The Orihuela Costa Resorts of Playa Flamenca and Punta Prima

Located on the Orihuela Costa coastline some 20 kilometres away from the town of Orihuela itself you will find two wonderful seaside resorts which are very popular with holidaymakers visiting this part of south-eastern Spain. These fine resorts are known as Playa Flamenca and Punta Prima.

The resort known as Playa Flamenca was, up until the 1970’s just a stretch of bare but attractive coastline with no development whatsoever. Situated just south of the busy town of Torrevieja, it attracted the attention of a number of Flemish property investors in around 1972 and they thought that it would have a great deal of potential as a holiday resort. It was from this time onwards that the resort began to grow and develop into the popular destination that it is today.

Playa Flamenca has become very popular with foreign buyers looking to buy holiday property in Spain and those who invested back in the 1980’s have made a good return on their investment. Playa Flamenca now has a good range of facilities and a wonderful sandy beach where holidaymakers can enjoy the 300 days of sunshine which the town boasts every year. For evening entertainment, most will head for the Flamenca beach commercial centre where they will find countless shops, bars and restaurants with plenty of live entertainment, bingo, quiz nights, karaoke etc. On Saturdays, a large number of people head for the busy street market in Playa Flamenca where hundreds of stalls sell a wide variety of local goods, fruit and vegetables and high quality leather goods.

A little north of Playa Flamenca you will find the lovely town of Punta Prima, recognisable mostly by the tall water tower located on the N-332 coast road, and it is here that 3 rival car boot sales (rastros) are held every Sunday attracting people from all along the coast. Punta Prima also has a fine beach and this is backed by an attractive row of huge palm trees, one of the famous landmarks for this part of the coast. A large new development is currently under construction in Punta Prima, together with a new commercial centre further improving the facilities available to visitors. Just a short drive from Punta Prima finds you in the busy town of Torrevieja with its famous water park (Aquopolis) and its fantastic marina and promenade.

Every year thousands of holidaymakers from Spain and indeed all over Europe head for the Costa Blanca town of Torrevieja. Its great range of facilities, its excellent sandy beaches and its lively atmosphere all help to make it a popular choice. Formerly a small fishing village, Torrevieja became one of the major salt exporters in the world thanks to the two huge salt lakes located behind the town. An explosion in property development during the 1980’s and 1990’s caused the town to grow at a phenomenal rate.

To the south of Playa Flamenca and Punta Prima you will find more excellent resorts including La Zenia, Cabo Roig and Campaomor.

The resort of Cabo Roig is one of the coastal towns of the Vega Baja district of the Alicante province, situated in an area of the coastline known as the Orihuela Costa. Cabo Roig originally grew up around a sixteenth century watchtower which was constructed to warn the neighbourhood of impending attacks from Berber pirates which occurred frequently along this part of the coast between the 14th and 17th centuries. Cabo Roig is now a popular holiday resort with 2 superb beaches and an exclusive marina and yachting club. One of the highlights of Cabo Roig is the stunning cliff walk from Cala Caleta to La Zenia, providing some breathtaking views along the way.

Another of the Orihuela Costa resorts which has grown up due to heavy property development along the Costa Blanca, is the area called La Zenia. Not a traditional Spanish village in the real sense of the word but a popular area none the less, La Zenia has two fabulous ‘blue flag’ beaches (Cala Bosque and Cala Cerrada). La Zenia has a decent range of bars and restaurants, with a new commercial centre being built near the motorway. Popular with Irish holidaymakers, its famous pub, Paddy’s Point, is claimed to have been the first Irish pub in the region.

If you are travelling to south-eastern Spain in the near future be sure to visit Playa Flamenca and Punta Prima.

The author of this fine article on the Orihuela Costa resorts of Playa Flamenca and Punta Prima is Steve Locke an authority on the Costa Blanca area who contributes to the local newspaper for the region.