Visitors to the region of Murcia in Spain can enjoy a range of active and sporting holidays. Activities of offer include golf, horse riding, cycling, hiking and diving.
Golf at La Manga Club
Located in a charming corner of Spain’s Murcia region, La Manga Club is one of Europe’s premier sport and leisure destinations, especially for golf. Home to three 18-hole courses, La Manga Club’s meticulously landscaped terrain ensures golfers holidaying abroad the finest facilities. Carefully designed by famed architects Arnold Palmer, Robert Putman and Dave Thomas, each golf course features elements set to elevate and challenge players. The North Course, South Course and West Course are all apt for players of different levels from mid to high handicappers. The resort is blessed with year-round sunshine and a tranquil setting perfect to unwind as golfers make their way through the course. Away from the fairway, guests are also able to enjoy the many different facilities at La Manga Club from spa treatments to a tipple in one of its many bars.
Your Golf Travel offers a three-night, two-rounds golfing holiday to La Manga resort from £299 per person. The price includes bed and breakfast as well as two rounds at either the South Course, North Course or West Course. See yourgolftravel.com
Horse riding in Calblanque
Calblanque Regional Park is best explored on horseback. It is one of Murcia’s most treasured natural environments being a safeguarded coastal area located at the eastern end of the Murcian coast. The horses stationed here are adapted and trained to be ridden through Calblanque’s terrain by both experienced and novice riders. The experience begins with visitors descending from the stables down to the beach before heading back up through the mountains, all the while offering stunning views for both rider and steed.
Aventuricas Murcia offers horse riding experiences in Calblanque Regional Park from one-hour long rides through forest and mountains or two-hour long rides for those looking to visit forest, mountains and beach areas. The one-hour ride is priced at €30 while the two-hour long ride is priced at €60. Pony rides for children are priced from €25 and last approximately 30 minutes. See aventuricasmurcia.com
Cycling in Los Alcázares
The Costa Cálida – Region of Murcia, situated in Spain’s south-east corner, offers some of the best cycling trails in the country. One of the most coveted routes both starts and finishes in Los Alcázares, a coastal spa town near the Mar Menor, providing cyclists with some of Murcia’s most sought out sights. The itinerary takes guests through areas of dramatic coastline enhanced by the warm glow of the winter sun before descending into the Portman Hills and then continuing to the Calblanque Regional Park. The Los Alcázares route is one of the most favoured in the region thanks to the variety of terrain and scenery as well as being suitable for cyclists of all fitness levels.
LoveVelo offers a four-night Murcia Cycling Holiday priced from £395 per person and includes a hotel stay in Los Alcázares. The package comes with three days bike hire, airport transfer from Murcia airport, full suite of GPX experience to navigate routes and some meals. See lovevelo.co.uk
Hiking the Sierra de la Pedrera route
Sierra de la Pedrera in Jumilla, towards the northeast of Murcia, is a historic and geological area full of prehistoric sights. Hikers should look out for schematic rock art paintings dating from between the Stone Age and the Bronze Age as well as a series of petroglyphs, small, rounded holes in the rock thought to be linked to ancient rituals, mapping routes or even astrological sky mapping. The hiking trail through this ancient area leads active travellers through a landscape full of esparto grass and aromatic plants making it the ultimate destination for nature lovers looking to explore remnants of Murcia’s ancient history.
A convenient starting point for a hike through Sierra de la Pedrera is 15.5km on the MU-403 road which leads north-east out of Jumilla towards Ontur in the province of Albacete. At this point the “Camino de la Piedad” is signposted and can be followed through Sierra de la Pedrera.
Dive in the waters of Isla Grosa
Considered one of the top ten best diving destinations in the world, the protected marine reserve of Isla Grosa presents divers with the opportunity to explore and immerse themselves in a marine world of crystalline waters home to an abundance of magnificent species like groupers and corvina. The Costa Cálida is also a prime location to discover underwater archaeological sites. Divers of all abilities can explore these underwater treasures via four different dives between six and 18 metres, beginning with easy dives in the shallows to more demanding expeditions for those experienced divers looking to quench their spirit of adventure.
Yumping.com offers a scuba diving experience in Isla Grosa from €33 per person. The duration of the dive depends on the dive site however the full activity takes place in a three-hour windows: 09:00-12:00, 12:00 to 15:00 and 16:30 to 19:30. The price includes oxygen tank hire, boat tour and guide / instructor. See yumping.com
For more information on the Costa Cálida Region of Murcia see murciaturistica.es
Main image: Costa Cálida – Región de Murcia