Guardamar del Segura
An Area Guide to Guardamar del Segura
Guardamar del Segura is a beautiful, largely unspoilt coastal resort situated on the southern Costa Blanca, sandwiched between Santa Pola to the north and Torrevieja to the south. With a real Spanish charm Guardamar, as it is known, is renowned for its magnificent selection of beaches which stretch for over 12 km along the Mediterranean coast. Guardamar maintains a strong focus on its natural assets with 80% of the land within the area enjoying a protected status. Guardamar is a popular destination for Spanish visitors as well as those from further afield, with the town’s chilled atmosphere and unspoilt natural surroundings going some way to explain the attraction.
Things to Do in Guardamar del Segura
There are a total of eight beaches which combine to form the 12km stretch of sandy golden coastline, much of which is made up of ranges of sandy dunes along which more than 800 hectares of Mediterranean pine forest has been planted. Guardamar (translated as ‘safekeeping the sea’) overlooks the range of beaches which are, from north to south, Los Tusales (be aware, it’s a nudist beach!), Los Viveros, De la Babilonia, Playa Centro, La Roqueta, El Moncayo, Playa del Campo and the most southerly, Les Ortigues beach. These beaches are a mix natural sands, wild dunes and more commercialised strips where you can find shops, restaurants and bars fronting directly onto the beach.
The town centre has a superb shopping area with numerous high street brands mixing with an eclectic mix of boutique shops together with plenty of great street cafes and bars. Entertainment is plentiful in Guardamar with a number of commercial centres and areas offering a range or bars, entertainment and restaurants of every conceivable type, from the Via Park IV adjacent to the N332 to the beachfront El Jardin with its open terrace offering beautiful views out across the beach and Mediterranean.
The Marina de las Dunas sits at the mouth of the Segura River and offers 500 moorings for yachts and boats up to 15 meters. Theres a great beach bar and restaurant as well as a sailing school, fishing trips and an extensive selection of water sports including windsurfing, water-skiing, canoeing, sailing and motor boating amongst others. The marina also marks the beginning of the ‘Corridor Verde’, the walking and cycling route running along the Rio Segura.
There are two wonderful parks, the Alfonso and the Reina Sofia Park. The Alfonso sand dunes and pines create a flat route connecting the marina with the main town whilst the Reina Sofia Park forms part of one of the most spectacular Spanish coastal woodlands, the Guardamar Pine Forest. The Reina Sofia Park offers plenty to do lush rolling hills and shaded woodland. Home to a great selection of walks and cycling paths, ponds, a floodlit children’s adventure playground and bowling or ‘patanque’ areas, whilst the ‘Auditorium of the Park’ plays host to live music and shows during the summer. The La Mata Lagoon Natural Park surrounds a huge salt water lake and is famous for the migrating pink flamingos population. Together with the Torrevieja lagoons, these protected natural parks form magnificent wildlife sanctuaries which are home to not just the famous flamingos but to peacocks, terrapins and wealth of other wildlife and migrating birds.
Weather in Guardarmar del Segura
Blessed with a climate that the World Health Organisation declare to be one of the very healthiest in the world, the area is noted as having ‘as near perfect an environment as it is possible to obtain’ – high praise indeed! Year-round sunshine and low humidity are a perfect combination and with the Costa Blanca enjoying an average annual temperature of 19o, highs of 40o+ and more than 3000 hours of sunshine over 320+ days, few other regions can compete. Water temperatures average 25o even in the autumn meaning you can take a dip in the Med well into late October whilst daytime temperatures often still reach well into the 20’s throughout December making this the perfect spot to escape the British winter!