London Heathrow airport offers many London flights both departing London and arriving in London. Heathrow is a main European Airport as it is the United Kingdom’s only hub airport. London Heathrow Airport currently runs at 99% capacity, which attests to a lot of flights and activity at the airport throughout the entire day. You can find London flights to over 180 destinations in more than 90 countries from Heathrow Airport.

The airport itself has many facilities available for travelers. The airport is equipped with many business rooms where you can relax or use any fax machines, Internet access, printers and some rooms even have PCs available. If necessary you can even book a meeting room to hold your meeting at the airport. Heathrow also offers Internet terminals and has wireless Internet hook up capabilities.

The airport is completely equipped for traveling families. There are baby changing facilities at designated restrooms throughout the airport and the majority of restaurants offer high chairs and child menus.

You can obtain free coloring books and crayons from the BAA information desk. You can keep your children entertained at the the kids club lounges and play areas. These areas contain computer games, toys, games, DVD players and TVs. These areas are found at specific designated areas in the airport. You can find them by referring to an airport map.

The lounges in the airport offer tea, coffee, alcoholic drinks, snacks, internet access, phone, fax, magazines, newspapers, soft drinks, television, computer points, and comfortable furniture. You will be able to find an area to relax or chat with friends, what ever fits your mood. Some lounges also offer complimentary services.

Besides those amenities listed above London Heathrow Airport also provides medical help, baggage assistance, lost property services, currency conversion, post facilities, shopping, special smoking facilities, toilet facilities, showers, porters, trolleys, worship facilities, VAT refunds, food, drink, cash facilities and many other services to make your travel as enjoyable and relaxing as possible.

Most flights into La Palma in the Canary Islands are via charter connections. You can book direct charter flights from Manchester and Gatwick airports year-round. If you’d rather, you can choose to connect from Madrid, Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Tenerife and Amsterdam. The best airlines to shop are Binter Airways, a Canary Island based company, and Iberia. Spain’s national airline.

Known as “Isla Bonita,” the pretty isle, La Palma is often considered the most beautiful and unspoiled of the Canary Islands. Its climate is stable, enjoying pleasant temperatures in all seasons with warm winters and comfortable summers.

You can get around on La Palma by hiring a car, getting a cab or use the airport bus service.

With great weather virtually guaranteed, you can be sure to enjoy the islands lush vegetation, interesting volcano cones and bright blue skies. In addition to all this natural beauty, you can experience a culture full of tradition, cuisine and folklore that has survived from the time of its aboriginal inhabitants.

La Palma is a small place packed with things to see. Santa Cruz, the capital city is no exception. Situated on the slope of a mountain and the edge of the volcanic crater Cala Cadereta, Santa Cruz’ s Calle Real is the commercial and social center of the city. This street leads to Plaza Espana. Here you can visit the Cathedral El Salvador and the Museum of Natural History.

Though the cost of La Palma has steep cliffs of volcanic rock and small coves, La Palma offers a selection of great beaches. On the east coast you’ll find Los Cancajos. Puerto Naos and Puerto de Tazacorte are on the warmer west coast. These beaches have natural black lava sand and clear waters.

In north La Palma near Barlovento are a series of natural rock pools and caves that have been adapted to create sun bathing areas and sea-water swimming pools called Piscinas La Fajana.

Puerto de Tazacorte has the longest beach on the west side sporting a large fishing harbor and deep sea fishing vessels and cruisers. Be sure to sample the local restaurants which are supplied with the catch of the day.

Puerto Naos, a traditional fishing village, also offers a good beach with a local diving base offering viewing trips to see the wealth of marine life this area has to offer. Exotic fish, black coral reefs, volcanic caves and underwater arches are part of the everyday here. Excursions from Puerto Naos or Santa Cruz will give you the opportunity to see dolphins, sea turtles and whales.

La Palma’s version of an amusement park does not include traditional entertainments such as rides and arcades. Instead, these natural theme parks provide great wildlife and tropical vegetation. One of these, Maroparque is home to 300 exotic animal species that live in a diversity of vegetation, rocks and a waterfall.

If you’re a shopper, you will revel in La Palma’s tradition of craftsmanship in skills ranging from silk fabrics, embroidery, tapestry, woodwork, straw weaving, wickerwork and earthenware.

Kulula Air, the recently re-branded kulula.com, is a highly popular low-fare domestic air travel provider in South Africa thanks, in part, to its edgy and humorous marketing message.

In business since 2001, Kulula is owned by Conair Limited. It was named the best domestic airline by the Airport Company of South Africa in 2003 and operates a fleet of Boeing 737s with the following routes: Johannesburg to:

Cape Town Durbs George PE Lusaka Harare Windhoek Ndola Cape Town to: Johannesburg Durbs PE Lanseria Durbs to: Johannesburg Cape Town PE George to Johannesburg PE to: Johannesburg Cape Town Durbs Lusaka to Johannesburg Harare to Johannesburg Windhoek to Johannesburg Lanseria to Cape Town Ndola to Johannesburg.

Travelers receive seat assignments at check-in.

Kulula began by offering flights between Johannesburg and Cape Town. Over the next few years, its route map incorporated destinations in Durban and Port Elizabeth while its number of flights in operation increased. International destinations now include, Blomfontein, Windhoek, Harare, Ndlola, Lusaka and Mauritius.

Recently, South African online shoppers bought some 55,000 airline tickets for R27 million as part of Kulula’s ‘garage sale.” Kulula’s mega-website (kulula.com is the country’s largest online retailer, handling more than R1.6 billion annually) processed up to 150 flight quotes per second during the shopping frenzy’s peak hours. Nearly 145,000 visitors viewed more than one million web pages, shopping for travel specials from October 2008 through January 2009.

Even though Kulula takes a laid back approach, the company has a strong commitment to customer satisfaction. It has imposed a 90% on-time take-off rate goal. According to the company’s own records, it has not reached that 90% goal, but is making every effort to eliminate “avoidable delays,” those which the company has control over. They do often manage an on-time take-off rate in the high 80s.

With an eye toward simplification and living up to its name (Kulula comes from the Zulu word for “easy”), Kulula Air also offers services to hire a car, book a room or cab easily and affordably. The Kulula website offers even more options, as the brand has branched out into other lines such as cell phones and internet access.

In an effort to provide a full travel experience, Kulula offers easy self-booking on its website. Purchases on a Kulula credit card earns “Kulula Moola” which can be redeemed to purchase flights, and Kulula also offers a Jetsetter rewards program for frequent flyers.

Kulula strives to set itself apart from other airlines. It’s unlikely you will forget the Kulula flight during which you heard the flight attendant say, “There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only 4 ways off this airplane.” Or, how about your captain saying “Whoa, boy!” as the plane comes in for a landing? Kulula’s planes also sport unique paint schemes such as “cow” and “camo.” This airline also promotes environmental issues. One reason it changed its fleet to Boeing 737s is that they consume less fuel than their original fleet of MD82s.

As I write this analogy, I am reminded that sometimes a message is meant to be told. And, apparently this one is. After my family, being a private pilot is my greatest passion in life. There are so many great parallels with success and aviation, probably because aviation itself is drawn from man’s pursuit of greatness. Understanding momentum is critical to your business success. Let’s think out of the box for a minute and look at how momentum applies to aviation and how this seemingly odd little analogy might just help you in your business.

Momentum is both a physical property and a psychological one as well. We all have had times when things just couldn’t feel any better, couldn’t go any smoother, like we were on cloud nine and nothing we did seemed to fail. Likewise, we’ve all had times in our life where we felt no matter how hard we tried things just wouldn’t turn our way – momentum is the common denominator in both, both as a positive and a negative.

One of my clients asked me the other day what I did to transition into success in this industry. He asked me what I meant when I said to take massive action. As I began to explain to him about the concept of massive action and building momentum, this aviation analogy came to mind. I’m just going to tell this from an aviator’s perspective and let you draw the parallels yourself…

As a pilot probably the most critical part of any flight is knowing your destination – knowing where it is that you are going and when you intend to arrive. After that, of course, you must do your fair share of planning, but, rest assured, all of the planning in the world will not prevent the head winds from coming, or the abrupt change in weather that inevitably alters our course, and, plan as we might, planning alone will never take us one inch closer to our destination. For planning itself is useless without actually “taking off”.

The experienced pilot knows that there will be deviations along the route. He doesn’t obsess about them, but he does plan for and acknowledge them. Furthermore, the experienced pilot knows that the most important aspect of flying is to ARRIVE at your destination. Sometimes that means some pretty major deviations along the way. Sometimes it means that the destination itself must be changed during the flight. But commitment and resolve to make it to that destination are unquestioned. Can you imagine being in a small, single engine airplane with a pilot who says (after you’re airborne), “we’re gonna give it a try and see if we land safely, if not at least we can say we gave it a shot”? Yet how many of you have taken that exact same approach to your network marketing business and then later pondered as to “why” it has not worked out for you?

Whether you’re flying a Leer Jet (as one of my clients does) or my humble little four passenger Cessna, there are two points in time when flying is at it’s most critical juncture – take offs and landings. Today I want to discuss “taking off”. Again, if we go back to our prime objective of reaching our destination, I think we can all agree that a successful departure is the most fundamental step. After going through the preliminary systems checks and ensuring we are safe to fly, we turn to the runway. One last glance at everything and then comes the moment of truth.

Once aligned and pointing down the runaway, we reach down and begin to apply power. How much you ask? Do we apply “just enough”? Do we think to ourselves, “What is the minimum amount of power I might need to probably get airborne?” Do we add an extra little bit for safe measure? Or do we give it EVERYTHING WE’VE GOT and apply full power, thrusting the throttle forward until our knuckles rest on the dashboard? I’ll tell you what, I don’t want to fly with a pilot who is trying to save gas and use “just enough” power to “maybe” get airborne! Likewise, do you really think that people will join you in your company if they see that you take the same approach to your business? Are you really giving your business every possible opportunity to take flight? Or are you perhaps loading it down with unnecessary baggage and weight and giving it a half-hearted “I think that should be enough effort” attempt?

You see my little Cessna weighs 3100 pounds fully loaded and it takes a lot of momentum to persuade it to get aloft – where it was designed to be. On the ground my little plane is awkward, uninspiring and even boring. Taxiing around the ground it is cumbersome, slow and awkward. But once you apply the necessary momentum it needs to become airborne, it transforms into an agile, docile and elegant machine – doing what it does best with the grace that can not adequately be described, it must be experienced. But without tremendous force and will, it would never get off the ground.

If you were to consider becoming a pilot, don’t you think that one prerequisite would be your complete and unwaivering belief in flight? Could you possibly fly a plane if you didn’t fundamentally know with every ounce of your fiber that that little Cessna could fly? Would you have the belief necessary to allow you to get the courage to apply full throttle that very first and magical time you departed the ground if you questioned the principal of light? Likewise, how strongly do you believe in yourself and your ability to make your business “fly”? This believe must be beyond question, beyond doubt – it must be known to you and just as real to you as “gravity” itself.

Once airborne, we pull back the power to “normal” ranges; we don’t want to over tax the motor that we need to take us to our destination. No longer are we concerned about giving every last RPM of power – we now have other things to concern ourselves with. Principally, keeping on course so that we ensure we arrive at our destination. This may surprise you, but any pilot will tell you that they are off course 90% of the time. But no pilot will ever tell you there is a doubt in their mind of where they’re going or that they will get there (if they do, I suggest you find another pilot to fly with). The destination is known. The general course is known. The approximate arrival time frame expected. But it is never that simple, and neither will your business be that simple. There are the winds to contend with, the clouds, the fog, Temporary Flight Restrictions to be navigated, the lighting strikes or the icing layer that must be avoided – flying can be a challenge, so can piloting your course as an entrepreneur!

Many of you as entrepreneurial business seekers have the “dream of flight”. You have prepared. You have studied. You have dreamed of arriving in style at your destination (maybe driving a new car, buying a new house, making that $20k a month). But ask yourself, have you truly pushed that throttle all the way to the dashboard until your knuckles are white with force? Ask yourself if you really are deserving of your dream? Have you really taken the massive action required to ensure your dream becomes a reality?

I started this off by saying that some stories are meant to be told… Well here is what I mean. I’ve had this in my mind for a couple of days now to write this analogy to you. Then today, I sat down and began to read a book that I have read many times before. Every time I re-read it some parts come alive again as I remember them, others are if I’ve never read them before – perhaps I wasn’t really tuned in the last time I read it. Let me quote you a paragraph from “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen R. Covey:

“Those of us who watched the lunar voyage of Apollo 11 were transfixed as we saw the first men walk on the moon and return to earth. Superlatives such as ‘fantastic’ and ‘incredible’ were inadequate to describe those eventful days. But to get there, those astronauts literally had to break out of the tremendous gravity pull of the earth. More energy was spent in the first few minutes of lift-off, in the first few miles of travel, than was used over the next several days to travel half a million miles.” (page 46)

When I read this paragraph, I knew I needed to pass on my little aviation analogy to you. What gravitational force is preventing you from achieving lift off in your new business venture? Are you really applying enough energy to “break free” from your current circumstances? Answer this one question: If you could not fail, what would you try to achieve? How much better would your life be if you truly pursued your dreams with the belief of a child – unaware that it “can’t” be done?

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” –Aristotle.

One last thought. Above I said that my little plane was designed to be ‘aloft’ – that is where it is at it’s best, graceful and true. Can you imagine how disappointed the engineers who designed it would be if the pilot never had the desire to apply full throttle? Never had the courage to give it all it deserved? You too, were designed to be successful. Each of you was born with all that is necessary in life to succeed. Only one question remains; do you have the courage to apply the momentum necessary to transform your dream into reality?

The only difficult part of shopping for an inexpensive flight to Madrid is making a choice from the range of options. At the time of this writing, no less than 9 UK and Irish airlines were offering direct flights to Madrid from 15 airports. Take your choice:

Airports: Aberdeen,Belfast, Bristol, Bournemouth, Dublin, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, London Gatwick, London Heathrow, London Luton, Manchester, Newcastle, Shannon.

Airlines: British Airways, EasyJet, Aer Lingus, Ryannair, Aireuropa, BMI British Midland, Iberia,Avro.

Because Spain is the top destination for UK travelers, low fares are easy to find. Currently, fares on the low-cost carriers range from 88 to 120, so Madrid makes a great holiday destination, even for travelers on a budget. Plan your trip to avoid summer in Madrid. October is an ideal time to visit the city if you like great weather, cheaper flights and lower hotel rates. If you enjoy cultural attractions and ski resorts, winter is a great time to visit.

Madrid’s airport, Madrid Barajas International Airport, MAD, is Spain’s busiest airport with more than 40 million passengers a year. It is located 13 km from central Madrid, and the Metro can get you there in 30 minutes, but you can also take one of the frequent shuffle buses or a cab. Keep in mind, traffic is usually bad, so the ride could be close to an hour.

Once in Madrid, the Metro and bus services are fast and inexpensive, as are cab services. It is best not to drive yourself in Madrid because of the dangerous traffic conditions. However, you can hire a car to drive out of town at the airport. Spain is a favorite holiday spot for more reasons that just affordability. The combination of Spanish charm, culture, art, nightlife and costal entertainments contribute to its popularity. Except for beaches, you can find attractions for all of these elements in Madrid.

Madrid is Spain’s capital and its largest city. Geographically located in the center of the Iberian peninsula, it has been the political, financial and administrative heart of the country for centuries. King Philip II established his royal court there in 1561. Successive kings contributed to Madrid’s grandeur by commissioning places, cathedrals, public buildings and monuments.

Some attractions to consider: For starters, the world-renowned Prado, the Centro de Arte Reina Sofia for modern art and the newly public collection of Thyssen-Bornemisza are top attractions for art lovers. There is also the little-known Monasterio de las Descalas Reales, an elegant convent built in the 16th century for aristocratic nuns. Now a museum, you can see the priceless works of art and religious relics new nuns donated as part of their dowries.

For history buffs, visit the San Nicolas de las Servitas, believed to date back to 1085. For shoppers, El Rastro is one of the best flea markets in Europe. For culture/sport junkies, bull fights are held on Sundays and holidays throughout the year.

Experience Madrid’s unique night life by visiting tascas, pubs that serve tapas – Spanish appetizers ranging sausages to snails and always including good wines. Flamenco music is the soul of Spain, so plan to visit a flamenco tavern to experience these gypsy folk songs and dances. Remember, when in Madrid, start late and finish later when you’re going out. The food, drink and dancing often last until breakfast the next day.

If you’re considering Spain as a holiday destination, you have a wealth of options in destinations and airlines to get you there.

Aena, Spain’s airport management company, operates 47 full service airports in the country. With such a large number of airports, travelers can usually make arrangements to land at an airport that is within 50 km of their holiday destinations.

You’ll find that Spain’s airports offer the same services and conveniences of your home airport.

Here is a list of the airlines that fly into Spain:

Aer Lingus Air Canada Air France American Airlines BMI British Midland British Airways Iberia KLM Qantus SN Brussels Swiss United Airlines Virgin Atlantic

In addition to these larger, full-service carriers, you can choose from these low-fare airlines:

Air 2000 BMI Baby Britannia Easyjet Excel Airways Go JMC Monarch My Travel Ryanair Virgin Express

Now that you know you can get there, check out some of the top coastal holiday destinations in Spain.

The busiest holiday island is Mallorca (Majorca, if you prefer) Island is the largest of the Balearic Islands. It is a perennial top pick thanks to its versatility. You can find Spanish history and culture, night life as well as fish and chips. The climate is typical Mediterranean with warm, sunny summers and cold, wet winters. Recommended attractions are Palma de Mallorca offering stunning beaches, history and night life; and Alcudia, a Medieval port town with great beaches. Mallorca Airport is located on the island.

Ibiza Island reportedly offers more than 300 days of sunshine every year. All the better to take advantage of its 210 km of coastline and 50 beaches. If you tire of sunning, you can tour its historical and cultural landmarks before heading to Ibiza to experience the night life. This sunny locale is serviced by Ibiza Airport.

Girona Costa Brava offers many destinations of interest, making it an important tourist destination. Offering history, nature, sports and exceptional cuisine, Girona Costa Brava is a land of contrasts. Girona, home of the Girona Airport, also offers history and art. Visit the beaches and historical attractions at Blanes. Cadaques is another ancient town, home to artist Salvador Dali. The village of L’Escala – Empuries is right next to the archeological site of the Empuries. Palamos offers luxury lodging and restaurants.

No trip to Spain can be considered complete without a trip to Barcelona and the Barcelona Coast. Widely known as one of the most beautiful European cities, Barcelona is a rich blend of the ancient and modern. Calella and Sitges, two other recommended destinations, offer the best of Spanish coast travel: Spanish charm, beautiful beaches, cultural experiences, first rate hotels and restaurants.

Tarrogona and Costa Dorada, the golden coast, offer all you would expect in a costal Spanish destination. Beaches sport golden sand (hence the name) and clear waters. Visit Tarragona, the capital, to see Roman ruins, Calafell, a laid back village where you can visit and old fishing neighborhood, and Salou, offering beaches and great night life.

Valencia and Costa de Valencia are growing in popularity thanks to its beaches as well as the city of Valencia. With long, dry summers and mild winters, you can consider this destination year-round. Gandia, also located in this region, is another highly recommended destination offering historical buildings, museums, and shops, along with pubs, discos and restaurants.

Twenty five years ago so called experts said that Glasgow flights to Europe were unsustainable and that if you wanted get a flight from Glasgow to a European destination you would have to fly via London, Manchester or Birmingham.

There were alternative ways to get to a European destination or destinations further away whilst avoiding travelling via the busy London airports. You could fly via Dublin to the United States or via Amsterdam to many European, Asian and Australian cities.

Today the previous flight options are still there but fortunately so are many new direct flights from Glasgow than ever before. The new low cost airlines are offering travellers more destinations and cheaper airfares. People no longer think of travel as a luxury as they now travel to more destinations and more often but for shorter durations.

The massive increase in access to the internet has helped as without this cheap way of selling flights the costs would be higher for the airline which would result in higher airfares.

Greater access to the lower living costs in Eastern European cities has made a massive growth in city breaks to these destinations as people search out new destinations to explore and attractions to see.

Wasting part of your holiday sitting in a transfer lounge whilst you wait for a connecting flight is no longer a necessity when you can get direct flights from Glasgow.

Searching for the best deal is easy thanks to the internet. You can compare flight prices and find the best flight from Glasgow. All you have to do is repeat the process for your accommodation and you have your own cheap short break from Glasgow.

The cheap flights from Glasgow have also brought many foreign visitors to the Glasgow area. Between mid-October flights form Scandinavian countries arrive in Glasgow to get Christmas presents at cheaper prices than they would at home.

When you next think of taking a short break don’t discount the idea of travelling abroad. With a cheap flight and accommodation, a visit to one of the many European destinations could be cheaper than you expect.

There are two airports in Tenerife, one in the north of the island and one in the south of the island. The airport you choose will depend on what resort or area of Tenerife you wish to stay in.

The vast majority of Tenerife flights from the UK and Ireland are to the south of the island to Tenerife Sur Reina Sofia Airport. For the other resorts in the northern part of the island the flights fly into Tenerife Norte airport.

If you plan to visit the popular holiday resorts of Playa de Las Americas or Los Cristianos for example you would be looking for Tenerife flights to the south of the island, In the north the most popular resort id Puerto de La Cruz

The south of Tenerife is much more commercialised and has lots of bars, restaurants and nightlife especially in parts of Playa de Las Americas. The north of the island in Puerto de La Cruz attracts a more mature guest. The weather in the north can also be a bit more changeable and can become cloudy. This has resulted in the popularity of the south of the island to attract the sun worshipers from all over the UK and Europe.

The south of Tenerife has better beaches than the ones in the north of the island which is another reason families prefer to travel to the south of the island. Here there is even an artificial beach built with sand from the Sahara. Flying times from the UK for Tenerife flights vary from four to just over five hours depending on which part of the UK you are flying from.

The destination you pick in Tenerife will depend on the availability of flights to your chosen part of Tenerife. There are lots more flights available from airports all over the UK and Ireland to Tenerife South airport than the airport in the north of the Island. In fact you are more likely to find more than one Tenerife flight into the south of the island than one to the north such id the difference in popularity of the south of the island.

There should be no problem for you finding a great range of accommodation whatever part of the island you pick. There are villas, self catering apartments and hotels ranging from two to five star properties all over the island.

Today’s air travelers end up spending hour after hour at the airport, often carrying their possessions around with them from gate to gate, shuffling bags while they use the bathroom, purchase and eat food, and just sit around and wait.

It seams that the more time travellers have to spend at airports, the more travellers’ worry about there personal security is an issue. The following are some tips to help minimize the risk of you losing your valuable belongings while travelling.

Travelers’ Personal Security ? Packing

As the old saying goes security begins at home. When packing your belongings, place the most important items and documents in your carry on bag that you will keep closest to you. That way you will always know where it is and be aware of anyone trying to steal it.

For individuals traveling with jewelry, this means wearing your most valuable jewelry in flight. Large diamond ear studs are fine to wear with everyday travel clothing; other travelers will assume they are fake cubic zirconium earrings, or rhinestones. Large necklaces and bracelets can be worn under a turtleneck sweater or other clothing that masks the neck. Make sure your clasps and hooks are in good repair so you do not accidentally lose your jewelry while walking through the terminal.

Whatever you decide not wear should be placed in a handbag or fanny pack that is warn in a secure location. As backpacks don’t offer as great a level of security as would-be thieves have been known to open a backpack and remove valuable items without the traveller ever knowing that personal security was breached.

Travelers’ Personal Security ? Cash

Every traveler needs some cash at the airport for tips, newspapers, meals, and sundries. However, no traveler should carry more cash than absolutely necessary. Usually about $20 to $30 in fives, tens, and ones will meet the traveler’s need for cash at the airport. Every modern airport has an ATM. If you need cash at your destination, use the airport ATM after you arrive at your final stop. Carrying, and flashing, large amounts of cash create an irresistible temptation for thieves.

Travelers’ Personal Security ? Shopping

When travelling the best security advice is to travel with a companion, this means that there is who can watch your belongings for you while you shop, eat, and use the restroom and visa versa. If you find yourself travelling alone, rent a locker to keep your belongings while waiting for your flight to board. Even if you need to rent two or more lockers, you will find that it is a lot easier to carry a small key around instead of lugging all your belongings around the airport.

Travelers’ Personal Security ? Security Check

In fact the places most travellers lose things is, ironically, while they pass through security. Whenever you pass through the metal detector and you belongings are X-rayed be cognizant of how many trays you have left your belongings in, and be sure you collect the same number and have checked that all your belongings are still there, before leaving the security area.

Some people say Alicante is the “best all-around city in Spain”. Here is why you should visit this versatile tourist destination.

Alicante, on the Costa Blanca, is Valencia’s second largest city. It is estimated that six million people visit the Costa Blanca every summer, most via Alicante’s airport. No wonder: Alicante’s climate is perfect: Summers are hot and dry; winters are mild with hardly any snow. There is also hardly any rain, mostly in spring and fall.

The good weather is largely due to Alicante’s locale, with mountains to the north and west and the Mediterranean Sea to the east. It is also centrally located, with the cities of Murcia, Torrevieja, Benidorm, Alcoy and Elche within easy reach.

The real reason everyone wants to come to Alicante is to visit the beaches. Alicante, indeed all the Costa Blanca, has the longest summer in Spain. You can relax on the beach and walk along the palm trees on the Promenade. The waterfront is an intriguing place, full of sidewalk cafs and craftspeople plying their wares.

Many people enjoy the area for its great golf courses. Greens fees are quite reasonable, from 35 to 80 Euros. If you are traveling in prime golf season, be sure to book your tee time early. Other popular outdoor activities include hiking, biking and boating.

An important part of visiting a new country is visiting its historic sites. Alicante has many of these. Be sure to visit the Cathedral de San Nicholas de Bari, one of the city’s chief landmarks.

Who can resist visiting a real castle? The castle of Santa Barbara was built by the Moors in the Ninth Century. It is one of the largest fortresses in Europe and its views are spectacular. It contains artworks from the Bronze through the Modern Ages. Don’t forget to bring your camera.

One unique place to visit is the Barrio Santa Cruz in the city’s old quarter. This medieval section really comes to life at night because of its many restaurants and bars, many offering live music in its entertainment. You will easily find great food to please every palate.

Alicante is a great “jumping-off point” to other parts of the Costa Blanca. You can make it your home base as you visit the theme parks of Benidorm or explore other parts of Spain.

It’s easy to see why Alicante plays such an important role in the Valencia region. There is so much to see and do, you will probably want to extend your stay in order to experience it all, then come back often to do it all again. Why not plan now to rent a villa so your whole family can enjoy this amazing place? Alicante truly has something for everyone in your family.