The Albufera is much larger than I imagined. I think I only got to the northern tip of it. Mostly…read moreto find places with excellent arroces dishes. There is no denying the best rice comes out of this area, but the scenery and the wildlife is also equally amazing. I think next time Im here and it's not dumping buckets, I may just go get a kayak and troll around the central parts.

Most of my four stars are for the best sunset in Spain that you can enjoy here on the jetties. The…read morephotos provide all the info required for the sunsets here. The rest of the national park and beach is pretty bland. We stayed here for 5 nights and 1 was enough. May have been more interesting if the rice fields were in full swing and not just empty fields of mud. Apparently this is where Paella was born!!

Short version: Waterfall, hot springs, and a surprise stop at a hydroelectric dam. Fun!…read more Long version: The waterfall was very pretty and just what the wife was looking to see. The river with the hot spring was also really nice, though it might have been more accurate to call it a "lukewarm spring" since the water coming out of it was actually cooler than the river on a hot Valencia summer day. Lunch was delicious. The hydroelectric dam was cool - periodically they let off a big burst of water to relieve pressure the result is a lot of rainbows. It started raining on the walk back from that and we were very glad to get back to the bus. As for Mike the tour guide, he's a good dude - funny, friendly, and didn't give us grief when we were a couple minutes late because of an issue with our hotel. Be aware that you will spend half the day in the car going to and from the locations, but that's to be expected on a tour like this. Overall it was a lot of fun. Highly recomended.

Highly recommend! My 14 year old nephew, 18 year old niece and I went on the Hot Springs tour the…read morelast week of March with Mike. It was so nice to get into nature after touring a few of Spain's big cities. We were joined by 4 other travelers who also seemed to have a great time. Before we got to the springs, we went to various locations that offered stunning views of valleys, a romantic "lovers leap" pond, and a totally cool dam that was spouting vast amounts of water. Lots of opportunities for teenage kids to run up and down mountains and boulder hop - they were in heaven! There was no one but us at any of the stops. It was raining but I'm guessing that even on the most beautiful day, there wouldn't be many people. In addition to the beautiful locations, the customer service was fabulous. They picked us up (we were jet lagged and still sleeping when they arrived, but Mike was totally gracious when we came out!) and dropped us off - no having to find a location in a big city! When we finally made it to the springs, Mike was prepared with wet suits and masks for our dip into the water. He even had umbrellas for us. Mike was hilarious and knowledgable, obviously a nature guy who enjoys sharing his special spots. When in Valencia, Do!Valencia - you won't regret it.

Where else in the world can you do the following in a river:…read more-Ride a bike -Picnic with your friends - Play a football match -Visit a zoo/science center The answer is nowhere! Years ago the City of Valencia diverted the Turia river to make way for a city long park loaded with soccer fields,bike paths, work out facilities, cafes, and much much more. There is no better place to take the whole family especially during the winter and spring when its not quite warm enough to visit the beach.

If you're fortunate to make it to Valencia, I think one of the best things to do is take a long,…read moreleisurely walk through this unusual urban park. Snaking through the middle of the city for over 5-1/2 miles, it's the former riverbed of the Turia River. A tragic flood in 1957 forced the city to reroute the river, and while Franco wanted to build an autobahn, the local populace insisted it be turned into a green oasis. Because we had only a couple of days in Valencia, Jamie W and I focused mostly on the continuous walking path. We didn't have time to stop at destinations along the way like the various museums and historic bridges. Starting at the City of Arts and Sciences on the southern end, we made our way back toward the center of town. Because of its submerged level, the park is well insulated from traffic noises. There are many places to take a rest and enjoy the orange trees (Photo 5) or watch Valencians jog, bike, and frolic, including the Gulliver playground where groups shared the same slide on one of his sleeves (Video). RELATED - Exploring Valencia? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://yelp.to/xRp9hOr4NT

A beautiful town on the North Costa Blanca situated just several kilometers from Benidorm. I spent…read morea couple of hours in Altea recently, and I loved it! Altea's seafront esplanade is planted with palm trees and offers a great view to the mountain of Cabo Estufador, the symbol of the town. There's a long bike lane running along the beach. You won't be able to ride fast though, it's quite busy in summer. There are many seafront cafes, some of them with live music (Example: http://www.yelp.com/biz/cafe-t-haventje-altea). Find full bands here: drums, base guitar and guitar(s). Unlike in some other cities on the Costas, you find them without searching in Altea! Altea is hilly, you can drive up a hill and enjoy the views if the city, the sea and the mountains. This is the point from which I took the pictures: Calle Navarro Ramón, 23 https://goo.gl/maps/EzG3a4oE9hv I'm sure there are hundreds of other places. The main sight of the town church of La Mare de Déu del Consol ("Our Lady of Solace"): http://www.yelp.com/biz/la-mare-de-d%C3%A9u-del-consol-altea (someone add pics and reviews!). Beware of heavy traffic in August. Locals told me you can get stuck for an hour or two just to drive trough the city. There's a Spanish car named after the city - SEAT Altea (sold well until the model retired in 2015). Overall a nice town, worth visiting if you are in the Costa Blanca area! I wish I had more time to explore it. P.S. Check out this 3 minutes video about Altea by spain-holiday .com: https://youtu.be/vdo-sEt_DPQ

Guadalest is a tourist trap that offers a range of stuff to do and see here. Mainly the landmark,…read moreviews are beautiful and of course the old castle that has a lot of history to tell. Guadalest has a lots of museums like microminiatures, toys and dolls, old motorcycles and cars, shakers and pepper, ethnological, medieval, cats and more. Some of the museums are free to visit. Then there are a lot of restaurants and tourist shops. I think we spent around 4-5 hours before we took and then of course we didn't visit all the museums and shops. It can be hard to find a vacant parking lot, and probably even more difficult in the high tourist seasons, the parking cost €2 cash, if you park at the official municipality parking. You'll surely take some nice photos here and remember your visit to this place for a long time.

Nice place to have a walk for 1-2 hours. Great view from top of the El Castell. Avoid to visit in…read morehigh season, get there early or late to avoid the crowds.