Property for sale in Orihuela

Buying a house in Orihuela means buying in one municipality with two very different parts. The city lies inland on the Segura, at the foot of the San Miguel hill, with a protected historic centre, a university campus and the large hospital of the Vega Baja. Orihuela Costa is the coastal part of the same municipality, half an hour to three quarters of an hour’s drive away, with other municipalities in between. Most of what is listed under Orihuela is on that coast. So buying here means first knowing which of the two you are after.

In the city you live in a Spanish setting, between the old centre against the hill and the farmland around it. Along the coast, from north to south, lie Punta Prima, Playa Flamenca, La Zenia, Cabo Roig and Dehesa de Campoamor, with small sandy coves between rocky points. Inland of the coast lie the golf districts around Villamartín, Las Ramblas, Campoamor and Las Colinas. Mind the boundaries: Punta Prima runs into Torrevieja, and Villamartín and Las Colinas are often advertised under San Miguel de Salinas, but belong to Orihuela.

On the coast it is large urbanisations with flats, linked houses and villas, often in complexes with a shared pool, and that is also where almost all new build is. Around the golf courses you buy flats and linked houses on the course, and villas too. Many coastal complexes date from the building wave around the turn of the century; ask about the state of the owners’ community and whether extensions are registered. In the city’s protected centre, separate rules apply to renovation. The projects under construction are on the new-build page for Orihuela.

The city suits people who want to live in a Spanish city, with a station, hospital and university, and accept the beach being some way off. The coast suits those looking for sea, golf and an international setting, who have a car. Anyone who wants both at once will be happy on neither side. In the city, mind the water: in heavy rain the Segura burst its banks and the city was cut off for days. On the coast, residents sometimes feel far from the town hall, which is half an hour to three quarters of an hour’s drive away.

The city has a station with high-speed trains to Madrid and suburban trains to Murcia and Alicante; no train runs on the coast. The city falls under the Vega Baja hospital, the coast under Torrevieja’s. From the city the Región de Murcia airport is closest; from the coast, Alicante and Murcia are about equally far. The AP-7 is tolled on this stretch; the N-332 is free but busy. South of the coast lies Pilar de la Horadada; read more about this coast on the page about the Costa Blanca South.