The region of Murcia is bordered by the dry, semi-desert plain of Almeria, whose northern countryside contains such towns and villages as Lorca, Totana and Alhama.

Murcia, 70km from La Manga Club, is the capital of the region, surrounded by a splendidly fertile cultivated plain. The most important monument is the cathedral, other outstanding monuments include the Episcopal Palace, the Casino, several churches and other 19th century architecture. Among the different museums there is one in particular, dedicated to the works of the image maker Francisco Salzillo.

• Gastronomy: The Mar Menor and the fertile fields of La Huerta are the unchallenged protagonists of Murcia cooking. The very special consistency which the delicious fish and rice dishes take on, and the refreshing presence of salads, vegetables and fruits are a true representation of the style and quality of the local cuisine.

La Manga del Mar Menor is a wonderful place located 30 Km. North Cartagena (Southeast Mediterranean coast of Spain), in the Autonomous Community of Murcia.

La Manga, the most important tourist centre in the region, stretches between the Mediterranean and the Mar Menor, the warmest and calmest sea in Europe. It consists of a narrow, sandy spit of land with 22km of double beaches between 100 and 800m in width.

• Weather: The clean air, the healthy Mar Menor water (very salty, therefore good for rheumatic diseases and skin problems), the fine autumn and winter, and the sunsets in Mar Menor, are conditions hard to find in other parts of Europe.

  From early March to mid November the good weather is almost guaranteed and, even during the "winter" months, you will find many days with good and sunny weather. The average annual temperature is 17°. Winter is very mild, with the average temperature of the cool months not falling below 10°. Summer is invariably hot, but with a refreshing breeze.

• Golf: La Manga Golf Club. Situated at Los Belones just as you enter La Manga, this Club has three 18 holes courses set in beautiful countryside among the palms. It is also the headquarters of the European PGA. Apart from this, the Club also has tennis courts, swimming pools and a beach club at Mar Menor where one can enjoy all types of water sports and horse riding.

The province of Almeria, is located in the South East of the peninsula and bounded to the north east by the provinces of Granada and Murcia, to the East by the Mediterranean, and to the west by the province of Granada. Almeria has an area of 8,774 square km, with a population of 425.000 inhabitants of which 145,000 live in the capital.

The civilizations, which in the course of the time have passed through this province, have left profound tracks in El Argar Los Millares, in La Cueva de Nieles in Letreros and several other places.

Almeria is above all a sunny region, registering more than 3100 hours of sunshine annually and an average temperature of 12.6°C in winter, 18.5°C in spring, 23.2°C in summer and 16.2°C in autumn. For this reason the Spanish-German astronomical centre has been installed on the outskirts of Gergal, with the most powerful telescope in Europe, and in Tabernas the most important solar energy plant in Europe.

The kindness of the climate with the natural protection of the mountain range of Sierra de Gador avoiding the penetration of the north winds, has converted this agricultural zone into the most productive in Europe with more than 10,000 hectares of greenhouses, plenty of vegetables, flowers and garden production cultivated under plastic. Most of the production of 250,000 tons travel daily to many EC Countries.

The white marble of Macael extracted in that locality, is being exported all over the world due to its great quality.

The extensive coast line with more than 190 km of private and public beaches includes a great variety of little bays, inlets and cliffs where naturism can be practiced as well as all types of aquatic sports especially underwater fishing.

Almeria climate can be defined as subtropical, mediterranean, warm and dry under a clear and sunny sky. The average sea temperature is 16°C in winter, 17°C in spring, 24°C in summer and 22°C in autumn.

The coast offers sport lovers a wide variety of alternatives, from golf to tennis or sailing. There are numerous marinas or schools for sailing and long sandy beaches.

The eastern part of the coast, offers villages as unique and well preserved as Mojacar, a place of unspoilt beauty.

Carboneras, which is becoming more popular owing to the clearness of its water, its 16 km of golden sandy beaches, the quality of the sand and the beauty of their landscapes.

Vera, with Roman and Arabic heritage maintains some of its past through the churches of La Encarnacion and San Agustin, as well as in the interesting Museo Arqueologico. Meanwhile, its coastline, as in Garrucha, again offers a wide range of tourist activities, with the special attraction of Europe's first nudist hotel, located in the area's best known complex, Puerto Rey. Vera offers a long strip of sand of 5 km long, which is known as El Playazo.

COMMUNICATIONS
Almeria is widely connected with the rest of Spain by road, by train, by plane and even by boat.

BY ROAD
Almeria can offer a wide number of highways and roads, in order to move all over the province in a quick and safe way.
Distances from Almeria:
• 461 km to Cadiz
• 312 km to Cordoba
• 166 km to Granada
• 492 km to Huelva
• 246 km to Jaen
• 211 km to Malaga and La Costa del Sol
• 400 km to Sevilla
• 563 km to Madrid, the capital of the country
• 801 km to Barcelona
• 345 km to Albacete, Don Quixote's land

BY BUS
Nowadays, Almeria has a new Estacion Intermodal, a building in which buses and trains are connected.

There are daily services to Barcelona, Madrid, Granada, and mainly important cities of Spain, and also weekday services to all points of the province.

BY TRAIN
Daily services to Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Sevilla and Granada.

BY PLANE
Almeria airport is 8 km from the city, on the Almeria-Nijar road. Iberia handles most of the domestic air traffic and there are also many charter companies that operate here.

BY BOAT
There is a Ferry-boat line between Almeria and Melilla and several cities in the north coast of Morocco.