Costa Blanca Travel Guide
2026 Edition

Costa Blanca — the White Coast — runs for 244 kilometres along the Alicante province, taking in some of the most varied coastal scenery in Spain. The north bears no resemblance to the package-holiday image that has defined the costa's reputation: around Dénia, Jávea, Moraira and Altea, the coast is rocky and hilly, the villages are genuinely lived-in, and the restaurants serve real arroz a banda and fresh fish landed at local ports the same morning. This is where well-travelled Europeans quietly come back to year after year.

The south is a different proposition. Benidorm — misunderstood, genuinely interesting as an urban experiment — has 6km of immaculate sand and more hotel rooms than the whole of Greece. Torrevieja's pink salt lagoon is one of the most surreal landscapes in Spain. The Isla Tabarca, accessible by ferry from Alicante, has the clearest water and most reliable snorkelling conditions on the entire coast. Alicante city itself — often skipped in favour of the resorts — has a magnificent castle, a Michelin-starred food scene and a waterfront that works equally well at noon and midnight.

The climate is Costa Blanca's headline feature: 320 days of sunshine annually, mild winters (15-18°C) that attract long-stay visitors from November through March, and summers that are hot but tempered by the breeze off the sea. Alicante Airport is well-connected from across Europe year-round, making this one of the most accessible of all the Spanish costas.