A country of beautiful golden coastlines

The most popular regions in Spain wow thousands of people every year with built-up resorts designed especially for tourists. Costa Blanca is the best example of one such region, particularly at the bustling Benidorm. Its skyscraper skyline of mega hotels has every activity covered, whilst glittery cabaret clubs and all-day breakfast cafes are always ready to give you a warm welcome.

This is certainly the case in the Costa del Sol too, where there’s a great number of much-loved resorts. The trio of resorts in its centre, Benalmadena, Torremolinos and Fuengirola, offer everything from shimmering marinas interlinked with canals to buzzing bar lined streets, huge theme parks and zoos. But at its western and eastern edges, Costa del Sol takes on a different character again, in the stylish boutiques and bars of Marbella and Puerto Banus or the scenic delights of Nerja.

Further north, holidays in Spain transform yet again with rocky, rugged coastlines and mountainside villages. Costa Dorada can count the Catalan capital Barcelona amongst its delightful destinations, a city of immense cultural wealth, where modernista architecture gives streets a unique vibrancy. Yet also within the region you’ll discover PortAventura, a huge theme park featuring Europe’s fastest rollercoaster. It’s so large, you can stay within its grounds and enjoy unlimited access to the park, at hotels such as the Wild West-themed Hotel Gold River with Jet2holidays. Lively Salou is close by too, meaning you can enjoy its lively bars and golden beaches, whilst still visiting the theme park.

Also to the far north (and sharing its border with France) is the breathtaking region of Costa Brava. Enjoying a quieter, more relaxed nature than its southern cousins, the weathered textures of its rocky coastline give Costa Brava an idyllic identity. Calella is its main resort, and it has incredibly wide golden beaches, while Santa Susanna is encircled by gorgeous green spaces on all sides.

In the middle of the Iberian Peninsula, the real draw of Costa Calida is its La Manga area, a natural lagoon with a strip of sand that stretches for 13 miles! The lagoon water is rich in minerals and is considered to have many health benefits, whilst its calm waves are perfect for all sorts of water sports. The resort of Cartagena also makes up part of the coastline, which is well worth visiting to see its impressive Roman ruins.

Finally, just a little east of Costa del Sol is Costa de Almeria, which offers some of the quietest holidays in Spain. Mojacar is a fantastic choice of resort for this region, as its pretty whitewashed old town sits amongst mountains of green for a true taste of Spain, whilst the coastal town has all the great beaches, bars and restaurants you’d expect. In short, the resort offers a snapshot of the kind of variety found in all of the Spanish coastlines.

There’s so much to see in Spain

Think all Spain has to offer is great golden beaches? The sheer number of attractions across its coastlines will make you think again. So if you ever fancy a break from the beach, you’ll find enough to occupy you all holiday long.

The resort with the biggest number of attractions is of course Benidorm in Costa Blanca. Away from the wide arcs of gold-dusted sand at Levante and Poniente beaches, you’ll discover plenty of fun family activities. The best of these is Terra Mitica, a huge theme park which takes the famous old civilisations of the world as its inspiration. So you could find yourself on a 60mph rollercoaster in ancient Greece or watching amazing acrobatics in ancient Rome. It’s great that you can combine beach holidays with a day out at a fully-fledged theme park.

It’s the same case at Mundomar in Benidorm, where you can also see dolphins, sea lions and parrots perform in lively shows. But if you’d prefer to relax and unwind whilst on your holidays in Spain, the Waterfalls of Algar are close to Benidorm too. Here you’ll see white currents of water cascading over moss covered rocks in a secluded forest paradise. You can even jump in and enjoy the turquoise waterfall pools for yourself!

In the Costa del Sol, the natural wonders continue at the Nerja Caves. These underground caverns have dagger-like stalactites and stalagmites, and even more interestingly, the cave drawings here could be as much as 45,000 years old! Although for natural designs sculpted for sport, you may prefer the Golf Valley, a collection of over 12 championship level golf courses, located close to Estepona.

The Costa del Sol has a great focus on keeping families entertained too, as shown at the BioParc Fuengirola and Tivoli World in Benalmadena. BioParc is unique in that the exotic animals are enclosed behind glass instead of bars, giving you the chance to come face to face with a tiger! Whereas Tivoli World will keep little ones occupied with a selection of fun-fair style rides, from bumper cars to bouncy castles.

Similarly, the Costa Dorada may just be one of the best regions in all of Spain for family holidays. That’s because the huge PortAventura theme park is based here - it has the fastest and tallest rollercoasters in Europe, as well as an entire young children’s area based on Sesame Street. The resort of Salou is also close by, with many people enjoying the colourful nightly show of the Salou Fountains at its centre.

Costa Brava will captivate culture lovers, as Barcelona is part of the region. See the incredible impression the renowned architect Antonio Gaudi made on the city, from the intensely intricate carvings of La Sagrada Familia to the colourful, molten shapes of Parc Güell. The ancient city of Tarragona is also just a little to the north east from here, and its Roman Amphitheatre and Roman walled pathway Passeig Arqueologic are rich historical exhibits.

In Costa Calida, the real ‘must see’ is the resort of La Manga itself. Formed over thousands of years from the volcanic reef on the seabed, La Manga is a huge lagoon lined with a 13 mile strip of sand. The fact that the waters only ever reach 8 metres deep also makes the lagoon perfect for watersports. However, cultural as well as natural wonders are still all yours for the viewing in Costa Calida, especially at Cartagena, which has a history as detailed as Tarragona. Its best attractions include a remarkably well preserved Roman Theatre and some excellent archaeological museums.

And whilst Costa Brava and Costa de Almeria may be the quietest of all the regions for holidays in Spain, they still have plenty to see and do. Near Santa Susanna in Costa Brava, the Montnegre National Park has deep forests of pine interspersed by medieval castles and golden beaches, whilst Waterworld in Lloret de Mar is one of the largest waterparks in Spain. Meanwhile, Mojacar in Costa de Almeria is a golfer’s delight thanks to Marina Golf Mojacar course that enjoys steep hillside tees that lead to lower fairways that follow the shimmering Mediterranean.

Ideal for families

Benidorm in Costa Blanca has four fantastic theme parks and zoos, as well as a family friendly atmosphere at its many bars and restaurants. There’s a top fun fair in Benalmadena in Costa del Sol, whilst PortAvenura in Costa Dorada is one of the largest theme parks in Europe.

Ideal for friends

Some of the liveliest holidays in Spain are based in Torremolinos in Costa del Sol. Its two main streets are lined with bars and clubs that stay open till the early hours. Partygoers will also love the classy bars in Marbella in Costa del Sol and the famous DJs that play at clubs in Benidorm.

Ideal for couples

There are acres of idyllic coastline for couples to enjoy on holidays in Spain, especially at Nerja on the Costa del Sol. Cartagena and La Manga in Costa Calida also have great beaches, culture and restaurants.