The Costa Blanca stretches from Dénia in the north to Torrevieja in the south on the eastern coast of Spain.

The resorts of the Costa Blanca vary from the bustling high-rise towns of Benidorm and Calpe to the more traditional and peaceful coastal towns of Altea and Moraira.

Altea has a beautiful cathedral square, art galleries and fantastic vistas of the area, all contained in its preserved old town.

But there is so much more to the Costa Blanca. There are traditional villages and beautiful scenery to be visited inland as well as on the coast, such as Guadelest and the Jalón Valley.

The major city in the Costa Blanca area is Alicante, which has a population in excess of 250,000. Here you will find all the facilities you would expect of a major conurbation such as department stores, national and international transport links by rail and air and the largest shopping centres in the Costa Blanca area.

Dénia's beaches are particularly attractive, stretching several kilometres from the town centre, it has a historic centre with a 12th century castle overlooking the town. Montgó, declared a Natural Park, is only a few metres from the sea and fishing boats come and go whilst they mark the rhythm of everyday life and provide Dénia with the best of the sea, making it the celebrated cuisine haven it has become. Possible activities include a climb to the castle, a visit to museums, churches, streets and old quarters, a walk in Montgó Natural Park.

But Dénia is more than just a cultural haven. The most luxurious marina on the entire coast is in Dénia, with plentiful restaurants and bars with views of the harbour, the old town and Montgó. For shopping, there is a choice of the weekly market, the boutique shops on the tree-lined Marqués de Campo or El Portal de la Marina shopping centre (the largest in the area outside Valencia or Alicante), which is situated by the Dénia exit of the AP7 motorway. El Portal also has cinemas, restaurants and ten pin bowling.

Dénia is also the fiesta capital of Spain. There are regular fiestas throughout the year associated with life in the quarters, streets or the whole of the local population. The fiestas cover a wide range of groups, from family fun to night time entertainment.

Three particularly important fiestas are:

The Fallas, with their bonfires, fireworks and the final cremà or burning of the oversized effigies that the local people have worked upon all year (March)

Bous a la mar (Bulls to the sea), declared a Fiesta of National Tourist Interest. This is similar to the running of the bulls in Pamplona (July).

Moors and Christians, with a fight in the castle and especially, the gala procession through the streets (August).

Las Marinas is the principal tourist area of Dénia. However, unlike other Costa Blanca towns, Dénia has strict planning laws which means that no building outside the centre is more than four storeys high.

The six kilometres of Las Marinas is unbroken sandy beach all the way into central Dénia. At several points along the beach are clusters of bars and restaurants so it is easy to eat and drink in view of the beach. The nearest beach to the apartment is Els Molins which is about 400 metres away.

For regular shopping needs, there are a few supermarkets (one just 300m from the apartment) and pharmacies (next door). The Las Marinas area also has bars, clubs and discos, restaurants catering for a wide variety of tastes and, if need be doctors' and dentists' surgeries. However, the apartment is sufficiently far enough away from the nightlife not to cause any disturbance.

To get from one end of Las Marinas to the other takes around 10 minutes by car and 15 minutes by bus, which runs every 30 minutes in summer. The apartment is at kilometre 5 from the centre of town and the main entertainment clusters are at kilometre 1.5 (Calle Rap), kilometre 3 (Las Brisas/Las Velas centres) and kilometre 4.5 (Les Fonts).