Family Holidays to Costa Blanca

Visit bustling Benidorm or peaceful Moraira for your perfect family holiday in Costa Blanca

With flight times of only two and a half hours from the UK, the kids will have just enough time after take-off to watch their favourite film on their tablet before you land in Alicante.

Benidorm features activities galore for younger children and teenagers alike, with theme parks, waterparks and plenty of beaches to go around. Hotels here boast a number of pools and play areas, highly-rated kids’ clubs and sporting activities, not to mention buffet restaurants with choices to suit even the pickiest palates.

If you’re looking for a more peaceful family break, quieter resorts lie further east. There are small and upmarket towns to discover in this part of Costa Blanca, such as Moraira, where rustic charm is balanced with four beaches and plenty of watersports opportunities.

Best family friendly beaches

Benidorm’s six kilometres of sand are split between long and well-serviced Levante and Poniente beaches. Levante is slightly busier with beach bars, a water playground and an array of watersports, while Poniente Beach has a beach playground and boasts shallow, pleasant water that’s free of rocks. For simpler pleasures like bucket and spade action, there’s Malpas beach just beyond Poniente.

Over in Denia, there are 20 kilometres of beach touting watersporting activities and snorkel opportunities aplenty. And then there’s Moraira – the resort may be small in size, but it lays claim to two Blue Flag award-winning beaches including El Portet, a popular shore that shelves gently into clear water.

Best family activities in Costa Blanca

Benidorm is home to the famous Terra Mitica theme park and the pirate-themed Iberia Park. It’s also where you’ll find the Terra Natura animal park, which’ll bring you just inches from tigers and elephants. Also attached is the AquaNatura waterpark with slides and a big wave pool. The town of Moraira has its own fun park and go-kart track, while Denia is a watersports haven. Put them all together, and you’ve got yourself one seriously family-friendly stretch of coast.

Escape to a magical island

Take the kids on a swashbuckling adventure to the tiny island of Tabarca, a protected marine reserve located 18 kilometres off the coast from Alicante.

From Benidorm the sailing averages just over an hour each way with plenty of boats boasting glass bottoms enabling your little sailors to spot some exciting marine life along the way.

As the smallest inhabited island in Spain, its length can be traversed in around 15 minutes and you’ll find quaint streets lined with authentic Spanish restaurants and tavernas in the centre backed by beautiful countryside.

Go back in time

Take the kids to see the toys their grandparents used to play with at this charming toy museum located in the former train station in Denia.

Once regarded as the centre of the toymaking industry, the small collection features toys produced in Denia from the early 20th century through to the 1960s from wooden dolls houses to metal sit-on cars.

Entrance to this wonderful museum is free and you’ll find it open every day of the week from 10am-1pm and 4pm-8pm.

Escape the sun

Take a break from the midday sun and explore the fascinating cave systems surrounding Costa Blanca for an unforgettable day out.

A 40-minute drive north of Benidorm, the prehistoric Las Calaveras Cave also known as the Skull Cave, is a vast natural cavity extending over 300 metres underground full of stalactites and stalagmites more than 50 metres high.

Towards the end of the route, discover the beautiful underground lake, Toll Blau which was used during the Arab reign to irrigate the crops.

In the town of Busot, just over an hour’s drive from the coast, explore the Cuevas de Canelobre, the deepest and longest cave system in Spain.

This ancient cave located 700 metres high on the mountain Cabezon de Oro has been likened to a Gothic cathedral and boasting such fantastic acoustics, regular concerts are held in the main hall.

Once you’ve finished exploring, walk to the top of the mountain for breathtaking views or head into town and sample some delicious cuisine in one of the many nearby restaurants.

Other popular holidays in Spain

If you fancy checking out somewhere else in Spain, try Costa del Sol, Costa Brava or Costa Dorada. But if you’re set on a holiday to Costa Blanca, take a look at our Costa Blanca travel guide for more information on how to plan your perfect family holiday in the Spanish sun. We’ve also rounded up the top three family hotels for you to choose from.

Other popular family holidays

Costa Del Sol | Majorca | Ibiza | Rhodes

Magic Aqua Rock Gardens

The bold tribal prints and safari theme set this popular hotel apart from the rest, but it’s the waterslides and splash park that make it especially exciting. The chillout area with a whirlpool and Balinese beds will offer a welcome breather as the little ones explore the Miniclub, and the lively and well serviced shores of Levante Beach are less than a five-minute walk away.

Flamingo Oasis Hotel

On the menu at the family-favourite Flamingo Oasis Hotel are a long list of daytime activities including mini-golf and team sports. As well as the kids’ club for three to 11-year-olds, a host of sporting activities will keep sun-seekers of all sizes entertained at Flamingo Oasis. There’s also a big lagoon pool and kids’ splash area set between idyllic palm trees. Come night-time, professional live shows, an open-air entertainment centre and a disco take to the stage.

Port Benidorm

The recently refurbished Port Benidorm is a First Choice Premier family accommodation. Tall, sleek and just beside the beach, Port Benidorm features a splash pool of its own and live shows at night to keep the whole family entertained. During the day there are games, shows, aerobics classes and archery up for grabs, while a state of the art indoor wellness centre helps grown-ups unwind.