Sunflower - Landscape Series - Costa Blanca

Sunflower Landscape Guide - Costa Blanca

The Costa Blanca is ideal for countryside exploration all year round. Travel only a short distance inland, and the bustle of the resorts is left far behind. You find yourself surrounded by market gardens, orchards and orange groves, while the dark rugged silhouettes of the sierras beckon you close. Wild flowers - from the humble daisy to the most exotic orchid - abound; the air is filled with the scent of fragrant herbs; birdsong drifts along on the breeze; mountain peaks dominate the skyline. The weather-beaten faces of villagers in the fields break into smiles as you pass by. All these images combine to create an ambience you will find irresistible.

Explore the Costa Blanca by car: the drives lead through fertile valleys smothered in blossom or sweet-scented fruit to delightful inland villages. Windmills, waterfalls and 'snow wells' feature among the picnic settings. But the rugged silhouettes of the area's many sierras dominate this landscape - an irresistible attraction for walkers.

This pocket-sized guide describes car tours, picnic places and walks throughout the Costa Blanca. There is a fold-out touring map for motorists, which also highlights the various walking areas. For those without a car, there are timetables for local transport.

5 car tours (with accompanying touring map), 50 long and short walks (each illustrated with 1:50,000 topo map), 32 picnic suggestions. Plans of Alicante, Benidorm and Dénia. Free online update service with specific route change information on the publisher's website, maintained daily.

The 'Landscapes' series, with 50 destinations, has been dubbed 'the blue Bibles' by the Sunday Times and led to Sunflower being one of only four publishers (from a field of 18) chosen as a Which? Recommended Provider of Guidebooks.