Why Torrevieja is always top
This bustling beach city never seems to go out of fashion. Every single year it tops the table for most searched-for Spanish location on A Place in the Sun.com, with 2024 no exception. This year it leads the way again, with nearby Villamartin and then the Costa del Sol’s Estepona following in its wake. So why the appeal?
In the heart of Southern Costa Blanca, Torrevieja a vibrant beach resort easily reached from Alicante airport, sitting between two lakes and the Mediterranean Sea. The former salt-mining centre has beautiful sandy beaches and seafront promenades, several golf clubs, water sports, lots of amenities such as waterparks, and a lively nightlife. It has a near-perfect climate and is recognized by the World Health Organisation as being one of the healthiest in the world: it has long attracted wellness fans for it therapeutic waters.
The area surrounding Torrevieja is flat - not as mountainous as other parts of the Costa Blanca, and offers long sandy beaches. For this reason it appeals to retirees – even those in their eighties. The Playa del Cura is conveniently located in the city centre and you can find the regional appetiser of sun-dried octopus roasted on an open fire, but equally there are plenty of cosmopolitan restaurants from Asian to Italian or Mexicans.
Torrevieja is a mix of expat populations. English and Irish pubs sit happily beside Spanish bars, providing a contrast to the Mediterranean lifestyle. English-speakers are well catered for and Torrevieja has two international schools and numerous clubs and societies specifically devoted to expat groups. Supermarkets abound – there’s not much missing from the area. There is a marina daily street market and every Friday morning one of the largest street markets in Spain. A very good place for shopping in Torrevieja is the Habaneras shopping centre, with plenty of shops to suit everyone. Torrevieja is about 50 km south of Alicante airport and about an hour’s drive from Murcia International Airport.
Find your place
The reason why many people start their search in Torrevieja is because it’s a big-name place and does offer an awful lot of affordable property for sale – especially around the €80,000 to €100k mark. However when you search for a property online you’ll see that many of the properties featured in nearby areas, from La Mata (the northern part of Torrevieja) to El Raso and also Lo Pepin, or to its south: Punta Prima and Villamartin.
In fact, many estate agents confirm that a property search starts in Torrevieja and often ends in the popular urbanisation of Villamartin, or the more villagey Benijofar. El Raso is an urbanisation between Guardamar del Segura and Ciudad Quesada north of Torrevieja, famed for its Lemon Tree Market on a Sunday with food and drink stalls and pop-ups. House hunters Jeremy and Jane fell in love with the area and bought a three-bed villa there in 2023 for €250,000. Benijofar is a fast-growing village with strong traditions surrounded by salt lakes with Santa Pola and its famous flamingos to the north and Torrevieja and San Pedro del Pinatar to the south.
If you are looking for the ‘real Spain’ without the need to speak fluent Spanish (trying is appreciated) then this will be your idea of paradise. Traditional tapas bars, petanque, street parades and annual fiestas feature in this area.
What can you buy?
In Torrevieja you can still find an apartment for €50,000 if you are lucky; but most apartments now start at around €80,000. You can even find a three-bedroom one for €100,000 in the Centro, if you want to be in the thick of things – but without doubt there is a LOT for sale for a budget of €90,000 to €100,000.
Townhouses start at around €100,000 and there are plenty of good villas with a pool if you have over €200,000 in nearby areas such as Villamartin. A new-build property will be north of €200,000 – a three-bed bungalow at €269,000, for example. Find a smart detached four-bed villa for €900,000 or a spacious five or six-bedroom villas for north of €1m, but there really is plenty of choice for all budgets in between.
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