Costa Calida:

Two seas on one coastline - the Mar Menor and the Mediterranean - , impressive cliffs, heavenly beaches of endless white sand, lively ports and wild coves with crystal clear water, more than 3,000 hours of sun a year and mild temperatures - even in winter - with a yearly average of more than 18ºC. This is the Costa Cálida, the ideal place to spend some days relaxing both in winter and summer.

From the fishing town of Aguilas to the white dunes of the beach of El Mojon in San Pedro del Pinatar, stretch kilometre after kilometre of beaches and deserted coves awaiting the arrival of the bather, the sailor, the diver or the fisherman. In addition, there are delightful picturesque fishing villages, like La Azohia or Cabo de Palos where you can lose yourself for a few days; ports like the one in Mazarron where you can spend a lively evening and enjoy its magnificent gastronomy after a day on the beach; heavenly areas of natural beauty, unique in the whole Mediterranean, at the beaches of Calblanque and Calnegre... and one of the most highly considered tourist complexes in the Mediterranean: La Manga del Mar Menor, a paradise between two seas with infinite beaches, sandy sea beds and crystalline waters, and endowed with an excellent hotel infrastructure.

Furthermore, fans of water sports will find one of the best places in the world for practising sailing, canoeing, swimming, water-skiing, jet-skiing, flysurfing, windsurfing, catamaranning, and every other type of watersport activity in its numerous clubs, ports and sailing schools. The Nautical Resort on the Mar Menor and similar consortiums in Mazarron and Aguilas offer the chance to hire out equipment.

Large pond, Small sea, throughout history, the so-called Mar Menor has had different names, all of which coincide in the description of a phenomenon that nature designed as a great coastal lake (originally, an open bay) of 170 km2 of warm saltwater.

Since distant times, the wealth of its water, the kindness of the climate and the beauty of the area as a whole attracted many people. The Iberians and Phoenicians and, later, the Arabs have a part in the history of the Mar Menor. In the Moslem period, it was known as the Mar Chico, and the place known today as Los Alcázares (from the Arabic ¿Al-Ksar¿, literally translated as "place of residence") was chosen for their recreational houses. The continuous skirmishes with pirates from Algeria led to the need to construct watchtowers, some of which are conserved today, such as that of El Ramé or Rami. Until the 18th century, the area was occupied only by inhabitants dedicated to fishing and to the exploitation of the salt flats. From the 19th century, these centres gradually became centres for recreation and relaxation for the inhabitants of La Huerta, who established their summer residence next to the coast, attracted mainly by the curative properties of its brackish water. Even today, the Mar Menor remains faithful to the concept of ¿residential area¿ characterised by rest and tranquillity.

The warm waters of the Mar Menor, with a maximum depth of 7 metres, hold the ideal conditions and means for those who enjoy open or group sailing. Furthermore, visitors to this area can enjoy all the advantages of the Sailing Station of the Mar Menor, which in keeping with the ski station concept, offers a set of sailing, sports and tourist infrastructures together with hotels, accommodation and establishments for leisure and learning grouped together in one place: the entire Shore area of the Mar Menor and La Manga. This large saltwater lake has ideal climatic conditions (315 days of sunshine per year and an average annual temperature of 18ºC) for the continuous practice of water sports

The descriptive name of La Manga (the sleeve) holds an interesting geographical layout which has become one of the symbols that best identifies the coast of Murcia as a tourist resort: a chain that stretches along approximately 24 km from Cabo de Palos to the Punta del Mojón, and is the natural limit of the salt water lake known as the Mar Menor. Originally, what is now known as La Manga del Mar Menor was a bay open to the Mediterranean; at either end, volcanic reefs gradually held back the sand and sediment that was dragged along by the sea currents to form a sandy column of dunes and rock vegetation and long beaches in contact with two seas: the Mediterranean and the Menor. La Manga is a narrow piece of land with a width that varies between 200 m and 1 and a half km. It is cut off by natural channels that keep the two seas in contact with each other; the so-called ¿golas¿ allow water from the Mediterranean into the lake. As such, the space was kept virgin until the 60¿s, when La Manga was ¿discovered¿ as a tourist resort and underwent a transformation which included the urbanisation of the area and the construction of tourist infrastructures.

Nowadays, everything in La Manga has been designed to enhance the visitor's stay. Complete hotel installations, with a network of establishments with maximum qualification (including a five-star hotel), located at strategic points, apartment complexes, sailing ports, sailing schools, recreational centres, supermarkets, shops, bars, discos... everything you need for a complete holiday. In winter and autumn, La Manga is kept open, since its population is constant all year round. Winter is an ideal period for those in search of peace and quiet, with the necessary services and infrastructures.

Due to it being located between two seas, La Manga is also an ideal place for water sports. There are sailing and skiing schools that run periodical courses, as well as windsurfing and catamarans. The Mediterranean can be enjoyed by those who prefer high waves for windsurfing and the entire coast also offers a series of areas that are ideally suited and perfectly isolated for diving, such as Cabo de Palos and the rocky depths next to Isla Grosa.

Furthermore, visitors to this area can enjoy all the advantages of the Sailing Station of the Mar Menor, which in keeping with the ski station concept, offers a set of sailing, sports and tourist infrastructures together with hotels, accommodation and establishments for leisure and learning grouped together in one place: the entire Shore area of the Mar Menor and La Manga. The exceptional climatic conditions of the area (315 days of sunshine per year and an average annual temperature of 18ºC) are ideal for the continuous practice of water sports.

The coast of Cartagena is very varied and along its entire length has different landscapes ranging from high cliffs with hidden coves to large bays to delight any bather, from those in search of comfort and the entire range of services to travellers looking for untouched countryside.

If the visitor starts his journey along the coast of Cartagena from the west, he will come across the villages of Isla Plana and La Azohía, which, with their large sandy beaches and mountain views, are traditional summer resorts. La Azohía has a beautiful polygonal defence tower from the 16th century and is famous for tunny fishing, an age-old art practised by the Arabs. Beyond La Punta de la Azohía, the coast changes to cliffs, with solitary beaches such as Cala Cerrada and Cala Abierta, excellent places for bathing, accessible by sea or by walking down paths, ideal for those who enjoy both active tourism and peace and quiet. After rounding Cabo Tiñoso, an excellent vantage point at an altitude of over 300 m, the traveller reaches an area of virgin coast, dominated by the Mountain Range of La Muela, which has been protected as a result of its high natural value. This area contains the fishing village of El Portús, with its nudist camp site.

To the east of Cartagena, there are different landscapes which include the Regional Park of Calblanque, a privileged area of the coast of Murcia. It has a wealth of species of fauna and flora, with geographical formations as varied as coves, large beaches, fossil dunes, salt flats and mountain slopes, with various routes for visiting the park. Further on are the protected coves of Cala Flores and Cala Reona, near to Cabo de Palos. This area, which also includes the surroundings of Islas Hormigas and Isla Grosa, is especially interesting for divers due to the fauna and flora that live on the rocky sea bottom. In the Mar Menor area, Playa Honda, Mar de Cristal and Islas Menores are villages of summer and seafaring tradition and are popular with the faithful tourist who returns year after year in search of its peaceful environment. This also happens in Los Nietos, a small fishing village which fills to the brim in summer. Further to the north, in Los Urrutias, is the Regatta Club of the Mar Menor. In the village of Los Belones, very near to La Manga, there is an important Golf complex with 54 holes; it also has tennis courts, areas for learning to play golf and a gymnasium. A complete sports offer in beautiful natural surroundings. There are also two horse riding centres in the same area for those who prefer a relaxing trek on horseback.

The coast of Cartagena is completed with La Manga, a wide section of land surrounded by two seas, with long fine sandy beaches and equipped with all the tourist infrastructures you could need for an excellent holiday.

La Union's mining history has been a deciding factor in shaping and forming the landscape on this short stretch of the coast. The range in colours of the various minerals give the area an exotic beauty which the visitor can appreciate on the journey towards the coast.

Mazarrón is set in a wide bay that opens up into the Mediterranean and has a coastline of 35 km. It has two important urban centres: the port and the town capital, five kilometres from the coast. Since its origin, the name of Mazarrón has been linked to the mining wealth of its mountain ranges, which are rich in lead, zinc, silver, iron, alum and red ochre. In Phoenician, Punic and Roman times, great work was carried out in the mines, leaving behind an abundance of archaeological remains. The Arabs also settled in the area, attracted by its mineral wealth. After the Christian Reconquest, the place known as Casas de los Alumbres de Almazarrón was formed as a consequence of the mines that were opened in the 15th century. Its strategic position turned it into a bastion of defence of the neighbouring lands of Lorca and Cartagena, proof of which may be seen in the numerous defence towers that were built to stop the Saracen advance from Africa.

Mazarrón became very important at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th, during which time iron and galenite were mined. Once the wealth of the mines had been exhausted, Mazarrón developed an important tourist industry and agriculture, and at the same time, promoted its seafaring and fishing tradition. This activity can be seen in the port, with its fish market and shallow-water fishing boats.

As the result of its rich history, the streets of Mazarrón contain interesting monuments. Of special interest are its Town Hall and the Former Cultural Centre, which are of Modernist style and stand as indications of the splendour of the beginning of the century. Behind the Town Hall is the church of San Andrés (16th century), with a beautiful Mudejar coffered ceiling and nearby, the Convent of La Purísima (the patron saint of the town). It is also possible to visit the ruins of the Castle of the Vélez family. Out of the town, there are other towers, such as the Torre de Vieja de la Cumbre (17th century) in the port, the Tower of Los Caballos and the Tower of Santa Isabel in Bolnuevo and, on the hill of El Molinete, a watchtower with a circular layout.

Besides the wealth of monuments, Mazarrón offers beautiful places which stand along the 35 km of its coastline and enjoy the protection of its 300 days of sunshine per year and average temperature of 20ºC. Opposite the Beach of Bolnuevo is one of the most spectacular landscapes of the region, where, on white sandstone, the erosion of the wind and the water has sculpted beautiful shapes, known as Bolnuevo Erosions. Beaches such as La Reya, Bahía, Nares or El Castellar and virgin coves such as Cala Amarilla, La Grúa Beach, Parazuelos, Covaticas, Ballenato, Percheles, etc., offer ideal conditions for beach and sea lovers or for those who enjoy long walks along the seashore.

Mazarrón is also the ideal place for enjoying a complete range of leisure possibilities, nautical activities and active tourism. The Mazarrón marina has 200 mooring points. In its regatta club, competition is combined with courses at beginners and advanced levels. It is also possible to practise rowing, sea paragliding, water-skiing and speedboat racing. Divers can also find many clubs that organise courses at all levels together with diving expeditions to enjoy the beauty of the rocky sea bottoms, spectacular underwater caves and grottos.

Mazarrón also has a great deal to offer the rural tourist in the way of scenery and the traditions of its mining and maritime past. Its protected natural areas of Sierra de las Moreras and La Muela Cabo Tiñoso offer the chance of getting closer to nature in an area of great environmental value and interest.

The Borough of Lorca's considerable size obviously bestows it with a gateway to the sea. This stretch of the coast, Puntas de Calnegre to give it a name, is a part of the Cabo Cope - Puntas de Calnegre Regional Park. The main attraction of the thirteen beaches which make up the Lorca coastline is their excellent level of conservation. Anyone who is keen on nature and adventure tourism will enjoy following the route of the GR 92 (Great Footpath 92) which runs parallel to the coast as it crosses gulleys, dry river beds and coves along dirt tracks and natural paths.

This town stands on a coastal area of 35 km, under the surveillance of its beautiful castle of San Juan de las Águilas and on the southern-most tip of the region. This municipality has been inhabited since the Palaeolithic age, and many other cultures, including the Argaric, Phoenician, Roman and Moslem people, have left their vestiges here. Of particular interest are the Roman remains, especially the baths, which date from the 1st to 4th century.

As a modern town, Águilas was born of the enlightened thought of Charles III and his ministers Aranda and Floridablanca, who sought a port for the export of the agricultural products of the river plain of Lorca, and Águilas was the natural departure point for the entire region. The new town, with its rectilinear layout, became a commercial enclave on the up, reaching its zenith in the 19th century with exploitations of silver, lead and iron and the construction of the railway line and the pier of El Hornillo by British companies. Nowadays, Aguilas conserves its seafaring tradition and its deep-rooted vocation as a tourist resort.

Of the town's monuments, the Town Hall is of particular interest; it is a neo-Mudejar building from the 19th century, located in the Plaza de España, with age-old gardens and an old fountain dominated by a swan, popularly known as "the turkey on the pond". The square is surrounded by a few Modernist buildings, the 19th-century church of San José, which contains the statue of Our Lady of Sorrows, who is the patron saint of the town. The historical quarter still has the atmosphere of the seafaring quarters, dedicated to fishing, and is crowned by the castle-fortress of San Juan de Águilas. This tower-fortress was built around 1579 for defence reasons and was later rebuilt in the 18th century. In the Paseo de Parra, there is a monument to the railway, proof of the importance this means of transport once had for the population.

Besides its wealth of monuments and archaeology, Águilas has a coastline with many points of interest. Thirty-five coves, rocky promontories that stretch into the sea and beaches of fine sand. The coves of Playa de Calarreona, Playa la Calabardina, Playa de Calacerrada , Playa del Arroz, Playa del Hornillo, are places where the protagonist is the countryside, still untouched in places. Indeed, the town has two protected natural areas: the Regional Park of Cabo Cope and the Protected Countryside of Las Cuatro Calas. The very centre of the town has beaches, such as that of Las Delicias. And nearby, opposite the breakwater of El Hornillo, lies the Isle of El Fraile, a small island covered with rocky slope sea bottoms and seaweed colonies for the special enjoyment of divers. These are joined by the interesting sea bottoms at the foot of the Crag of Cabo Cope. East of Águilas, in the municipality of Lorca, is a coastal area of enormous interest, where we find Puntas de Calnegre - literally Blacklime Points, so-called after the dark colour of the rocks. Together with Cabo Cope, Puntas de Calnegre has been a Regional Park since 1992. This is one of the least frequented areas of the coast, with clean, sandy beaches and crystalline waters. The Points end at the sea in high cliffs, between which lie the beautiful coves of Baño de las Mujeres, Siscal and Cala Honda.

The Mediterranean climate of Águilas, with almost no rainfall, 3,200 annual hours of sunlight and average temperatures of 25.2ºC make this place ideal for nautical and sub-aqua tourism. Everything the denomination of Águilas offers (Villa Náutica (sailing village)), has been designed for visitors to get the most out of their stay. Sailing cubs, diving clubs with light sailing boat courses, cruises, diving courses, hire of material, monitors and qualified teachers, tourist accommodation, apartments, hotels and camp sites, etc., all at the disposal of those who decide to pay us a visit.

The coastal town Águilas has even more to offer, given its wide range of choice and alternatives for the enjoyment of rural tourism, with 3 well-signposted walking routes for the more energetic types or long walks simply to take in the views of the spectacular scenery in the area

Information collected from the tourist portal of Murcia