# A thermal Sunday at the Archena Spa and lunch in Ricote

The thermal pools of the Archena Spa in the morning, lunch at El Sordo in Ricote, open on Sundays, and a stroll round the Moorish old quarter. Half an hour from Murcia.

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/region-of-murcia/ricote-valley/itineraries/archena-spa-and-lunch · Revisado: 2026-11-12

## El día
- 09:30 · Salida: 30 min by car (from Murcia via the A-30, exit for Archena and the Balneario road)
- 10:00 · Thermal Pools at the Balneario de Archena (day entry · €33 on Sundays · cap and flip-flops compulsory) · Archena Spa, From €25 per person
  - 15 min by car, 16 km
- 14:00 · El Sordo Restaurant (booking, and confirm before 12:00) · El Sordo Restaurant, €€€
  - 5 min on foot
- 16:30 · Ricote old town and the Olivera Gorda (Encomienda house and the Cabecico de la Doctrina viewpoint)
- 17:45 · Vuelta (via Ojós and Archena to the A-30; in Murcia around 18:30)

The Archena Spa is half an hour from Murcia and sells a day ticket to its thermal pools: spring water at about 32 degrees, an indoor pool with jets and current rivers and another outdoors facing the Ricote Valley. This plan spends the morning in the water, goes up to Ricote, the village that gives the valley its name, for lunch and ends with a stroll through its streets before heading back.

## The day, hour by hour

9:30 · Set off. From Murcia to Archena on the A-30, about 30 minutes. The spa car park costs €2 an hour and €8 a day.

10:00 · Thermal pools. They open at 10:00. On Sundays general admission costs €33 in the 2026 low season; children aged 3 to 11 pay less and those aged 0 to 2 do not pay. Bring a cap, swimsuit and flip-flops, which are compulsory, and a towel or bathrobe. If you leave the site, you cannot re-enter without a ticket from the spa restaurants.

14:00 · Lunch at El Sordo. From Archena to Ricote it is about 20 minutes along the valley road, via Villanueva and Ojós. El Sordo has been open since 1917 and on Sundays serves lunch from 12:30 to 17:00: wood-roasted kid or suckling pig, chuletón, and bienmesabe for dessert. Book by phone and confirm the table before 12:00.

16:30 · Stroll round Ricote. From the restaurant you walk down to the centre: the Llamas palace, the Casa de la Encomienda, the church of San Sebastián and the Cabecico de la Doctrina viewpoint over the orchards.

17:45 · Head home. Go down to Ojós and Archena and join the A-30: in Murcia around 18:30.

## Why in that order

In the morning the spa has fewer people and the light enters the outdoor pool. Eating after the bath, in the village, changes the air and leaves you the afternoon to walk as much as you feel like.

## Cómo llegar

### By car
A-30 from Murcia or Albacete, exit for Archena. From Alicante, A-7 and A-30.

### Without a car
Interbus line 36 runs from Murcia to Archena on Sundays too, and some services reach the spa. Ricote needs a car or taxi: in that case, eat inside the spa.

## Consejos

### Confirm the table before 12:00
El Sordo releases unconfirmed bookings.

### Bring your own cap and flip-flops
You save buying them at the entrance.

### A padlock for the locker
If you do not bring one, they sell them at the entrance.

## Cuándo no ir

From 9 to 18 December 2026 the covered Termalium pool closes for maintenance, and from 11 to 22 January 2027 the outdoor one: check the dates before going.

## Preguntas frecuentes

### How much does the day cost?
About €33 admission on Sundays plus lunch at El Sordo, between €35 and €60: between €70 and €90 per person.

### Is it a good plan with children?
Yes. The spa has a children's pool and under-2s do not pay. El Sordo is a long lunch: better with children who can stand the after-lunch wait.

### What if it rains?
The Termalium pool is covered and the rest of the plan works just the same.

### Do I need to book the ticket?
It is sold online on the spa's website; on Sundays that is the safest.