Guide to the Costa Blanca

Introduction

On Spain’s Eastern coast, the Costa Blanca was actually devised as a promotional name to help launch one of the first commercial holiday flight routes between London and Valencia. Meaning ‘the white coast’, this 200km stretch of coastline in the province of Alicante stretches from Denia in the north to Torrevieja in the south, and contains the major tourist destination of Benidorm and the regional capital, Alicante.

Traditionally, the Costa Blanca has always been popular with a wide variety of nationalities from across Europe, and the coast tends to be divided into the more affluent northern end, and the slightly less salubrious southern part.

Although the Costa Blanca is ostensibly the coastal towns that look out towards the Balearics, the term now refers to some of the more inland towns and villages that are now coming to the attention of the overseas property buyer. With their vineyards and historic buildings, some of these towns can offer some of the most interesting excursions in the area.

The region

The Costa Blanca boasts a great variety of towns – from brash tourist resorts that are deserted in the winter months, through sleepy mountain villages where you can mix with the local population, to stalwarts of the early days of package tourism where people still come on holiday all year round.

The majority of the towns in the northern Costa Blanca have developed from the small fishing communities and market trading that still provide the heart and soul of the area. Denia, Javea and Moraira are great examples of this, and retain their character despite the huge expansion in their size and population.

Moving further south along the coast, the towns become somewhat more tourist-focussed and purpose-built. Calpe is dominated by the huge limestone outcrop of the Peñón de Ifach guarding the town’s two beaches and looking down on the growing mass of hotels. Benidorm is still the major draw along the coast for the British holidaymaker, despite competition from more trendy locations in Spain and elsewhere.

South of Alicante, which itself is well worth visiting, the main focus of the area is Torrevieja, another favourite of the British tourist and expat communities.

Inland, the town of Elche is the second most populous in the region, but most visitors are drawn to the fortress mountaintop village of Guadalest and the wine-producing Jalon valley.

Climate

The weather in the Costa Blanca is ideal – not too hot in the summer or too cold in the winter. In fact, the World Health Organisation recommended the climate as one of the most equitable in the world.

The average temperature over the year is over 20 deg C, and daily averages in the summer are into the low 30s. Residents can expect around 325 days of sunshine per year, and a sea that is comfortably warm enough to swim in from May until November.

Getting there

One of the busiest airports in Spain, Alicante International is now a far more pleasant place to land than it was ten years ago. Having upgraded and expanded the facilities to handle more passengers, the airport was finally opened up to low-cost airlines as well as charter flights. Those looking for an alternative for reaching the northern part of the Costa Blanca may find Valencia airport both quieter and cheaper.

The toll motorway running the length of the coast provides quick and easy access to the major towns, though if you are not in a hurry, the old coast road is much more scenic and has some stunning views. It also gives you a feel for the towns along the way.

Property

Although the property market in the Costa Blanca is extremely busy, much of the region has escaped the rampant overdevelopment that has occurred where the planning restrictions have been a little more flexible.

The most built up parts of the coast here are Torrevieja and Benidorm, though the southern town of Torrevieja is far more popular with overseas property buyers, and Benidorm seems to attract more hotel developments and shorter-stay tourists. Torrevieja has traditionally been one of the less-expensive places to find Spanish property, though many of the apartments are generic and in largely uninspiring buildings.

Further north, and in particular in and around the towns of Moraira, Javea and Denia, the tendency is towards developments of individual villas, often with pools and a small garden. Some of these developments, such as the gargantuan Cumbre del Sol, have taken over whole tracts of mountain and coast land, while others are small enough to be located near the centre of town and fit in with local life. Often, these villas are built in a traditional style and form a whitewashed tide sweeping towards the sea.

Inland, properties are even more likely to be built in keeping with the local style, and village authorities are keen to preserve the fabric of their area and not force out the indigenous inhabitants by allowing developments to push up prices and suffocate village life.

On a general note, the property market in this part of Spain has recovered in the past two years or so. The local market was at one time flooded with a large number of resale properties as many of the German investors who had bought in the area sought to consolidate what they had as their economy moved into recession.

A resale two-bedroom apartment in Torrevieja with communal facilities could be yours for round £70,000, while a three bedroom villa in Javea, with a private pool could be around £240,000. If the inland villages are your thing, a three-bedroom family villa in Orba will cost around £260,000.

Local life

As many of the fishing villages still survive and trade to this day, there is ample opportunity to sample the local fare. Get to the markets for fruit and vegetables which have infinitely more flavour than anything you buy in the supermarket. You can even buy huge bags of Valencia oranges to make your own juice.

Sticking with local drinks, the Jalon valley is home to a plethora of small vineyards whose produce is available to sample and buy in the local bodegas. Bottles of this local wine make great gifts, but if you are staying in the area, take your own (large) containers and fill up from the petrol pump-style dispensers!

Conclusion

The Costa Blanca has many of the attributes of the Costa del Sol – good weather, beautiful scenery, easy and cheap access, and an abundance of property available to buy. The main difference is that the Costa Blanca will be a slightly less breakneck-paced, flashy environment in which to live.

There may not be as many leisure activities in the area, but this is changing with the recent opening of the Terra Mitica theme park and the continued popularity of the Mundomar and Aqualandia attractions.