Getaways from Murcia: day trips and destinations close by.

Up the Segura to Archena

The A-30 crosses Murcia from north to south and shares out half the plans. To the north it climbs the Segura to the Ricote Valley: Archena and its spa, half an hour away, and Blanca and Ojós a little further up; the same motorway continues to Albacete. To the south it drops to Cartagena and, with the La Manga motorway, to Calblanque and Cabo de Palos. To the north-west, the Noroeste motorway leads to Caravaca de la Cruz and, through the sierra, to Riópar, already in Albacete. The A-7 to the north-east goes to Elche, Santa Pola and Alicante, and to the south-west, to Almería and Cabo de Gata.

Without a car, Cartagena is the easy exit: an Interbus bus to the Central Station or a Renfe train, and the whole day on foot from there. The Archena Spa is reached by bus line 36 from Murcia. For the rest, a car.

Archena, Cartagena and Elche, with no early start

Under an hour is what you can do without an early start: Archena and its thermal pools, at 30 minutes; rafting down the Segura and Cartagena, at 40; Elche and its palm grove, at 45, and Calblanque and Caravaca, at 55.

Between one and two hours you reach the Alicante coast and inland Valencia: Tabarca via Santa Pola and Villajoyosa, at an hour and a quarter; Bocairent, at 100 minutes; Xàtiva, at 110, and Guadalest with Les Fonts de l'Algar, at 115.

With two or two and a half hours by car there are two sierras and a marine park. Cabo de Gata, at 125 minutes, has two Sundays: Genoveses, Mónsul and the lighthouse and Rodalquilar, La Isleta del Moro and kayaking. Riópar and Alcalá del Júcar, at 135 and 145, already call for a night: Alcalá has one, facing the illuminated village.

Close to three hours the trip is a weekend one: the Lagunas de Ruidera, at 170 minutes; the Sierra de Cazorla, at 175, and Sierra Nevada, at three hours forty-five.

Cartagena, from September to June

In winter, the spa: the thermal Sunday at Archena with lunch in Ricote or, with two nights, the thermal getaway with the Moriscos trail, both best from October to April. Cartagena is recommended from September to June, and for snow there is the ski and snowshoe weekend in Sierra Nevada, from December to April.

In spring it is the turn of the sierras: the source of the Río Mundo and Los Chorros, with more water from April to June, and Caravaca, from the basilica to the Fuentes del Marqués. It is also the season for the undeveloped beaches of Calblanque, in May and June.

In summer you go to the water: rafting on the Segura with the Ojós bridges, from April to October and from age six, and snorkelling at Tabarca, from May to October. Elche, Xàtiva and Bocairent are not recommended in July and August.

In October and November Riópar and Caravaca return, and Cazorla is at its best.

Roman theatre, castle by lift and a boat in Cartagena

• Without a car, in a day: Cartagena: Roman theatre, castle and boat. Bus or train to the station, the theatre first thing, the castle by lift, caldero in the centre and the harbour by boat in the afternoon.
• With one night: Tabarca when the boats leave. An hour and a quarter via Santa Pola, for snorkelling, the island empty at sunset and breakfast facing the sea.
• With two nights: Cabo de Gata from San José or Rodalquilar. About two hours along the A-7, for the western beaches, a morning of kayaking or diving and the gold mines.