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La Manga Mini Guide
La Manga has beautiful weather and beaches and caters specifically for tourists who visit this special resort. La Manga means the sleeve - an apt description for this long sliver of land which lies between the salt lagoon of the Mar Menor and the Mediterranean Sea on Spain's south east coast.
It was in the 1960's that La Manga came to be appreciated by tourists and the area was urbanised with a comprehensive infrastructure introduced to make the area easily accessible. Now there are hotels of every classification, apartment complexes, shops, restaurants, bars, discos, sailing and scuba diving schools, almost everything you could possibly think of to keep yourself entertained on holiday. Because of the vast expanse of water provided by the sea and the salt water lake, water sports are in abundance there.
Taking out catamarans, going windsurfing, jet skiing or snorkelling are among the most common pastimes. Scuba divers should try the Cabo de Palos-Islas Hormigas which has an extensive array of marine life as well as great wreck-diving at sunken ships. The Mar Menor Sea Resort is the perfect place to enquire into doing any of these activities.
If you are not a water lover then bicycling, horse riding and walking are also ideal ways to spend the day. Golf is very popular there too with plenty of courses in the vicinity. Try the La Manga Club Resort in Los Belones or go to Roda Golf in San Javier. If you are hoping to explore the town then be sure to walk along La Manga’s fine sea promenade and see the 16th century tower of El Rame. You can also stop by the municipal air museum.
The 315 days of sunshine every year and average temperatures of 18 degrees Celsius mean that many visitors merely choose to find themselves a quiet spot on the beach and soak up the sun. Most of the beaches in the area have been awarded the Blue Flag for their excellent condition so take the time to enjoy them. All these plus points explain why La Manga is often used as a training ground and warming down resort for various football clubs during the off season. It truly is a great place to recuperate.
La Manga can be reached by travelling to
Alicante Airport and driving south, but the nearest airport is San Javier. San Javier is 21 kilometres south of
Murcia and has a number of charter flights going through it including EasyJet, Ryanair and Monarch Scheduled.
- In an effort to shore up the country's woeful finances, the government has introduced higher tolls on many of the country's roads. One of the worst to suffer is La Manga which will face substantial increases on toll roads to the city this summer. The knock on effect will be to increase the already bad congestion on the area's toll-free roads putting tourists off visiting this part of Spain.
- If you're staying in La Manga for Easter week take your hire car along to Cartagena to enjoy the ten days of Easter celebrations that begin on the 24th March. The pasos, or religious statues are carried through the streets garlanded with beautiful flowers whilst the bearers split into two groups; the Marrajos and the Californios, one of which wears red, the other purple. The events of the week will certainly keep you entertained and ensure you have a very happy Easter.