Costa Blanca Holidays

Even though there’s only a small mountain separating Altea from the Costa Blanca’s loudest resort, Benidorm, the two towns couldn’t be more different. Altea lives life at a much slower pace – neon-lit nightspots make way for seafront tapas bars, and you’ll find traditional restaurants in lieu of Brit-style pubs and fast food joints. The bustling centres of the area's two biggest cities, Alicante and Valencia, are an hours' drive up and down the coast, too.

• Cap Negret Hotel

You’ll find the little town of Albir just next to Benidorm. But, while it might share map space with the Costa Blanca’s nightlife capital, the two resorts are poles apart. Albir does things on a much smaller scale – in fact, the town’s biggest draws are its go-slow beach life and its pretty nature walks.

• Kaktus Albir
• Albir Garden Resort

The port town of Javea sits in the shadow of Montgo Mountain between Valencia and Alicante. This little haven along Spain’s Costa Blanca boasts an old town area where the Medieval church is the centrepiece and shops, cafés and restaurants work their way along the cobbled streets. Meanwhile, nightlife is set to the rhythm of Spanish and international bands, and the local beaches wave their Blue Flags.

• Hierbabuena Villa
• Villa Marina
• Villa Ciruela

This little beach town on Spain’s Costa Blanca has a typically Spanish feel – there’s the thousand-year-old castle in the town centre, rustic seafood restaurants along the beach and colourful fishing boats bobbing in the harbour. There’s another side to this place, though – the cosmopolitan marina is dotted with bars, and there are designer boutiques along the tree-lined Carrer Marques de Campo.

• Villas Benicadims
• Villa Juan
• Denia Villas - Geminis