las Ramblas and Campoamor, and for those players who would like a round or two on the famous La Manga golf resort, it is no more than 45 minutes away.


If horse riding is to your taste, then there are stables and equestrian centres sited all over the costas that cater for both the beginner and more experienced rider. All kind of water sports are available besides diving, there are many marinas up and down the coast between Torrevieja and La Manga. In these you can choose between fishing, windsurfing, kite boarding, renting a jet ski and a much, much more. If you fancy yourself as a Michael Schumacher you can pit your skills on one of the many go kart-racing tracks, this is fun for all the family and even youngsters can have a go on the smaller sized fun karts.



Parents always say, “if the kids are having a good time, then so are we”, so for the kids there are some great adventure events to enjoy. There is the Aquapolis water park just outside Torrevieja and less than one hour away you can be in Benidorm. Benidorm boasts not only beautiful sandy beaches, but it also has a whole range of exciting water based adventures, such as Aqualandia water park, Mundo Mar sea life park and the gigantic adventure theme park, Terramitica.

Shopping
Torrevieja and the surrounding urbanisations offering a wide range of shopping opportunities, there are two large commercial centres with a new one opening during the summer of 2005. In the town centre Torrevieja contains more than 2,500 commercial establishments dedicated to fashion, furniture, real estate, textile, electronics and general gifts, the main national and international brand names in fashion, design and electronic technology are well established locally. Opening times range between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. from Monday to Saturday, although a number of large commercial establishments are now open every day of the week.

Street markets
are very popular in Spain where they provide an alternative to traditional commerce, on them you can obtain numerous objects for decoration, textiles, clothing, craft, footwear and horticultural produce and if you are adept at bargaining then very reasonable prices can be found. The many markets have achieved great popularity amongst both the Spanish and the thousands of Europeans that visit Torrevieja. Some are held once a week (Friday in downtown Torrevieja) and others are permanent, these are often held on seaside promenades, another popular market is at the Saturday morning in Playa Flamenca on the Calle Nicolas Bussi.