Self Catering Holidays | Villa and Apartment Holidays in Costa Blanca

13th February 2008
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The Costa Blanca is the Spain holiday hot-spot for 2008 but it is important to understand that there is a great variance between different Costa Blanca areas.

The northern end of the Costa Blanca, in particular Calpe, Moraira and Javea, is far superior to the south. In fact Torrevieja has been described as "the worst concrete nightmare".
Is it not all the same Spanish costa? Not at all, any more!

Basically the whole Alicante coast-line is blessed with natural beauty. The incredibly white and soft sandy beaches contrast with dramatic rocky headlines and the terrain slopes gently up to the pine-clad foothills.
This all sounds like travel agents blurb and was once absolutely true.
Sadly now, it mostly stops at the high tide mark.
The area immediately behind the beaches is cluttered with high-rise buildings, abandoned, weedy construction sites, tower cranes etc. and these eyesores continue into the hills.
 

The Spanish Real Estate Crisis could prove to the Scandal of the Decade.

The construction boom during the past 5 years created a real estate bubble which finally burst leaving a surplus of low-quality buildings that nobody wants.
Finally after pressure from conservation groups, foreign residents and the EU, the Spanish Government has started to act.
Local councillors have been arrested for granting illegal building licenses, accepting "backhanders" etc., the costal control zone has been increased from 100 to 350 metres and the first demolitions have been carried out.
The whole cleanup effort is likely to tie-up the courts (and demolition teams) for at least a decade and will probably leave the Spanish economy in tatters.

So who would want to have a holiday in Costa Blanca and why is it so popular?

The whole point is that it is not all as bad as describe above but rather an area where examples of excellent town and country planning contrast sharply with those driven by sheer greed.

Benidorm can only be described as a "holiday city" with multi-story apartment and hotel blocks partitioned by wide palm-lined boulevards.
Everything is squeaky-clean and tidy and it is apparent that a lot of good planning has guided its development since the 1970's.
The holiday accommodation here is mainly hotels and self-catering apartments.
The surrounding area provides a wealth of interest for holidaymakers with holiday parks, such as Terra Mitica, Terra Natura, Aqualandia and a Golf Course.
Picture from Benidorm Spotlight
 

Moraira, on the other end of the scale, is a town with mainly detached villas and pueblo-style developments.
The Moraira Centre, behind the beach, has obviously been developed over the years but there has been a low-rise restriction since the beginning.
Most of the properties in the hills behind have uninterrupted sea-views over the top and everything blends in nicely.
Perhaps Moraira's development is due to good forward planning or perhaps the planners had time to think.
Nevertheless Moraira has been exempt from the recent boom and this is because it all started here early on and there has been little new development land available for years.

Calpe is a mixture of the two and the town and Poniente beach areas are a Benidorm in miniature but all very well set out and dominated by the Peñon de Ifach.
Surrounding this, to the north, south and behind, are some very attractive villa developments.

Javea also provides mixed holiday accommodation.
The Javea coastline extends, for around 5 Klms, from sandy Arenal beach to the port area and is protected by headlands to the North and South.
Close to the sea are mainly low-rise apartment blocks with many villas in the surrounding foothills.
The only area to have suffered from the boom is the Port end of the beach area but this is confined to just a few blocks and quite acceptable.

Choosing a self-catering or packaged Costa Blanca holiday?
Unless you know the Costa Blanca well the best advice is to stick to the areas mentioned above.

Rising Holiday Costs for Summer 2008
Falling values of the £ abroad, fuel surcharges, credit card charges, rising holiday costs, holiday company insolvencies!
Doom and gloom for Summer 2008?
Not at all! You can still enjoy an inexpensive summer holiday if you follow these holiday costing, security and liquidity guidelines.