Our second pick-up point is in Cabo Roig, and it is the best place to understand what Orihuela Costa is like: sixteen kilometres of coastline cut into coves, with a seafront promenade that starts again at every one of them. You do not cover distance here, you stop all the time.
One cove after another
From north to south, the town hall lists Punta Prima, Cala Mosca, Cala Estaca, Cala Bosque, Cala Capitán, Cala Cerrada, Playa La Caleta, the Calas de Aguamarina, Playa La Glea, Playa de Barranco Rubio and Playa Mil Palmeras. The names that come up in conversation are more often those of the neighbourhoods: La Zenia, Cabo Roig, Playa Flamenca, Campoamor. On a bike the point is precisely to string them together rather than pick one.
The Paseo Cabo Roig is walked, not ridden
Between Playa La Caleta and Cala Capitán, a 2.5 kilometre path follows the water. It carries the Blue Trail award from the ADEAC, has five viewpoints, passes the foot of the Cabo Roig watchtower, a listed sixteenth-century military tower, and looks down on posidonia meadows you can see through the water. It is a footpath: lock the bike at one end and walk it. Twenty minutes on foot for the best view on this coast, well worth the detour.
How to link them by bike
The promenades connect the coves, but they are shared with walkers and families. The rule that keeps everyone happy: streets and coastal roads to make progress, promenades at walking pace or on foot when they are busy. In high season and late in the afternoon, expect to get off the bike more than once.
Which bike, and at what time
The coast is flat, so a city bike goes everywhere. An e-bike makes sense if you set off from Cabo Roig to reach Mil Palmeras and come back, or if you want to do the round trip without watching the clock. Start early: the coves are quiet in the morning, the light is better, and you will find somewhere to lock the bike, which is no longer true by midday.
What to take
Water, the lock that comes with the rental, and something to secure your beach things: between two coves you leave the bike often and not always in sight. A pannier bag can be requested as an option when you collect the bike, and it changes the day if you plan to swim.
The regional tourist board page on Orihuela and its entry for La Caleta, the Cabo Roig beach, are the English sources we point people to. To choose your bike, our comparison of city bike and electric bike answers the most common question, and the Torrevieja Vía Verde is the ride to do on the salt pan side. Departure from Torrevieja (Playa de los Locos) or Orihuela Costa (Cabo Roig), helmet and lock included.
