A Day Out Santa Pola
Santa Pola is a fantastic town to visit for the day as it is packed with many interesting things to see and do. It is a great places especially for children as there is an aquarium and a permanent children’s fairground. Santa Pola is best known for its salt lakes that produce salt for use on the roads and more recently as a great destination for kite surfers.
It has endless kilometres of fine sandy beaches, beach front promenades, a modern marina and a busy fishing port. The town boasts a castle, an aquarium and separate Sea, Fishing and Salt Museums as well as the Salt producing lakes. Fish lovers will enjoy the many fish restaurants, and shoppers will love the busy market on a Saturday and Monday morning.
The Santa Pola Park is a playground for children, from the mini karts and fun house to the crazy golf and trampolines, plus much, much more. There are also several cafes to choose from.
Places to stop during a day out in Santa Pola
- Town Centre: relatively small, spread out and very Spanish.
- Tourist Office: more information about the Castle, Fishing Museum, Sea Museum, Aquarium and Salt Museum.
- Market: large Monday morning and Saturday morning.
- Fishing Marina: fish auctions Monday-Friday 17.00.
- Beach: over 11km of coast line including 8 beaches.
- Promenade: very long and tiled runs behind the beach and past many luxury villas.
- Scenic Drive: along the coast to Gran Alacant.
- Pola Park: children’s funfair park open March to September.
Places of Interest
1 Free Car Park
N38°11.389 W0°32.877Parking: is in any of the marked places beside the road around this area and is free, it gets very busy here during peak holiday times so use pay car park.
From here: walk towards the sea for the beach and promenade.
Places of interest and things to do from the Free Car Park
- Beach: the fine sandy beaches and Mediterranean sea is right in front of you!
- Promenade: as you look at the sea, turn left for the beaches, promenade, luxury villas and the start of the scenic driving route or turn right for the town centre, fishing port and marina.
2 Pay Car Park
N38°11.295 W0°33.619Parking: is in the car park and is charged for by length of stay, keep your ticket and pay when you are ready to leave. Free parking is available on the roads but spaces can be hard to find during busy periods.
From here: the car park is right beside the marina.
Places of interest and things to do from Pay Car Park
- Town Centre and Tourist Office: exit the car park to the right and walk along beside the boats towards the fishing fleet, at the tourist information office (it is a good idea to collect a free map) enter the streets on your right and explore the relatively spread out town centre.
- Castle: exit the car park to the right and walk along beside the boats towards the fishing fleet, at the tourist information office turn right and walk along Calle Del Muelle to the castle where the Sea and Fishing Museums are.
- Aquarium: exit the car park to the right and walk along beside the boats towards the fishing fleet, go past the tourist information office, on the other side of the road you'll see the steps leading down to the aquarium.
- Marina: the car park is right beside the marina, wander around here and enjoy!
3 Market Large Monday & Saturday Morning
N38°11.757 W0°33.816Parking: is on the road and is free, it gets very busy when the market is on, so you might have to park further away and walk or get here early in the morning.
From here: the large market is directly in front of you.
Places of interest and things to do at the Market
- Market: the Saturday market is larger than the Monday one, so take your pick!
4 Salt Museum & Nature Reserve
N38°11.869 W0°34.248Parking: is in the car park and is free.
From here: the Salt Museum is right beside you.
Places of interest and things to do at the Salt Museum & Nature Reserve
- Salt Museum: it is free to visit and is open everyday from 09.00-14.30.
- Walking Routes: there are two walking routes which depart from the museum, both are explained in the leaflet.
5 Scenic Drive Southern Point
N38°11.781 W0°30.928Coordinate for Northern Point: N38°13.496 W0°30.784
From here: this is the coordinate for the southern point in Santa Pola of the coastal road which runs beside the sea underneath the cliffs from Gran Alacant.
Places of interest and things to do along the Scenic Drive
- Scenic Drive: stop at any of the 'pull in car parks' and admire the views.
- Top tip: it gets very busy especially during high season, so is sometimes best avoided in the summer.
