Moraira is a small Spanish coastal town, part of Teulada (also known as Teulada-Moraira) municipality, in the Marina Alta comarca, 80 km north of Alicante and 100 km south of Valencia. It is a tourist resort on the highly-developed Costa Blanca strip, with 8 km of coastline backed by mountains and vineyards.
The permanent population is 9,500, although this rises to 30,000 in summer. There is a high proportion of expatriates living here on a permanent basis, and the area is very popular with affluent retirees. The majority of visitors are a mixture of Spanish, German, English, French and Dutch.
Moraira's roots as a fishing village are still in evidence; its fish market is one of the most popular in the Costa Blanca region. The Moraira region is also famous for the growing of Muscatel grapes for wine-making.
However, the economy of Moraira is now built around tourism. Little remains of the fishing cottages that once made up the little port that serviced the town of Teulada that stands at the head of the valley. To preserve the heritage of the area, the Teulada council passed laws protecting the abundant pine trees and limited the height of buildings. It has a marina built in 1985, operated by Club Náutico Moraira. Moraira is also seen as a culinary destination, with many restaurants. Moraira has several sandy beaches popular with families, and rocky coves and inlets frequented by snorkelers and scuba divers.
