One of the sunniest and driest corners of Europe, with a large and long-established international community around the corner. From Alicante to Pilar de la Horadada. Independent buyer guidance since 2005, at every step.
The climate does the work With around 2,900 hours of sunshine and only 280 millimetres of rain per year, this is one of the driest and sunniest corners of Europe. Winters are mild, summers dry and warm, and you can sit outside almost all year round.
You get a lot of home for your money Entry prices are clearly lower than on the Costa del Sol or the Costa Blanca North, while beaches, amenities and accessibility are fully up to standard. That is why many buyers start their search right here.
You do not start from zero Dutch, Belgian and other international residents have lived here for decades, with their own associations, care in their own language and shops with familiar products.
You get there quickly Alicante airport is fifteen to forty-five minutes from the zones in this region, with daily flights from Schiphol, Eindhoven, Rotterdam and Brussels. Murcia is the second airport within an hour.
Five different atmospheres on one strip From the city of Alicante to the village of Pilar de la Horadada, from lively Torrevieja to the golf areas near Orihuela Costa. Along seventy kilometres of coast you find five ways of living.
The Costa Blanca South is not one place, it is five places. Between Alicante in the north and Pilar de la Horadada on the border with Murcia lie zones that differ strongly from one another. For most buyers, one zone clearly fits better than the rest.
01Lively, amenities all year round, with the pink salt lakes as a backdrop.
Budgets up to around €350,000, overwinterers, those looking for a first second home.
Apartments, bungalows, penthouses on the seafront boulevard.
02Golf and beach, international residential areas, plenty of new-build.
Budgets from €220,000 to €650,000, families, golfers, those who want new-build.
Townhouses, apartments on the golf course, villas.
03A Spanish city by the sea, with a boulevard, culture and life all year round.
City people, remote workers, those who want to live without a car.
City apartments, historic buildings.
04A fishing town with a working harbour, plus quiet residential areas on the hill.
Peace-seekers, families, those who fly back and forth often.
Apartments, bungalows with a shared pool.
05More village-like and more Spanish, with the beaches of Mil Palmeras.
Peace and quiet, those who return every year, price-conscious buyers.
Bungalows, villas, apartments within walking distance of the sea.
Tell us what matters to you (peace, sociability, golf, sea or city) and you receive a first recommendation per zone.
The Costa Blanca South is among the driest and sunniest strips of the Spanish mainland: around 280 millimetres of rain per year, and in July often nothing falls at all. The figures below are multi-year averages for the coastal strip around Torrevieja and Alicante.
Averaged over the coastal strip. The flat hinterland shows almost the same picture. In winter you still get six hours of sun a day here.
Autumn brings short, sometimes heavy showers. Between May and September it stays almost dry, sometimes for weeks on end.
The salt lakes of Torrevieja and La Mata noticeably temper the climate around the town. By the sea there is almost always a light breeze. The interior is a few degrees warmer in summer.
Not the crowds of summer, not the showers of autumn. You see the residential areas as they are for most of the year. August is too busy to get a good picture.
Alicante airport (ALC) is fifteen minutes from Santa Pola and 40 to 55 minutes from Torrevieja and Orihuela Costa. There are daily direct flights from Schiphol, Eindhoven, Rotterdam and Brussels, in season dozens per week. Murcia (RMU) is the second airport, around forty-five minutes from Torrevieja.
From the Netherlands it is roughly 20 to 21 hours of driving via France. With an overnight stop near Lyon or Barcelona you do it comfortably in two days. The AP-7 is toll-free in this region.
The high-speed train (AVE) takes you from Alicante to Madrid in around 2.5 hours, with connections to the European network.
The N-332 and the AP-7 connect all the coastal towns. The terrain is flat, so cycling is a real option here. Alicante has a tram line along the north coast.
The Costa Blanca South has one of the largest Dutch and Belgian communities in Spain, with Torrevieja at its centre. It is not a separate bubble, but a network that has been in place for decades.
There is an active Dutch association in Torrevieja and the surrounding area for residents and overwinterers, there are Dutch-speaking care providers in the zone and Dutch shops with products from the Netherlands and Belgium.
The Belgian community partly moves in the same circle. The activities of the associations are open to both.
A large group of residents, plus an at least equally large group of overwinterers and second-home owners.
GPs, dentists and physiotherapists who speak Dutch, mainly around Torrevieja and Orihuela Costa.
The Nederlandse Vereniging Torrevieja en omstreken (Dutch association), with regular drop-in mornings, outings and activities for Dutch and Belgian people.
The range of international schools is smaller here than on the Costa del Sol, but the largest school has a strong reputation. El Limonar International School (ELIS Villamartín) is the reference: a British curriculum from ages 3 to 18, with school buses across almost the entire region, from Orihuela Costa and Torrevieja to Pilar de la Horadada.
In addition, Spanish state education is a fully-fledged route for families staying long term, certainly with young children. Towards Elche and Alicante the offering is growing, including British education with an IB diploma.
The choice depends on how long you are coming and what you want for your child. We include the school choice in our advice on the zone.
School fees range from €0 (state school) to well over €10,000 per year (British schools in the upper years). If the choice becomes complicated, we put you in touch with an education adviser.
Spain has two healthcare systems side by side: the public system (SNS) and private clinics. The public system is free of charge if you work in Spain or receive a state pension from an EU country, and the quality is good. For an appointment with a specialist you sometimes wait a little longer. That is why many foreigners take out a supplementary private policy.
The public Hospital Universitario de Torrevieja is used to international patients. Privately you have Quirónsalud Torrevieja and, towards Elche, IMED. The public Hospital Vega Baja in Orihuela covers the hinterland.
Receiving a state pension from another EU country? Then you take your healthcare rights with you to Spain using an S1 form, a statement issued by the health authority in your home country. With it you register with the Spanish public system, and your health insurance at home does not need to continue.
A first picture to calibrate your expectations. Within each range the differences are large, depending on year of construction, condition, view and the exact location. For reference: the average asking price is around €2,700 per m² in Torrevieja and around €3,200 per m² in Orihuela Costa (idealista, 2026). We give you a sharper estimate per search profile.
Prices exclude purchase costs. For resale property in the Valencia region you pay 9% transfer tax (ITP), and 11% on the part above €1 million (rate since 1 June 2026). For new-build you pay 10% VAT plus 1.4% stamp duty (AJD). On top of that, allow 1 to 2% for notary and registration.
Indication based on asking prices in the market, reference date September 2026. We keep this table up to date.
Homes that are not publicly for sale can fall below or above these ranges.
I am from Genk in Belgian Limburg and live in Ciudad Quesada. I guide everyone who wants to take the same step, whether you are looking for a holiday home or want to move for good. I know the region from daily life. Tell me what you are looking for and I immediately know which places fit.
I hear about homes that are not yet publicly for sale through developers, through my network and by going out into the region myself. My clients most often describe my guidance as reliable and committed, because I honestly say what I think.
Reliable, committed and honest about what suits you.
We work on seven Spanish coasts. Three short comparisons with regions that buyers often weigh up against this one.
Dry, sunny and affordable, with one of the largest international communities in Spain.
Directly to the south, the warmest winters in Spain and the Mar Menor, priced even more keenly.
Greener and hillier, with sea-view villas and a higher price level.
More cosmopolitan and larger in scale, with the most flights and the widest offering.
The questions we hear most often about living on the Costa Blanca South. Missing something? Put your question directly to Marco.
The terrain is flat and a lot has been built, so supply is large. That keeps prices lower than in the hilly north or on the Costa del Sol. You do get the same sun and sea in return. In recent years, by the way, prices here have been rising faster than elsewhere, precisely because the entry level is so accessible.
In a no-obligation conversation of an hour, Marco tells you what suits you, what does not, and which zone fits your situation. Since 2005 we have been guiding Dutch and Belgian buyers in Spain, by now well over 800 purchases.
