Kampaoh Costa Blanca

If it’s beaches you’re after, you certainly won’t run out of options – after all, this is the Costa Blanca. The closest is Playa de Mil Palmeras (five minutes’ drive), a sandy family-friendly stretch with pedalos and banana boats for hire and a couple of ‘chiringuito’ beach bars for refuelling. The cove at Playa del Conde is backed by restaurants and bars, while you can stroll through the dunes and snooze on loungers at Playa de las Higuericas (both 10 minutes). For a different sort of beach experience, take a dip in the mud baths at Baños de Lodo (15 minutes). In the unlikely event that the kids tire of the beach, you can fall back on horse riding and go-karting at Rufete Multiaventura Park (15 minutes), play golf on several courses within 20 minutes’ drive, or go hiking through dramatic gorges in the rugged Área Natural Río Seco (20 minutes). More natural beauty is to be found while exploring the wetlands of Paraje Natural Lagunas de Lo Monte (10 minutes), and you can often watch pink flamingos feeding at Salinas y Arenales de San Pedro del Pinatar (10 minutes).