Local Information

About Oliva

The small yet progressive coastal town of Oliva can be found on the Costa Azahar (Orange Blossom Coast) at the very southern most point of the Spanish region of Valencia. Travelling south some five minutes will find you in the province of Alicante and the more well known coast of the Costa Blanca.

Oliva has long been a popular resort with the Spanish, particularly those from Madrid, who either own or rent the apartments and villas built in the area to accommodate the summer season's tourist trade. However, in the last five to ten years Oliva has becoming increasingly popular with foreign tourists, attracted by 10 kilometres of uncrowded coastline and the excellent sports facilities here.

The town lies at the very heart of Spain's orange growing region, and in reality the province provides much of the agricultural produce for the whole of Spain, so expect to taste some of the best fruit and vegetables available in Europe in the many bars, restaurants and markets around town. This area sees an average of 300 days of sunshine a year so it's small wonder that the food tastes and looks so good.

Dominating the coastline is the Oliva Nova Golf and Country Club, set just a few metres back from the beach with its own 18-hole golf course, designed by Seve Ballesteros. The club has put Oliva on the golfing world map and golfers from the USA, the Far East and all over Europe flock here to combine their favourite sport with the perfect sunshine.

There's is also a wealth of watersports and the strong afternoon winds (you can set your clock by them) which tend to prevail along this stretch of coast make it a paradise for wind and kite surfers.

The beaches are definitely one of Oliva's biggest plus points - beautiful, long stretches of fine, golden sand which never get crowded even in high season. In stretches, they are bordered by sand dunes and strict planning controls have mercifully saved the area from the skyscraper development which has marred so many of the Spanish costas further south.

The town of Oliva is very Spanish in character, virtually untouched by the trappings of tourism but still an interesting place to visit if you're into history, local culture and generally sampling a taste of "the real Spain". However, don't expect shopkeepers and bar owners here to speak English (unlike the neighbouring resorts of Denia, Javea and Moraira where the main European languages are widely spoken). The most widely spoken language in Oliva is "Valenciano" (similar to Catalan) but all the locals also speak mainstream "Castellano" and appreciate foreigners making at least some effort to converse in Spanish.

Oliva is ideally situated for travel to and from the UK with a choice of two airports both within an hours drive. Seventy five kilometres to the north is the regional capital Valencia where scheduled flights can be obtained to and from the UK on a regular basis. Perhaps the more accessible airport however, one hundred kilometres to the south, is in Alicante where the El Altet international airport has many more operators offering charter flights to a variety of the UK’s smaller airports.

(Flight times to both airports from the UK are in the region of two and a half hours)