Costa Blanca: where it is, towns, beaches, climate and what to see

The Costa Blanca (“White Coast”) is the tourist name for the coastline of the province of Alicante in eastern Spain. It is not a separate region but a brand promoted by the provincial tourism board: more than 200 km of shoreline from Denia in the north to Pilar de la Horadada in the south, with more than 170 beaches and coves. The province has 2,030,037 residents, one in four of them a foreigner, and its Russian and Ukrainian community is one of the largest in Spain. Below: where the Costa Blanca is, which towns stand on it, what the climate, beaches and sights are like, how to get there and which language is spoken. If you are thinking of living on this coast, go to the article moving to Alicante.

What the Costa Blanca is and where it is

The Costa Blanca is the Mediterranean coastline of the province of Alicante, one of the three provinces of the Valencian Community. There is no administrative unit with this name: the Costa Blanca brand is promoted by the Patronato Provincial de Turismo, an autonomous body of the provincial council (Diputación de Alicante). According to the board, the coast stretches for more than 200 km. How the country is divided into provinces and communities is shown in our overview of Spain’s provinces and autonomous communities.

• Country — Spain.
• Autonomous community — Valencian Community; province — Alicante.
• Main city — Alicante, 366,221 residents.
• Population of the province — 2,030,037 at 1 January 2025, up 1.9% in a year.
• Foreigners — 24.5% of the province’s residents; the largest groups are British, Colombian and Moroccan nationals.

Costa Blanca towns from north to south

The coast runs through five comarcas — the province’s historical districts.

Population is from the INE municipal register (padrón) at 1 January 2025; the share of foreigners is from the INE annual census:

Foreigners make up more than half of residents in Benitachell, Teulada, Calpe, Finestrat and L’Alfàs del Pi, and almost half in Torrevieja. Their share is lowest in Elche and Alicante.

Climate of the Costa Blanca

The climate is Mediterranean and dry. According to AEMET normals for 1981–2010, Alicante averages 18.3 °C over the year, 11.7 °C in January and 26 °C in August, with just 311 mm of rainfall and 2,851 hours of sunshine. At Alicante-Elche Airport it is drier still: 277 mm of rainfall and 2,953 hours of sunshine. The wettest month in Alicante is September, with 56 mm.

To compare with other Spanish cities by winter and summer temperatures, sunshine and rain, see our ranking of the climate of Spain by region and city.

Beaches and Blue Flags

In 2026, 77 beaches and 17 marinas in the province received the Blue Flag — 94 flags in total. The municipalities with the most Blue Flag beaches:

• Orihuela — 10, all on the Orihuela Costa: Cabo Roig — La Caleta, Campoamor — La Glea, La Zenia — Cala Bosque, Mil Palmeras, Punta Prima and others;
• Denia — 7: Les Marines, Les Deveses, Punta del Raset and others;
• Torrevieja, Pilar de la Horadada and Villajoyosa — 6 each;
• Calpe, Elche, Guardamar and Santa Pola — 5 each;
• Alicante — 4: Postiguet, Saladar-Urbanova, Sant Joan and the beach on Tabarca Island.

Sant Joan beach in Alicante, La Fossa in Calpe and Carrer la Mar in El Campello have held the Blue Flag without a break since 1987.

What to see on the Costa Blanca

• Peñón de Ifach in Calpe — a 332 m rock joined to the mainland by a narrow isthmus; a natural park since 1987.
• The Palmeral of Elche — more than 45,000 date palms, the largest palm grove in Europe; a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2000.
• Santa Bárbara Castle in Alicante — on Mount Benacantil above the city, reached by a lift opposite Postiguet beach.
• Tabarca Island — a marine reserve since 1986 with Posidonia seagrass meadows; boats go there from Alicante and Santa Pola.
• The La Mata and Torrevieja lagoons — a natural park since 1996.
• Montgó between Denia and Javea — a mountain and natural park since 1987.

How to get there and get around

• Alicante-Elche Airport handled a record 19.95 million passengers in 2025, the fifth highest figure in Spain’s airport network.
• The TRAM d’Alacant runs along the coast: line L1 from central Alicante to Benidorm (44.6 km) and line L9 from Benidorm to Denia (50.9 km). The network has six lines and 71 stops in total.
• Roads. The AP-7 motorway from Tarragona to Alicante has been toll-free since 1 January 2020, and since December 2025 the AP-7 Alicante bypass has been toll-free too.
• Trains. AVE high-speed trains have linked Alicante with Madrid since 2013.

There are no direct flights from Russia; entry rules are described in the article on the Spanish visa.

What language is spoken on the Costa Blanca

There are two official languages: Spanish and Valencian (Article 6 of the Statute of Autonomy of the Valencian Community). Under Law 4/1983 the province is divided into language zones: Valencian predominates in Denia, Javea, Calpe, Benidorm, Alicante, Elche, Santa Pola and Guardamar, while Spanish predominates in Orihuela, Torrevieja and most of the Vega Baja. This determines the rules for studying Valencian at school — details in the article moving to Alicante.

Where the British live on the Costa Blanca

The Costa Blanca holds the largest British community in Spain: 76,739 UK citizens were on the municipal registers of Alicante province in 2022, and in 2024 the province took 3,907 of the 18,434 British arrivals in the country, more than anywhere else. They live in the resort towns, not in the city of Alicante.

The community is shrinking, not growing. British arrivals in the province halved between 2021 and 2024, from 7,759 to 3,907, while American arrivals rose 83% — the steepest increase of any Spanish province for them. If you are buying here, that is the number that decides who your future buyer will be.

The Costa Blanca sits in the Valencian Community, which charges the wealth tax, while Andalusia and Madrid rebate it in full. On a large estate that single difference can outweigh the lower property prices here. Compare the regions on our map of regional income and property purchase taxes, with rent per square metre and the size of each English-speaking community on the province map. If you are moving on a pension rather than a salary, the retirement map sorts provinces by rent and community size. The route in is covered in the guide to moving to Spain from the UK.

Living on the Costa Blanca

• The Russian and Ukrainian community of the province of Alicante is one of the largest in Spain: 22,979 Russian citizens and 32,831 Ukrainian citizens. Most live in Torrevieja (5,343 Russians and 8,191 Ukrainians) and Alicante (4,068 and 7,019); more than half of them live in the five largest towns on the coast.
• Taxes in the Valencian Community. The regional income tax scale in 2026 runs from 8.8% to 29.35%. Transfer tax on resale homes is 9% for transactions from 1 June 2026 (11% for properties worth more than €1 million). Wealth tax has a tax-free allowance of €2 million, and inheritance and gifts to close relatives get a 99% rebate.

Which residence permit to choose, where to live in and around Alicante, how much housing costs and what schools are like is covered in the article moving to Alicante. For the town with the largest Russian-speaking community, see the article on Torrevieja.

Where Russians live on the Costa Blanca

Beyond Torrevieja and Alicante, Russians live in a dozen smaller towns, from Dénia in the north to Orihuela in the south. INE last published the citizenship of residents of small municipalities from the municipal register of 1 January 2022, that is, before the 2022 wave of moves; for Torrevieja, Orihuela and Benidorm there is also the census of 1 January 2025. The purchase price in the table is the Ministry of Housing’s appraised value for the second quarter of 2026 (it is calculated only for municipalities with more than 25,000 residents). Rent is the median deposit on 2026 contracts in the Generalitat Valenciana register: by law the deposit on a home equals one month’s rent (article 36 of the Urban Leases Act, LAU).

Russians: INE, municipal register of 1 January 2018 and 2022. * Fewer than 30 contracts in the register for 2026, so treat the figure as a rough guide; Rojales has too few contracts to give one.

Finestrat’s community grew fastest over the four years, by 74%, while Guardamar and Rojales lost Russian residents. By share of Russians Finestrat ranks first in the province: in 2022 Russian citizens made up 7.4% of its residents, against 4.8% in Torrevieja.

Dénia

Dénia is the main town of the Marina Alta at the northern end of the Costa Blanca: 47,261 residents in 2025, 29.1% of them foreign. It is a lively year-round town with a port for ferries to the Balearic Islands, the terminus of tram line L9 and seven Blue Flag beaches. The 2022 register counted 594 Russians, almost as many as in 2018 (573): a stable, small community without the Russian-language infrastructure of Torrevieja.

The appraised value of housing was €2,985/m² in the second quarter of 2026, and a typical rent on 2026 contracts is about €1,025 a month. The town has its own hospital, the Hospital de Dénia, the centre of the health department for the whole Marina Alta. The nearest British schools are Xabia International College in neighbouring Jávea and The Lady Elizabeth School in Cumbre del Sol (Benitachell, ages 2 to 18). Under Law 4/1983 Dénia lies in the Valencian-speaking zone, and Valencian is taught at school alongside Spanish. It suits families who want a real town with a hospital and services, and anyone who keeps a boat or often travels to the Balearics.

Jávea

Jávea (Xàbia), Dénia’s neighbour below Mount Montgó, has 30,642 residents, almost half of them foreign (47.5%), mostly British and Northern European. Russians are few: 288 in 2022 against 270 in 2018. It is, however, the most expensive place in this list: the appraised value in the second quarter of 2026 was €3,507/m², and €3,942/m² for homes up to five years old. A typical rent on 2026 contracts is about €1,200 a month.

Xabia International College is in the town itself, and The Lady Elizabeth School in neighbouring Benitachell. Healthcare is the Jávea health centre, with the hospital in Dénia. Jávea suits buyers of a long-term family home who value a quiet, long-established international community more than a Russian-speaking one. The Valencian Community’s wealth tax, with a tax-free allowance of €2 million, affects many villa buyers here, so it is worth calculating before the purchase.

Altea

Altea is a white hilltop town between Calpe and Benidorm: 24,592 residents, 39.1% of them foreign. The 2022 register counted 774 Russian citizens, 86 more than in 2018; among the smaller towns of the northern coast only Calpe had more (786). The old town with its blue-domed church, pebble beaches and hillside urbanisations, the best known of them Altea Hills overlooking the bay.

There is no official appraised value for Altea: the Ministry calculates it only for towns of more than 25,000 residents. Rent is the highest in this list: a typical payment on 2026 contracts is about €1,225 a month. Tram line L9 runs through the town to Benidorm and Dénia. The health centre is in Altea and the hospital is the Hospital Marina Baixa in Villajoyosa, whose health department covers Altea, L’Alfàs del Pi and Finestrat. Nearby schools are the Norwegian Den norske skole Costa Blanca in L’Alfàs del Pi and Elian’s British School in La Nucía. It suits those who want a beautiful, quiet town with a noticeable Russian-speaking community but without Benidorm’s resort bustle.

L’Alfàs del Pi

L’Alfàs del Pi is a small town between Altea and Benidorm with the beach district of Albir: 21,080 residents, more than half of them foreign (50.4%). It is the centre of the coast’s Scandinavian community: the Norwegian school Den norske skole Costa Blanca has worked here since 1972 and teaches grades 1 to 13. Russians are few and their number barely changes: 351 in 2022, 335 in 2018.

There is no official appraised value (fewer than 25,000 residents). Rent on 2026 contracts is about €1,000 a month, but the register holds few contracts, so the figure is approximate. The health centre is in the town, the hospital is the Hospital Marina Baixa in Villajoyosa, and Albir has a stop on tram line L9. It suits those looking for a quiet place to live all year round, including in retirement, among Europeans rather than Russian speakers.

Finestrat

Finestrat has the fastest-growing Russian community on the coast. The municipality begins in the hills at an old village on a rock and runs down to the sea at the cove of La Cala de Finestrat, which borders Benidorm directly. In 2025 it had 9,919 residents, 50.5% of them foreign. The 2022 register counted 584 Russian citizens against 336 in 2018: growth of 74% in four years. By share of Russians Finestrat ranks first in the province of Alicante, at 7.4% of residents.

You can live by the sea in La Cala, with Benidorm’s infrastructure close by, or higher up in the quiet near the mountains. There is no official appraised value; rent on 2026 contracts is about €1,300 a month, but the register holds few contracts. Healthcare means the clinics in Finestrat and La Cala and the Marina Baixa hospital in Villajoyosa. The nearest British school is Elian’s British School in La Nucía. It suits families who want Russian-speaking neighbours and Benidorm’s services nearby, without living in its high-rises.

Benidorm

Benidorm is the coast’s largest resort and the province’s fourth town by number of Russians, after Torrevieja, Alicante and Orihuela: 1,262 people in the INE census of 1 January 2025. Over three years the community grew by 46%, faster than in Torrevieja (33%). The appraised value in the second quarter of 2026 was €3,217/m², and a typical rent on 2026 contracts is about €880 a month. Districts, prices, schools and residence permits are covered in a separate article, Benidorm.

Villajoyosa

Villajoyosa (La Vila Joiosa), the capital of the Marina Baixa, has brightly painted houses on the seafront and six Blue Flag beaches: 37,449 residents, 24.5% of them foreign, which makes it first of all a Spanish town rather than a resort. It had 594 Russians in the 2022 register (570 in 2018). Its main practical advantage is the Hospital Marina Baixa, the hospital for the whole department, and tram line L1 runs north to Benidorm and south to Alicante.

Housing is noticeably cheaper than next door: the appraised value was €2,222/m² in the second quarter of 2026 against €3,217/m² in Benidorm, and a typical rent is about €850 a month. The nearest international schools are the Lycée Français International d’Alicante in El Campello (ages 2 to 18) and King’s College in Alicante. It suits those who want to live in a Spanish seaside town with a hospital close by and to spend less on housing than in Benidorm or Altea.

Santa Pola

Santa Pola is a fishing port and resort south of Alicante, next to Alicante-Elche airport: 39,709 residents, 24.5% of them foreign. It had 364 Russians in the 2022 register, 56 more than in 2018. Boats leave from here for Tabarca island, salt lagoons lie outside the town, and five beaches fly the Blue Flag. The tram does not reach the town: Alicante is a bus ride or a drive away.

The appraised value was €2,614/m² in the second quarter of 2026, and a typical rent is about €900 a month. Santa Pola shares a health department with Elche: there is a health centre in the town, and the hospital is the Hospital General Universitario de Elche. The nearest British schools are Newton College in Elche and King’s College in Alicante. It suits families for whom the airport and Alicante matter, and who want a calm seaside town with year-round Spanish life.

Guardamar del Segura

Guardamar, Torrevieja’s northern neighbour at the mouth of the Segura river, has 18,564 residents, 38.5% of them foreign. Its beaches run behind a strip of dunes planted with pine forest, and five of them fly the Blue Flag. The 2022 register counted 516 Russians; in 2018 there were 581, so the community has shrunk. There is no railway or tram, so a car is needed.

There is no official appraised value; rent on 2026 contracts is about €700 a month, but the register holds few contracts. Guardamar belongs to the Torrevieja health department: an integrated health centre in the town and the Hospital Universitario de Torrevieja. The nearest British school is El Limonar International School in Villamartín (San Miguel de Salinas). Under Law 4/1983 Guardamar lies in the Valencian-speaking zone. It suits those who want Torrevieja’s infrastructure close by but prefer to live somewhere quieter, next to the woods.

Rojales

Rojales is not a beach town: it sits inland on the Segura river, behind Guardamar. In 2025 it had 17,652 residents. Its main urbanisation is Ciudad Quesada, an area of villas and one of the centres of the coast’s British community. The 2022 register counted 382 Russians, down from 478 in 2018: the community is shrinking.

People choose Rojales for a house with a plot, with the beaches of Guardamar and Torrevieja a short drive away. There is no official appraised value, and the Generalitat register holds too few 2026 rental contracts to give a figure. Healthcare is two health centres (Rojales and Rojales II — Lo Marabú) in the Torrevieja department and the hospital in Torrevieja. Under Law 4/1983 Rojales lies in the Spanish-speaking zone, so a pupil can obtain an exemption from assessment in Valencian (Law 1/2024). It suits those who want a house with a garden and quiet, with the sea at weekends.

Orihuela and Orihuela Costa

Orihuela is two different places in one municipality. The town itself is the historic centre of the Vega Baja with its cathedral, inland and away from the sea. Orihuela Costa is a strip of urbanisations on the coast south of Torrevieja: La Zenia, Cabo Roig, Campoamor, Mil Palmeras, Punta Prima. It has ten Blue Flag beaches, more than any other municipality in the province.

The INE census of 1 January 2025 counted 1,771 Russian citizens in Orihuela, the province’s third community after Torrevieja and Alicante; there were 1,410 in 2022 and 1,850 in 2024. British residents number 8,780. INE does not publish separate figures for Orihuela Costa.

The appraised value for the whole municipality was €2,080/m² in the second quarter of 2026, and €3,089/m² for homes up to five years old; a typical rent is about €700 a month. The coast belongs to the Torrevieja health department and its hospital, the town itself to the Vega Baja hospital. Nearby schools are Skandinaviska Skolan Costa Blanca (Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish programmes) on Orihuela Costa and the British El Limonar in Villamartín. Orihuela lies in the Spanish-speaking zone, and a pupil can obtain an exemption from assessment in Valencian. It suits those who want to live near Torrevieja but in an urbanisation by the beaches rather than in a dense town; almost everywhere you need a car.

Frequently asked questions about the Costa Blanca

What is the Costa Blanca?

The tourist name for the coastline of the province of Alicante in Spain: more than 200 km of shoreline from Denia to Pilar de la Horadada. The Costa Blanca is not a separate region.

Where is the Costa Blanca?

In eastern Spain, on the Mediterranean, in the province of Alicante in the Valencian Community. The main city is Alicante.

Which towns are on the Costa Blanca?

From north to south: Denia, Javea, Calpe, Altea, Benidorm, Villajoyosa, El Campello, Alicante, Santa Pola, Elche, Guardamar del Segura, Torrevieja, Orihuela and Pilar de la Horadada.

How many Blue Flag beaches are there on the Costa Blanca?

In 2026, 77 beaches and 17 marinas. The municipalities with the most Blue Flag beaches are Orihuela (10), Denia (7), and Torrevieja, Pilar de la Horadada and Villajoyosa (6 each). How to charter a boat and which licence you need is covered in our guide to yachts in Spain.

Which airport serves the Costa Blanca?

Alicante-Elche: in 2025 it handled 19.95 million passengers. A tram runs from Alicante along the coast to Benidorm and Denia.

Are there many Russians on the Costa Blanca?

Yes: at 1 January 2025 the province of Alicante had 22,979 Russian citizens and 32,831 Ukrainian citizens. Most live in Torrevieja and Alicante.

What language is spoken on the Costa Blanca?

Spanish and Valencian, both official. In the north and in Alicante the law designates Valencian as predominant; in the south, in Orihuela and Torrevieja, Spanish.

Costa Blanca or Costa del Sol: which to choose?

The Costa Blanca is drier — 311 mm of rainfall in Alicante against 534 mm in Malaga — it has more Blue Flag beaches (77 against 45 in the province of Malaga), and its Russian-speaking community is larger: 22,979 Russian citizens against 9,867. The Costa del Sol is sunnier in winter and has a bigger airport. More in the article Andalusia and the Costa del Sol.

Which Costa Blanca town has the most British residents?

Orihuela, with 10,419 British residents, most of them on Orihuela Costa. Next come Rojales with 5,802, Jávea with 4,964, Torrevieja with 4,722, Benidorm with 3,874 and San Fulgencio with 3,331. Alicante province holds 76,739 British residents in total, more than any other province in Spain.