The Area

The resort of Mar Menor is situated on the Costa Calida, the warm coast of Spain. It is only a 5 minute drive from the Mediterranean sea and situated near the Mar Menor, an inland sea, separated from the Mediterranean by a 22 km peninsula called the La Manga del Mar Menor. Here one can find the real Spain; none of the hectic foreign tourist activity and superficial lifestyle to be found here.

The Mar Menor Resort can be found approx. 30 minutes drive from Murcia, the capital of the province Murcia, and 40 minutes drive from the international airport in Alicante. The City of Murcia is built in 831 after Christ. Nowadays Murcia offers a lot of pubs en restaurants and also shopping centers. Cartagena is about 40 minutes driving from Mar Menor Villa Resort. It is a Port which is 3000 years old. You can take a nice walk along the harbour with the Muralla del Mar ( a famous wall). Cartagena has also a lot of restaurants and shops.

The Mar Menor sea has its own unique eco-system and protected fauna and flora. It is relatively shallow and therefore has a pleasant water temperature all year round. It has cristal clear water and long white beaches. Because of its position between sea and land the peninsula is a very popular holiday area. It boasts numerous hotels and restaurants and is the summer holiday destination for thousands of, mainly Spanish, holidaymakers. This area is in sharp contrast to the quieter picturesque beaches of Los Alcazares, Santiago de la Ribera and San Piedro del Pinazar. These seaside resorts are friendly with pretty beaches and boulevards to enjoy and numerous restaurants and pubs. These all are within 10 minutes driving from the Mar Menor Resort.

This part of the coast is a diver's paradise and offers beautiful white beaches scattered amongst rugged rock formations. This is a perfect area for watersports lovers but also for the hiking- and nature lovers and to top it all, Costa Calida has an annual average of 315 sunny days and an avarage year temperature of 18 degrees!

Activities

Murcia

Apart from the sea the province of Murcia has much more to offer for the visitor's enjoyment. There are of course many more towns and villages with a vast array of restaurants, pubs and disco's, sports facilities, gastronomical delights (like the famous fish dish "dorade in sel"), adventure, nature and history. The coast has many stretched out beaches and secluded bays, with the Mar Menor Resort only a few minutes away.

Golf

The Mar Menor Resort golfclub boasts a drivingrange and chipping greens, as well as a golf sports shop. Here you can enjoy year round golfing with no waiting times, as membership is limited to those in residence in the resort, and at an affordable greenfee.

The designer of this golf course, Dave Thomas, incorporated the ancient orange orchard found here in the overall layout of the 2 800 meter long course. Dream Spots members are issued with a membership card, allowing them a 40% discount on all the facilities on offer. Should you be interested in visiting nearby golf courses, you can find the Club de Golf Torre Pacheco, the La Manga Club, Golf Altoreal, Villamartin and Las Campoamor in the vicinity of the resort.

Restaurants

In this region of Spain prices have not yet increased due to growing tourism. It is still possible to enjoy a three course meal in an average restaurant, including wine, for around 25 euro. One of the local fish dishes mentioned earlier is an absolute must-try, "dorade in sel", a type of perch prepared in a crust of salt. In Los Alcazares, in an ancient bathhouse, one can find the restaurant which serves this dish and many other quality recipes.