The Costa Blanca, on the east coast of Spain, is one of the most beautiful regions of the entire Iberian Peninsula. It enjoys more than 315 sunshine days a year and an average temperature of 18-19C so it's easy to see why the World Health Organisation once named it as having one of the healthiest climates in the world. Thousands of foreigners have come on holiday here, fallen in love with the place and made it their permanent home.

Costa Blanca means white coast, a name taken from the endless miles of beautiful sandy beaches which stretch from the cosmopolitan town of Denia in the north to the popular tourist resort of Torrevieja in the south.

The northern part of the region is mountainous, relatively green and peppered with groves of orange and olive trees along with colourful orchards of almonds and cherries. The much flatter and drier southern end of the Costa is famous for having the biggest palm gardens and salt flats in the whole of Europe.