Santa Pola Travel Guide
You will find Santa Pola 20km south from Alicante airport taking
the N332 highway, between Alicante and La Marina or the next big town of Guardamar
del Segura.
In the city of Santa Pola you can find the castle fortress (Castillo Foraleza
de Santa Pola) built in the 16th Century to defend from pirates, surrounded
by 20th century beautiful architecture. Santa Pola has the biggest deep sea
and coastal fishing fleet in the Mediterranean. The harbour has a ferry that
can take you to the very popular Tabarca Island, 6.5km offshore where Charles
III fortified and resided with the Genoese prisoners in the 18th Century.
Santa Pola was where the portus illicitanus roman ruins were found, other clear
signs of this era is the low imperial and roman factory for salting fish from
the 4th Century B.C. where Santa Pola was the prosperous fishing village on
the Costa Blanca whereas now it is over taken by tourism. Famous for its salt
lakes and protected wet lands which is very important for the habitat of many
species of bird particularly the flamingo.
How to travel to/from Santa Pola
There are bus connections that can take you to/from the main bus stations of Alicante
or Guardamar del Segura.
Things to do in Santa Pola
Santa Pola has a market on Mondays and Saturdays. Look out for the free tour
guide stand that can advise you where the free tour guide bus can pick you up
from and where it will take you as all journeys vary. They are usually located
at an entrance of the market.
Museums are a great place to get a feel of what once was in Santa Pola or still
is in the case of the Salt Museum which is a converted salt mill. Visit the
salt mines on the outskirts of Salinas de Santa Pola in the natural park where
you can book a date to visit, where you will see an incredible amount of flamingos
and an array of many birds. The Archaeological Museum has Iberian and Roman
findings. The Fishing Museum contains maritime objects and a fascinating Aquarium.
For beach lovers, you have the beautiful sandy beaches in Santa Pola, Gran
Playa, Playa llisa and Santa Pola Del Este which are worth spreading your towel
on. You can find a selection of water sports at Playa Llisa. Canoeing, sailing,
kite surfing and wind surfing are a few.
There are many shops in Santa Pola, clothes, shoes and souvenirs as well as
the local markets on Mondays and Saturdays. You can take a stroll around the
town and come across many quaint cafes and ice cream parlours.
You will find many types of restaurants to suit all taste buds from traditional
Spanish cuisine paellas and tapas, to Chinese restaurants/buffets as well as
English foods and Italian restaurants. You will find a marvellous array of restaurants,
if you are self catering it's definitely worth your while to check out
the fish market where they auction the fresh catches of the day at great prices.
Pola Park is a great fair ground for children and very well priced, pay for
a family ticket or if you don't feel like joining in you are free to walk
around with the rest of your group at no extra cost! (Don't hear that
often) You can go on as many of the rides as you like, and as often as you like.
They have the Chinese wok buffet onsite along with a few other burger bars,
in the summer Polar Park is open from 7:30pm until 2am!! Double check in case
they change their hours but this has been the same for a few years.
Nightlife in Santa Pola
There are a few nightclubs ranging from different tastes of
music, from techno to disco, check out the latest flyers for your preference
as promotional nights happen everywhere nowadays. Or go to a small local disco
bar with the Spanish chart music you might like it, or find a bar with English
charts, you have a few to choose from what ever your taste I'm sure you'll
find what you're looking for.
Fiestas in Santa Pola
Fiesta dates in Spain are difficult to say as some dates change, here are but
a few that we can mention, it is advised to contact the tourist information
centre for accurate fiesta dates.
March and April: Moors and Christians.
June: Romeria.
July: Patron saint La Virgen del Carmen.
September: Street parade for La Virgen de Loreto.
Golf Courses near Santa Pola
Santa Pola is in easy driving distance for Golf courses.
Alicante Golf Club, with driving range, putting green, chipping green, practice
bunker, games room, Sauna, hotel spa and many other facilities.
La Finca (Algorfa Golf Club), picturesque rural surroundings with fantastic
views along with a driving range, putting greens, chipping area, practice bunker
and other facilities.
Villamartin Golf Club, within this complex area you can find an array of shops
and restaurants along with tennis courts and swimming pools and close by is
a horse riding stable.
Urbanization Lomas de Campoamor, built on a country estate surrounded by unspoilt
beautiful countryside between two connecting valleys.
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