Local Information

Oliva Town & surrounding area:

Oliva is still a very Spanish town. Although there are many English residents it maintains its Spanish feel and knows how to “party”. The many annual fiestas are celebrated with enthusiasm and energy that have to be seen to be believed.

The Oliva old town provides a fascinating glimpse of how life would have been in “Old Spain”, with narrow steep streets, white-washed walls, beautiful polished wooden doors and fabulous churches (there are two).

The regular markets, particularly the fish markets give a rare insight into the life of Spain.

In the centre of Oliva is the Paseo, a large paved & grass area. This is home to the weekly market, pavement cafes and bars, children’s’ play area and the place where in the evening Oliva residents are to be seen out walking.

The town provides modern supermarkets, banks, pharmacist, estate agents (in case you fall in love with the area) and all the usual town facilities.

Oliva Beach:

Connected to the town by a short road link, this is the summer playground for Oliva. With its new marina, restaurants, bars, beach shops & miles of safe, clean sandy beach this is a perfect environment to those who like to see & be seen.

Out of season the area is relatively quiet, but the marina & several of the beach side bars & restaurants operate throughout the year.

In the summer bars open up on the beach itself, and these provide a focus for the night-time social life on the beach for people of all ages!

San Fernando Beach:

The San Fernando development is built on the edge of the beach, about 2km from the main Oliva Beach area. Access from the complex is gained through a private gate where board walks give access over the dunes to miles of unspoilt, non commercialised safe sandy beaches.

This is the perfect place for children to play & for adults to enjoy uninterrupted sunshine & a fantastic slow Mediterranean life style.

Surrounding area:

Unlike many parts of Spain, where the scenery can be dry, flat and somewhat uninteresting, this part of the Costa Blanca is green, mountainous and full of interest.

Just a short drive away from the coast you will find tiny unspoilt rural villages and numerous places of historic interest to visit.

Winding mountain roads take you through fantastic scenery to the West of Oliva, and on the coast the area is dominated by citrus groves. Hence the true name of this area, The Coast Azahar, or Orange Blossom Coast.

Vergel Safari Park

At the Vergel safari park, which is around 10 minutes from San Fernando you can see lions and tigers roaming free with leopards, jaguars, iberian wolves, primates and literally hundreds of totally free animals. In a separate area there are snakes over 90 kilos in weight, parrots, and seal and dolphin shows. The main area you drive through but there is also an area where you can walk with goats pigs, ponys, etc. You can also have a go on Go-Karts, trampolines, boats, congo train and the childrens play area.

The restaurant is reasonably priced for snacks. The park is open every day from 10 - 5 in winter and 10 - 7 in summer. It is situated about 10 minutes in the car from San Fernando.

Valencia:

The city of Valencia is only 50 minutes drive from Oliva, and for lovers of architecture and historic buildings it is well worth a day of your holiday to visit & explore. It is also a vibrant modern city with a wide range of shops, commerce and entertainment.

The City of Valencia is also home to the "City of Arts and Sciences" and the newly opened "Oceanografic". This is well worth a visit whether you have children or not!

The oceanographic is the largest in Europe and gives you the opportunity to walk in tunnels with the fish swimming all around and over you. It is very educational for young and old!

The City of Arts and Sciences is a very "touchy-feely" Science museum.

There is also a 360 degree IMAX cinema. The whole complex is in the old riverbed of Valencia and is situated in the area known as the 3rd Millenium part of the City with all the buildings being very futuristic. The Architect who designed them is Santiago Calatrava who has designed the Arena for the Greece Olympics.

In the same area is an out of town shopping complex and a brand new "El Courte Ingles" Department store, which is Spain's flagship store.

Valencia can be reached easily by train from Gandia which runs about every 40 minutes and takes you right to the heart of the city.