Temperature: Max 30°C, Min 21°C
Season: Summer
Journey time from UK: 2 hours 15 minutes
Time difference: GMT+1
Valencia’s Castellon province is a sleepy little region dotted with beautiful beaches, green mountains and crumbling medieval villages that domestic tourists are happy to make their own. The exception, of course, is the massive Benicassim music festival in July. Every year, the seaside resort of the same name attracts a flock of good-time Brits (Glastonbury be damned), drawn by a stellar lineup (last year it was The Weeknd, The Foals and Kasabian), consistently sunny weather and six kilometres of beach to unwind after the party. But festival-goers would be well advised to explore more of this coast, which has been especially untouched since Castellon airport finally opened a few years ago. The impressive hilltop walled city of Morella is a great place to laze around, shop and nibble on local delicacies (sheep’s milk cheese, lamb and paella). Elsewhere, the coastline is packed with tranquil coves to discover and make your own.
Sustainable travel tip: You can get from London to Benicàssim in a few days by train. Take the Eurostar from London to Paris (2h 15m), then a TGV Duplex to Barcelona (6.5h) where you’ll stay overnight. The next morning, take a Euromed train to Valencia in just under 3 hours. From here, Spain’s national railway company, Renfe, runs several trains to Benicàssim (just 45 minutes on the high-speed train).
Where to stay: Hotel Ad Hoc is a small, comfortable, well-equipped hotel with 28 rooms housed in a converted 19th-century townhouse, and is surprisingly one of the few hotels in Valencia Old Town.
