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Winter is mild, summer hot and dry. Spring and early autumn find the country at its lushest, and there’s room on the beach. In summer, it’s crowded and more expensive, but good for the hedonistic nightlife.

EU citizens and those from countries within the Shengen Agreement can enter Spain with a valid ID card or passport. Americans, Canadians, Australians and New Zealanders can stay with no visa for up to 90 days. Citizens of other countries may require a visa.

These provide information about visiting, working in and retiring to Spain, and have useful websites.

The slick and efficient Spanish National Tourism Service provides a wealth of glossy brochures, maps and leaflets; their website is a useful starting point.

Facilities are generally inadequate, but have improved dramatically in recent years. The following organizations can give you general information in advance.

Valencian (related to Catalan) and Spanish (Castilian) are the two official languages of the Autonomous Community of Valencia, of which the Costa Blanca is part. Spanish is spoken in Murcia. Valencian is more common inland, particularly in the northern Costa Blanca.

There are several excellent multilingual websites dedicated to the Costa Blanca. See the Directory for a list.

EU citizens get state health care on production of an E111 form (bring this from your own country), but it’s a complicated process, and private travel insurance is highly recommended. The same applies to non-EU visitors. Dentistry is not covered under such agreements, and can be expensive.

Casual dress is acceptable, but bring a smart outfit for upmarket restaurants or clubs. Evenings inland can get cool, so bring a light sweater. Sunscreen is essential and mosquito repellent useful. You’ll need sturdy footwear in the regional parks if you are planning to do some hiking. It’s handy too to have a plug adaptor.

Alicante is served by numerous “no-frills” carriers and major airlines from other Spanish and European cities. Book early in high season or around major holidays, and check the Internet for the best deals.

There are no direct flights. US and Canadian visitors usually have to change at Madrid, Barcelona or elsewhere. Delta Airlines fly to Barcelona, from where you can take the high-speed Euromed train to Alicante. Iberia serves most major North American airports.

There are direct flights from the UK, Ireland and (usually via Madrid) most major European cities. During the high season charter flights can offer great deals.

There are no direct flights from North America to Murcia. Try Iberia to Madrid, plus an onward connection, or British Airways via London.

Denia (Dénia) is the main Costa Blanca ferry port for the Balearics. Both Balearia and Iscomar run regular car and passenger ferries from Ibiza and Palma (Mallorca).

Spain’s national rail system, RENFE, is clean, efficient and inexpensive. The plush, high-speed Euromed service connects major towns between Barcelona, Alicante and Murcia; overnight services run from Paris to Madrid and Barcelona. Book in advance.

International coach services run to Alicante, Benidorm, Murcia and most larger resorts in summer. Coaches are cheap, but journeys are long (London to Alicante, for example, takes at least 26 hours). Try Eurolines for starters.

The main motorway down Spain’s east coast is the A7 (aka E15); the tolls can be quite dear. The toll-free N332 road links Valencia and Murcia, but gets very busy in high season.

Countless tour operators offer package deals to the Costa Blanca, ranging from self-catering apartments to smart hotels. They are inexpensive, but focus on the biggest, most crowded resorts.

A car is often a nuisance rather than a benefit in the larger towns and resorts, which are always clogged with traffic, particularly during the evening rush hour (6–8pm). Parking can be a problem, but larger towns have underground car parks which charge around €5–€10 per day. Your own transport is virtually essential to see the remoter corners of the Costa Blanca.

Speed limits (often ignored) are 120 kph on motorways (autopistas ), 100 kph on main roads, and 50 kph in built-up areas. Seat belts (also ignored) are compulsory in the front seats, and in the rear where fitted. The legal alcohol limit is a mere 0.05% (regularly flouted), anyone caught can be fined up to €300 on the spot.

There are car hire offices at the airports, and plenty more at train stations and in major towns and resorts. The cheapest deals can usually be found over the Internet; many airlines offer concessions. It’s advisable to book well in advance during holiday periods.

The rail network offers a bewildering array of services. The most useful on the Costa Blanca are the local (cercanías ) and regional (regionales ) trains which connect most larger cities and resorts. They are generally punctual and inexpensive.

A narrow-gauge train runs from El Campelló (on the outskirts of Alicante and connected to the city centre by tram) to Denia (Dénia), stopping at most resorts. It is scenic, especially between Altea and Denia, but very slow.

A pretty Modernista train station in Cartagena is the starting point for the narrow-gauge railway that links the city with the small resort of Los Nietos on the Mar Menor. It’s not a very scenic route, but it’s cheap and convenient.

Local bus services are rarely useful for visitors as most sights are in the town centres. But many inland villages are not on the train network, and are only accessible by bus. Different companies serve different areas, which can be confusing, but there are information offices in bus stations, and the tourist offices also have timetables.

Taxis are cheap and plentiful – at least in the larger towns and resorts. They can be hailed on the street or from taxi stands; a green light on the top indicates that they are free. Otherwise, you can, of course, call for a taxi.

Competitive cycling is very popular in Spain. Pottering around the countryside on a bike is less common, but nonetheless delightful. Bike hire is common in resorts and at rural hotels.

In an emergency dial 112. English-speaking operators will connect you to the appropriate service. There are also free direct numbers for police, ambulance and fire brigade.

Spain has several types of police. The Policía Nacional (brown uniforms) deal with urban crime, so report anything stolen to them. The Policía Local (in dark blue) deal with minor urban crime and traffic control. The Guardia Civil (green uniforms) police the main highways and rural areas. Police stations are listed in phone books under Comisarías.

No inoculations are needed for Spain. Beware mainly of heatstroke and sunburn. Use sunscreen, wear a hat, and stay in the shade between noon and 4pm. Jellyfish stings are an occasional nuisance. Rinse them in fresh water with bicarbonate of soda.

Bring any prescription drugs you require with you in your hand baggage. Spanish medication may differ from your own in name, dosage and form, so you should bring the generic (rather than brand) name of your medicine in case you need a repeat prescription.

Spanish pharmacists are highly trained and very useful for minor ailments. Most major cities have at least one 24-hour pharmacy (farmacia ). Its details are posted in all pharmacy windows.

The Costa Blanca has a huge expat community, with doctors and dentists catering to all nationalities. Hotels and pharmacies can advise you, and the English-language paper Costa Blanca News carries ads. If you’re using the EU reciprocal healthcare agreement, make sure the doctor belongs to the Spanish healthcare system.

Women travellers face no difficulties on the cosmopolitan Costa, besides a little flirtation and a few wolf whistles. Dress modestly in the inland towns to ward off unwanted attention, but in big towns and resorts virtually anything goes.

Facilities are slowly improving for disabled travellers. Tourist offices provide details of wheelchair-accessible hotels and sights, and restaurants usually do their best, but it is wise to call in advance. Some city buses are adapted for wheelchairs, and there are special taxi services (see Taxis).

Petty crime is fairly common, particularly in high season. Lock valuables in a hotel safety deposit box; keep a copy of your passport (separately). Don’t leave valuables in your car, and open the glove compartment to show there is nothing to steal. Wear a bag that straps across you, and be wary of “helpful” strangers.

Spain’s national currency is the euro, which is divided into 100 céntimos . Although all prices are marked in euros, people still often talk in pesetas for larger items such as houses and cars.

There are money-changing facilities at the airport, and almost all banks offer exchange services. The outlets clustered in the resorts often charge a hefty commission. Banks are usually open 8:30am–2pm Mon–Fri, but in the larger towns some open on Saturday mornings.

Cash machines can be found on almost every street corner, even in the smallest towns. Look for a sign saying “Telebanco ” Instructions are posted in a variety of languages. Spanish banks don’t charge a commission for using ATMs, but check whether your own bank will charge you.

Credit cards are commonly accepted in shops, larger hotels and big restaurants, though less so in smaller towns and villages. They are accepted at train stations but almost never at sights and monuments, so ensure that you have enough cash with you.

Traveller’s cheques are a useful safety precaution. If they are lost or stolen, they will usually be quickly replaced, unlike cash. Bring cheques in euros to avoid paying commission. Note that they are rarely accepted as a mode of payment, except in the larger hotels and resorts.

Post offices are identified by a yellow sign saying Correos y Telégrafos . Larger branches offer fax, telegram, poste restante and mail-box services. Estancos (newspaper kiosks) often sell stamps for postcards home.

Public phone booths are blue or green and very common. Most take phonecards (€5, €10 and €20 from estancos –) and some accept credit cards. Phones provided in hotel rooms can be very dear. Most foreign mobiles will work in Spain, but it’s advisable to check with your service provider in advance.

Internet cafés are easy to find, and tourist information offices have lists of them. Few will allow you to plug in your laptop, but many larger hotels provide modem points in the bedrooms.

The main Spanish national broadsheets are El País (left-leaning) and El Mundo (right-leaning). The long-established Costa Blanca News is a weekly English-language paper dedicated to the enormous expat community. International press is easily available in Alicante, Murcia City and all the resorts.

You are bound at some point to come across this scene: a gaggle of people clustered round a makeshift table in the street, someone expertly flipping three little cups, one of which apparently contains a counter. If you’re asked to guess the right cup, beware. This is an old gambling scam, and there are never any winners!

Watch out for these on the street or at petrol stations. They usually work in pairs. While one is telling you that you’ve dropped your keys or pretends to brush some dirt from your shoulder, the other is relieving you of your wallet.

Along the coast you can find a meal at any time you like. But in the rural inland regions, you will have to adapt to Spanish time and aim to eat around 9pm – unless you want to dine alone. Note too that many restaurants are closed on Sunday evenings.

Almost all the museums in the Costa Blanca are closed on Mondays, so plan your days out accordingly. Churches, however, are usually open, as are all the Regional and Natural Parks. Monday’s also a good shopping day.

The traditional Spanish siesta may be going out of style, but there is still a long break in the afternoons for most shops and offices, as well as smaller museums and monuments. Banks are closed in the afternoon, and most post offices close for several hours over lunchtime. Churches also regularly close between 1pm and 3pm (often for longer), so get your sightseeing done early.

Trawlers don’t work on Sundays and Mondays. As a result, the fish section of most covered markets will be closed on Monday. Whether you are buying fish to cook yourself or choosing it from a restaurant menu, it is unlikely to be particularly fresh, and should be avoided.

August is the traditional holiday month in Spain, when shops, offices, restaurants and hotels across the country close down, and families pile down to the coast. As a result, accommodation on the Costa Blanca is always dearer and harder to find in August, while the beaches can be unpleasantly crowded, and the roads clogged with an endless stream of traffic.

The dry, scrubby slopes of the inland regions are at their most fragile during the searing heat of July and August. Discarded cigarettes are a major cause of forest fires and environmental damage. Take care throughout the region.

While the Costa Blanca is relatively safe, petty crime is not uncommon. Taking your valuables to the beach is asking for trouble. Ask your hotel to lock them in a safety deposit box, and only take a small amount of cash with you, particularly if your belongings are likely to be unattended while you’re in the water.

This company offers self-catering villa holidays to suit all budgets in the northern Costa Blanca region (mainly around Xàbia (Jávea), Calp (Calpe) and Altea).

Tailor-made golf packages to the La Manga resort on the Mar Menor. This is a family-oriented resort with a huge array of sports facilities.

Indulge yourself! Erna Low offer spa holidays in luxurious surroundings at their hotels in Alicante (Alacant) and Denia (Dénia), and soon on the Mar Menor. They can also arrange combined golf–spa breaks.

Exodus offer a range of holidays including rock-climbing, walking, cycling – just about any sport you care to try.

Headwater run guided walking holidays on the northern Costa Blanca for travellers of moderate fitness. Hikers average 14 km (9 miles) a day through the spectacular scenery of the Sierra de Serrella. Accommodation at traditional family-run inns is included.

This company offers tailor-made holidays to the Costa Blanca, and organizes flights with accommodation in villas and apartments, mainly around Xàbia, Moraira and Altea in the northern Costa Blanca, and the Mar Menor on the Costa Cálida.

If you want to try your hand at fishing, this company, based near Benidorm, offers everything from tailor-made packages to one-day fishing trips. Their four sites include lakes, reservoirs, rivers and sea (around the Isla de Benidorm, also known as Peacock Island). Fishing permits can be booked in advance too.

Surprisingly few US-based tour operators offer holidays to the Costa Blanca. Vacation Europe is one, arranging flights, accommodation, car hire and a variety of other services.

Another US operator, Comtours, runs fully escorted coach tours of Andalucía and the Costa Blanca region lasting either seven or nine days. Holidays include flights, accommodation and the services of a multilingual guide.

The Spanish adore children, and yours will be indulged wherever they go. Children are treated like small adults, and it’s not unusual to see them out in restaurants with their parents late at night, or playing outside a café while their families chat away. There are plenty of outdoor playgrounds in every town and resort.

Almost all hotels welcome children. Family rooms are common, and some hotels will allow children to stay in their parents’ room at no extra charge. Perhaps the most convenient (and cost-effective) way to travel as a family is to rent an apartment or a casa rural .

Some of the larger hotels offer a programme of activities for guests of all ages, including anything from swimming lessons to organized games and coach excursions.

Babysitters are generally available in larger hotels (24 hours’ notice usually required); much less so in smaller hotels and pensiones . A few hotels have day-care facilities, so check in advance. Larger cities have drop-in children’s centres with play areas and cafés, but parents usually have to stay.

Most restaurants are happy to cater for children, though few offer a dedicated children’s menu. They are usually more than happy to provide a small portion, or to offer something simple that might not be on the menu. High chairs are not common. Call your chosen restaurant in advance to see if they can provide one.

There are scores of children’s clothes and toy shops in the larger towns. Nappies and formula milk can be found in supermarkets and pharmacies. Make sure you stock up for weekends, as very few shops open on Sundays.

There’s no shortage of family attractions, with the enormous theme park Terra Mítica near Benidorm, plus water-parks, safari parks and fun-parks right across the region. Many horse-riding centres offer pony treks for children, and sailing centres, notably around the Mar Menor, offer classes for beginners of all ages. The Natural and Regional Parks have hiking trails to suit all levels.

The main resort beaches are very well-geared toward children, with play areas right on the beach, as well as showers, toilets and snack bars to keep everyone happy. There are usually lifeguard posts and a medical tent in case of mishap. If visiting the quieter coves, find out what the swimming conditions are before venturing into the sea.

If the beaches begin to pall, teenagers can shop till they drop, visit the theme parks and water-parks, or indulge in every imaginable sporting activity. Some museums are great for teenagers, including Alicante’s hitech archaeology museum MARQ (see MARQ (Museo Arqueológico Provincial de Alicante)) and Murcia City’s Museo Hidráulico (see Museo Hidráulico Los Molinos de la Río Segura).

Breakfast in Spain is traditionally a light and hurried affair – perhaps a pastry or a croissant washed down with milky coffee (café con leche ). Full English breakfast – complete with egg, bacon and sausage – is available at countless expat-run cafés in the major resorts. Most hotels offer a buffet-style breakfast which will accommodate visitors of all nationalities.

Lunch, usually eaten around 2pm, is often the major meal of the day. It tends to consist of two or three courses with a glass or two of wine. The Spanish like to take their time over lunch; many smaller shops and local businesses will close for at least two hours. Sunday lunch is often a big family affair, and can last well into the evening.

The Spanish don’t usually sit down to dinner before around 9pm. The vast numbers of foreign visitors are catered for with earlier dining hours in all the coastal resorts. Evening meals tend to be lighter than lunches. Eating out at weekends is very popular, so it is always wise to book ahead. The Spanish plug the gap between lunch and late dinner with a few tapas at a local bar.

The tapeo , a kind of bar crawl from tapas bar to tapas bar, is an institution in Alicante (Alacant) and in Murcia City. Both cities boast dozens of tapas bars, many of them famous for a particular speciality: for instance, especially good ham, or delicious home-made croquetas (potato croquettes). If you want a larger portion, ask for a ración .

Vegetarians have a hard time in Spain, where even apparently innocuous vegetable dishes are regularly flavoured with ham or chorizo (cured sausage). There are few vegetarian restaurants, but most places will make up something simple, particularly when given notice. Otherwise, reliable stand-bys include tortilla (potato omelette) and platters of Spanish cheese. Salads usually feature tinned tuna (atún ); ask them to leave out any ingredients that you don’t want.

Spaniards usually just leave a few small coins on the bar when having a drink or a coffee, and round up the bill when in restaurants. Most foreign visitors leave a tip of around 10 per cent at restaurants, particularly in the resorts.

While plenty of foreigners come to Spain for the cheap booze, getting drunk is generally frowned upon. There is a huge drinking culture in some of the resorts, fuelled by packs of young northern European holiday-makers intent on having such a good time they can’t remember it, but the Spanish tend to drink only moderately, and generally accompany their drinks with small snacks or tapas.

Be warned that many restaurants, including those in the main resorts, are closed on Sunday nights.

The fixed-price menú del día , served weekday lunchtimes, is geared toward local workers. It usually includes two or three courses with bread and a glass of wine, and is very good value, even at some of the smarter restaurants.

Flights and hotels are always cheaper out of season, with some fantastic bargains from October to March – particularly if you look around on the Internet. Many of the larger Spanish hotel chains post special deals on their websites during the rest of the year that can make even the smartest four-and five-star hotels surprisingly affordable.

Package holidays (the “package” usually includes flights, transfers and accommodation) are big business on the Costa Blanca, with some incredibly low-priced deals. If you don’t like the resort, you could use the accommodation provided as your base and spend a few nights somewhere else with the money you save.

Pensiones and hostales offer the most basic accommodation and have fewer facilities than hotels, but they are the cheapest places to stay on the Costa Blanca. Many cater to backpackers and families on a budget, and offer triple and quadruple rooms, which bring down the costs even more. There are surprisingly few youth hostels, and many of them are booked up with school parties in the summer months.

There are countless self-catering options on the Costa Blanca. These can dramatically bring down costs if you are travelling on a budget. Scores of companies offer apartment or villa rentals. Casas rurales (rural houses and apartments) can be spectacularly good value for money for families or large groups.

Campsites are very plentiful on the Costa Blanca, and although prices vary according to facilities and proximity to the beach, they are always pretty cheap. If, however, you have a car, a tent and more than two people, the fees can add up to nearly as much as a cheap hotel room (see Camping and Caravanning).

Of the various train services that run along the Costa Blanca, the luxurious Euromed train is ostensibly the high-speed service, but along this strip of the coast it takes about the same time as the considerably less expensive local and regional trains. The Euromed does have comfortable seats and a café-bar, and even shows films, but it will only save you time if you are taking a long journey, and it will cost at least twice as much as its more lowly rivals.

Some museums and monuments offer free entry on certain days. Ask at a tourist information office. Students and senior citizens are elegible for concessions at most sites.

Family tickets (billete familiar ), usually for two adults and between two and four children, are available at most theme parks and the larger museums, and can offer considerable savings. It’s worth asking for one even if it isn’t advertised.

Picknicking is a delightful way to save money. There are hundreds of wonderful picnic spots (see Views and Picnic Spots, Views and Picnic Spots) and every town or village has a market where you can pick up fabulous fresh bread, fruit, cheese, ham and pastries for your hamper.

Shops are usually open from 10am–2pm and 4–8pm Monday to Saturday. Larger shops and department stores are open all day. The big department store El Corte Inglés (which also has a supermarket) is open until 10pm. Few shops open on Sundays.

Non-EU citizens are permitted to take home one litre of spirits and two litres of wine, as well as 200 cigarettes, 250 grams of tobacco or 50 cigars. EU citizens are limited to “personal use” only, which means in practice that if you turn up at your home airport with more than 10 litres of spirits, 20 litres of fortified wine, 90 litres of wine, 110 litres of beer, 3,200 cigarettes, 200 cigars, 400 cigarillos and 3kg of tobacco, questions are likely to be asked.

Bargain hunters note: popular international fashion labels originating in Spain (Zara, Mango and Camper, for example) are about a third cheaper in Spain than elsewhere, and there’s a wider range of products available.

Try everything on; many Spanish clothes are built for relatively narrow frames. Check that zips and other fittings work properly. Women’s clothes sizes translate as UK 8/USA 4/Spain 36, through to UK 18/USA 14/Spain 46. Men’s clothes in Spain are usually in small (waist 28–30), medium (waist 32–34), large (waist 36–38) and extra-large (waist 38–40).

The Costa Blanca offers plenty of choice for craft-and souvenir-hunting. Most towns have a particular speciality, and you can pick up delicious local wines, well-crafted blankets and woollen goods, the sticky treat turrón , or some pretty ceramics (see Shopping Towns, Shopping Towns).

Every town has a weekly market. These sell a wide array of local produce along with all kinds of cheap clothes, kitchen implements and, sometimes, crafts and souvenirs. Many of the larger towns and resorts have covered markets open daily (except Sundays), selling fabulous fresh produce. There are also regular craft markets on summer evenings along much of the coast. Tourist information offices have further details.

Haggling is not practised in the bigger shops and stores, but you can enjoy bargaining for fresh produce or crafts at market stalls. Smaller shops will probably offer a discount if you wheedle convincingly enough.

The annual sales (look for signs saying Rebaixes or Rebajas ) are held in January and July/August. Most of the major department stores and some chain stores have a section devoted to oportunidades, where you can pick up some bargains if you’re prepared to rummage.

Non-EU citizens are entitled to claim back value-added tax (IVA in Spanish) on goods and services costing over €90. Look for signs in shop windows indicating that they participate in the “Global Refund” scheme. Make sure you get a stamped receipt which shows the IVA component, and claim back the tax when you leave.

Hotels are awarded between one and five stars depending on the level of facilities. (Note that this classification system doesn’t take into account charm or levels of service.) Tourist offices have comprehensive lists of local hotels.

These are usually, but not always, at the budget end. They may lack the facilities that hotels offer, but they are often friendlier and very comfortable. Like hotels, they are classified using a star system (from one to three stars).

There are relatively few youth hostels on the Costa Blanca. Many get booked up with school trips in summer. While they offer very cheap accommodation, they are rarely central and may be no cheaper than a budget pensión or hostal (particularly if you are travelling in a group). Private hostels are popular with young backpackers.

Numerous companies offer villa rentals, ranging from simple apartments to quasi-palaces. The Internet and the travel pages of weekend newspapers are good sources of ads and information. It’s also worth checking out the small ads on the online version of the Costa Blanca News , a local English-language newspaper.

Paradors (paradores ) are state-run hotels. They tend to be fairly dear, but they have good facilities and are often set in historic buildings. There are two on the Costa Blanca, both purpose-built; one in Xàbia (Jávea), the other in Puerto Lumbreras. Look out for special deals on the website, especially out of season.

Casas rurales – country houses for rent or offering B&B – are a growing phenomenon. They are often located in small inland villages, and vary hugely in terms of facilities. There’s a list on the official Costa Blanca website. Noratur has details of casas rurales in Murcia.

Camping and caravanning are enormously popular on the Costa Blanca. Sites are graded by a star system (one to three) according to the facilities offered. Many of the larger sites have every imaginable facility, while inland sites are often far less grand. If you want to camp in the Regional Parks of the Sierra de Espuña or Calblanque, contact the park information offices in advance.

Package holidays offer great value for money, but you usually end up in the larger resorts, which means that peace and quiet can be in short supply.

Tourist offices have details of accommodation but don’t provide a booking service, although staff are usually happy to help. The official websites also have accommodation lists (see Planning Your Trip). Otherwise, consult the Spanish tourist office in your home country.