Isla de Tabarca

Posted by: Darlene on: September 7, 2015

• In: Spain | Travel
• 34 Comments

I love islands and enjoyed a day visit to a small island with a couple of friends recently. The pleasant boat ride, forty minutes from Torrevieja, took us to Isla de Tabarca. I fell in love with this place the minute we docked in front of the old church and stone walls. This charming island with a watch tower, a lighthouse and the remaining walls of the old fort, has a number of ocean view restaurants, a beach and shallow coves for swimming and snorkelling. We discovered a small museum, closed when we arrived but opened an hour before we were to return, giving us an opportunity to learn more about the fascinating history of this island which is also a protected marine reserve.

Our transport to the island

The Church of St. Peter and St. Paul and walls of the fort greet us as we arrive.

The beach

Portal into the village

Tabarca is the smallest permanently inhabited islet in Spain with approximately 68 inhabitants and was the refuge for Barbary pirates up to the end of the eighteenth century. It was settled in the mid 1700s when a group of shipwrecked Genoese sailors needed a home and protection. King Carlos III of Spain allowed them to live on the island where he built a church, fort, watchtower and lighthouse, in exchange for them to warn him of any threatening marauders.

The Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, completed in 1775, was undergoing renovations so we were unable to go inside.

Unique and colourful houses

Clear turquoise waters in the many coves

Stunning scenery was everywhere we looked! The east end of the island is completely different from the west end. We walked along an arid path to the lighthouse at the end, passing through a graveyard of giant cactus.

Not only did the lighthouse provide protection to the sailors and fisherman from the island´s rocky coastline, it was also a school for lighthouse keepers.

Nou Collonet, the restaurant were we enjoyed a delicious lunch with a fabulous view. Note the wall made of scallop shells.

The island is 1,750 m (5,741 ft) long, 300 m (984 ft) at the widest part and absolutely flat. We managed to walk around the entire island and have a leisurely lunch in the five hours we were there. It was a perfect day.

photo by Inke Piegsa

Everyone loves a pirate!!

Tags: cactus, Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, Isla Tabarca, island, lighthouse, pirates, Spain