Just a few kilometres off the Costa Blanca mainland near Santa Pola lies the small and tranquil island of Tabarca. Once used as a hideaway by Barbary pirates and by the Spanish to house Genoese prisoners, this island, surrounded by stone walls, has a chequered history but today it is used by locals and tourists alike for its recreational facilities.

You can get a ferry to Tabarca Island from Santa Pola, Alicante and Torrevieja.   Once you have disembarked why not pay a visit to the New Tarbaca museum which is situated just next to the marina. It offers you the opportunity to find out, in an interactive manner, about the history and the many attractions of the Island of Tabarca. The museum reveals the secrets and mysteries of this magic corner of the Mediterranean, declared as being both a historical - artistic site and a marine reserve.

During the winter months the island is inhabited by only thirty people. In the summer season however, Tabarca has over two thousand visitors daily, keen to experience all the amenities this picturesque island has to offer. Despite the large number of tourists, Tabarca manages to retain it’s laid-back and tranquil atmosphere

Walking through one of the three monumental gateways built in the 18th Century, along with a walled settlement that was constructed to discourage pirates landing, is the village. The traditional Spanish settlement remains largely unspoilt and unaffected by the growing number of visitors. The only signs are the souvenir shops and the large amount of restaurants scattered along the hilltops overlooking the rocky coastline and situated down quiet cobbled side streets.

Through another gate to the tip of the island, people battle the slippery rocks and pebbles to scramble across the shallow water to a small island for peaceful picnics and to watch the seagulls nesting by the shoreline. In certain parts the water is clear enough to see the marine life, almost close enough to touch. The surrounding waters of the 2km long island were declared a national marine park in 1986 and are a snorkeller’s paradise, with the abundance of marine life in the clear waters.

Water sports rule the island with pedalo boats along side windsailers and dinghies moored in the harbour next to large private yachts. Everyone is in search of that small secluded bit of paradise and whilst you can see the mainland from Tabarca there is a feeling that an undiscovered treasure has been found.

Located in the incomparable setting of a typical Tabarca house from the time of King Charles III, The Museum of Miniature Art is unique, for its extraordinary artistic value and for the material used to carry out the works exhibited. Famous works of art adorn pebbles just 6 x 10 cm.  120 replicas of exceptional beauty in this museum are the works of the Miniaturist Painter Angel Ruiz.