Which way the terrace faces decides whether you use it in winter. Near the beach can mean a steep ten minute walk back uphill. Parking is the detail people regret ignoring in the towns. May, June, September and October cost less and feel better than peak summer.
A holiday home beats a hotel for most people once there are more than two of you, or once anyone wants to eat breakfast at a time of their own choosing. You get space, a kitchen, usually a pool, and nobody knocking on the door at ten.
What nobody tells you is which details in a listing actually matter. After years of managing these properties and reading the reviews afterwards, here is what separates a good week from a frustrating one.
Which way the terrace faces. In July nobody cares, there is sun everywhere. From October through April it decides whether the outdoor space is usable at all. A north facing terrace in winter is a cold concrete rectangle. South or west and you are eating lunch outside in February.
What near the beach means. On a map, four hundred metres is nothing. On this coast some of those four hundred metres go up a hill, and the walk you enjoyed on the way down is a different proposition at four in the afternoon carrying a cool box and a toddler. Look at the terrain, not just the distance.
Parking. Easy to skip over when you are looking at photos of a pool. If the property is in a town centre and has no dedicated space, you will spend part of every day thinking about where the car is.
Villas with a private pool. Best for families and groups. The pool is yours, the noise is yours, and nobody is reserving a sunbed at seven in the morning.
Apartments. Usually closer to everything, often with a communal pool, and better value for couples or small families who intend to be out most of the day.
Penthouses. Big terraces and the views. Worth the premium if you are the kind of traveller who will actually sit up there in the evening rather than going out.
Rural fincas. Quiet, characterful, and further from everything. You will need a car and you will want one anyway.
Around Alicante for city access and the airport. Torrevieja for value and a long season. Altea, Moraira and Javea further north for the prettier, pricier end of the coast. Orihuela Costa, where we are based, for beaches and golf without northern prices.
Energy efficiency comes up far more than it used to, partly for the bills and partly because a well insulated house is simply more comfortable in August. Smart locks and keyless entry have gone from novelty to expectation. And winter sun on the terrace, the orientation point again, is now something people ask about directly rather than discovering on arrival.
July and August are expensive and busy. That is the trade for school holidays and the hottest sea.
May, June, September and October are the better weeks on almost every measure. Lower rates, warm enough sea in September and October, restaurants where you can walk in, and a coast that feels like it belongs to the people who live here. Most of our repeat guests moved to the shoulder season after their first August and never went back.
Check the property has a valid tourist rental licence. It is a legal requirement in this region and a booking without one can be cancelled at short notice. Any reputable manager will give you the number without being asked.
We have managed 50+ homes along this coast and we are happy to tell you which of ours fits what you are describing, including when the answer is none of them. +34 658 235 481 or info@casacapitals.com.
A couple of the properties we actually manage on the Costa Blanca.
We have managed 50+ homes on the Costa Blanca from our base in Orihuela Costa. Ask us anything about yours.
Four ways we work with owners, buyers and guests across the Costa Blanca.
We run the whole letting operation for you: listings, pricing, guests, cleaning and clear reporting.
Buying or selling on the Costa Blanca, guided by a team that manages property here every single day.
Browse the homes we look after and book your stay direct with the people who run them.
Maintenance, seasonal checks and repairs for owners who cannot be here to handle them.
Send us the address and a few photos and we will come back with what we would expect it to earn, and what we would change to get there.
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