Costa Blanca Travel Guide: Alicante Province and the White Coast Most Americans Underestimate

The Costa Blanca, the White Coast, stretches for roughly 200 kilometers along the eastern coastline of the Comunitat Valenciana, Spain's Mediterranean heartland, in Alicante province. It is one of the most visited coastlines in Europe and one of the most misunderstood — a place people write off as package-holiday territory and then arrive to find it far more layered than they expected.

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The name comes from the quality of the light and the whitewashed architecture of its towns. Both are real. The Costa Blanca has more Blue Flag certified beaches than any other province in Spain, 95 in 2026, making it the single most certified coastal province in the country for independently verified water quality, safety, and environmental management.

Northern Costa Blanca: The Best of the Coast

The northern section, from Denia down to Benidorm, is where the Costa Blanca is most varied and most worth your time. It has dramatic limestone cliffs, calas accessible only by boat or a serious hike, a medieval hilltop town at Guadalest, and a tram line running the length of the coast. Whale and dolphin-watching trips run out of Denia into the Mediterranean, including record fin whale sightings in 2025.

Dénia is the northernmost town and one of the best bases on the entire coast. It has a working port, a Moorish castle above the old town, excellent restaurants built on a serious rice and seafood tradition, and a ferry connection to Ibiza and Formentera. The red prawns of Dénia are one of the finest things you can eat in the province.

Xàbia, known in Castilian as Jávea, sits behind a rocky headland just south of Dénia. The old town is built in Gothic stone, unusual for this part of Spain. The Granadella cove, a short drive from the center, is one of the most celebrated natural swimming spots on the Costa Blanca, accessible via a path through pine forest to a turquoise cove below limestone cliffs. Arrive before 9 AM in summer or accept that parking will be impossible.

Altea is arguably the prettiest town on the northern coast. The old quarter sits on a hill above the seafront, a cluster of whitewashed houses and bougainvillea-draped lanes around a blue-domed church that has become one of the visual signatures of the region. Artists have lived here for decades and the town has a gallery and craft culture that distinguishes it from its neighbors.

Calpe is dominated by the Penon de Ifach, a limestone rock 332 meters high that juts into the sea. It is unmissable and genuinely dramatic. The old town sits behind it, and the seafront below has a wide sandy beach and good restaurants. We wrote up what we actually did in Calpe if you want the firsthand version.

Benidorm: The Honest Assessment

Benidorm is what it is: a purpose-built mass tourism destination that has been spectacularly successful at exactly that since the 1950s. The beaches, Levante and Poniente, are wide and well maintained. The nightlife is extensive. The town functions entirely in English. If you want a high-energy, all-inclusive beach resort experience with guaranteed sun, Benidorm delivers. If you want authentic Spanish coastal life, you are in the wrong town. That is not a criticism. It is accurate information for making the right choice.

The Interior: Guadalest and the Mountain Villages

Twenty kilometers inland from Benidorm, Guadalest is one of the most visited villages in the Comunitat Valenciana and earns the attention. Built into a rock face above a reservoir, accessible through a tunnel carved into the cliff, and crowned by a castle tower that appears to grow from the stone. Go early morning or late afternoon to avoid tour buses.

The Serra de Mariola, running through the center of the province, is known for its medicinal herbs and the local spirit herbero. The town of Bocairent, a beautifully preserved medieval hill town with caves carved into sandstone cliff, represents a completely different side of Alicante province and is worth the drive from the coast.

Alicante City

Alicante city is the provincial capital with the Santa Bárbara Castle perched on a cliff above the city, reachable by lift from the beach below. The views across the city and the bay justify the trip entirely. The Explanada de España, the mosaic palm-lined waterfront promenade, is the center of city life in the evening. The old quarter El Barrio has good restaurants and a nightlife scene that belongs to the city rather than to tourism. Alicante Airport is one of the busiest in Spain with extensive European and some transatlantic connections.

Blue Flag Beaches on the Costa Blanca

Alicante province holds 95 Blue Flag certified beaches in 2026, more than any other province in Spain. This certification requires Excellent water quality under EU standards, lifeguards on duty, first aid facilities, environmental management, and accessibility for reduced mobility visitors. Special Blue Flag Mentions for 2026 went to Santa Pola for excellence in lifeguard services, environmental education, and universal accessibility. New certifications include Cala Advocat and Puerto Blanco in Benissa, and Cala Lanuza in El Campello. See the full list of Spain's Blue Flag beaches for how Alicante compares nationally.

Living on the Costa Blanca

Alicante province has one of the largest established expat communities in Spain, with significant British, German, and growing American populations across the northern Costa Blanca towns. The infrastructure around English-language services, international schools, healthcare navigation, and expat social networks is more developed here than almost anywhere else in Spain. The climate produces more than 300 days of sun per year with mild winters and summers moderated by sea breezes in the coastal towns.

Where to Stay

For a detailed breakdown of which northern town fits your trip best, see our Costa Blanca North: Which Town Should You Actually Stay In? — it walks through every town by vibe, from quiet cala lovers to island hoppers to those who want to stay put in paradise. For the south, here is a map of options:

Basing yourself on the northern coast, Dénia, Xàbia, or Altea, puts you closest to the calas and the mountain villages. If you want to see what's actually available to book right now, here's a live look:

Affiliate disclosure: this map contains affiliate links. If you book through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Driving South?

If you are road tripping down to Andalucia, the Grand Hyatt La Manga Club in Murcia is worth knowing about. It sits between the Costa Blanca and the Costa Calida and makes an excellent overnight stop or a destination in its own right.

Just south of the Costa Blanca proper, near Torrevieja, sits the Laguna Rosa: a working salt lake that turns a vivid shade of pink from the algae and brine shrimp living in it. The flamingos that use it year-round are an extraordinary bonus — pink birds on pink water.

Practical Information

Alicante Airport serves extensive European routes and is the main entry point for the province. The TRAM d'Alacant light rail connects Alicante city to Denia along the northern coast, making it possible to base yourself in one town and explore others without a car — though a car opens up the mountain villages and the interior considerably. For train travel across Spain more broadly, this is the tool we use.

Written by Sherri: an American who spent years traveling solo, including time living in Peru, before settling into a full-time digital nomad life with her husband and young kids for over four years. She's now been in Europe for 3.5 years, most of it in the Valencia area of Spain. Everything on Travel-Casa is written from firsthand experience or knowledge picked up along the way.

Dolphin and whale-watching trips run out of Dénia into the Mediterranean — easy family half-day and part of our guide to whale watching in Spain.

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