Ciudad Quesada / Rojales

Most of the well-known names on the southern Costa Blanca sit right on the water. Ciudad Quesada does something different. It was laid out in the 1970s, on gently rising ground in the municipality of Rojales, as a planned community built around an 18-hole golf course rather than a beach. That decision still shapes the place today: leafy avenues, low-rise villas and bungalows with their own gardens, wide pavements, and a proper commercial centre that stays open all year rather than shuttering in October.

An established, hillside golf community a few minutes inland from the Costa Blanca coast, where a championship course, a real high street and a genuinely international neighbourhood have made it one of the most settled places to own a home on this stretch of Spain.

At a glance:  around 4 to 6 km from the beaches of Guardamar  ·  roughly 35 minutes to Alicante airport  ·  18-hole La Marquesa golf course at its heart  ·  a large, year-round community that is close to half foreign  ·  around 3,000 hours of sun a year.

Why Ciudad Quesada is different

For a foreign buyer, the appeal is a settled, residential feel with everything on the doorstep. There is a long high street of shops, bars, banks and restaurants on the Avenida de las Naciones, medical facilities, supermarkets, a water park in summer and the golf at the centre of it all. The population leans heavily international, with a large share of residents from the UK, Ireland and Scandinavia, so newcomers tend to find their feet quickly while the surrounding Rojales area keeps a clear Spanish character.

Location and getting around

Inland calm, with the coast and the airport both close

Ciudad Quesada sits a few kilometres inland in the heart of the Vega Baja, with the older town of Rojales and the River Segura just below it, the beaches of Guardamar del Segura a short drive east, and Torrevieja and La Mata to the south. The position gives you a quieter, greener base while keeping the sea, the shops and the airport all within easy reach.

• Alicante-Elche Airport is around 35 to 40 minutes by car on the N-332 and AP-7, which matters a great deal when family and friends are flying in from the UK and Ireland.
• Murcia-Corvera Airport is roughly 40 to 45 minutes to the south, giving a useful second set of routes.
• The beaches of Guardamar are only about 10 minutes away by car, so coast days are easy without living on the seafront.
• The N-332 and AP-7 put Torrevieja, Alicante city and Cartagena within comfortable reach for shopping, hospitals and days out, and regular buses link the urbanisation to the coast and neighbouring towns.

For buyers weighing up where to settle, Ciudad Quesada offers a middle path: the space and value of an inland villa or bungalow, with the beach and the airport both a short hop away.

Golf, lagoons and the great outdoors

A course at the centre, and nature reserves all around

At the heart of the urbanisation is La Marquesa Golf, a scenic 18-hole championship course that winds through gentle hills and Mediterranean planting and suits players of all levels. It is one of the main reasons the area first drew international buyers, and it remains a social hub as much as a sporting one, with a clubhouse, restaurant and a calendar of year-round play.

Beyond the fairways, the surrounding Vega Baja is rich in open space. The Parque Natural de La Mata y Torrevieja, with its famous pink salt lagoon, is close by for walking, cycling and birdwatching, while the dunes and pine forest of Guardamar are a short drive away. Families have the AquaPark Rojales for the summer, and the old town of Rojales adds a layer of history with its restored windmill, the Museo de la Huerta and the cave houses cut into the rock. Add around 3,000 hours of sunshine a year and outdoor life carries on comfortably through the winter.

A quick word on the seasons.  Summer is warm, with July and August often around 30°C, and the inland setting can feel a touch hotter than the coast. Many buyers prefer spring and autumn, when the days sit in the low to mid twenties and the area is calm. Winters are mild, which is exactly why so many residents stay all year rather than only in season.

Lifestyle: who Ciudad Quesada suits

For families

Ciudad Quesada is a safe, low-rise, walkable community with parks, sports facilities, a water park and plenty of space, and the wider Vega Baja offers international-friendly schooling, including the long-established Norwegian school in Rojales. Most homes come with a private garden or terrace, and the quiet residential streets make it an easy place for children to grow up.

For retirees and second-home owners

This is the area’s historic heartland. The mild climate, flat and walkable centre, good healthcare access and a large, established expat community make Ciudad Quesada a long-standing favourite for those buying a place in the sun for the long term. English is widely spoken, day-to-day life is straightforward, and there is a genuine year-round social scene rather than a resort that empties out of season.

For golfers and active buyers

With La Marquesa on the doorstep and several more championship courses within a short drive across the Vega Baja and Murcia, Ciudad Quesada is a natural base for golfers. The flat terrain, cycling routes and nearby nature reserves also make it popular with walkers and cyclists who want to stay active all year.

For food and culture lovers

The commercial centre is lined with bars and restaurants serving everything from fresh Mediterranean cooking and the local catch to international favourites, and the weekly markets in Rojales and nearby towns are a fixture of the week. Just below, the old town of Rojales offers a more traditional Spanish counterpoint, with its windmill, cave dwellings and riverside walks.

The Ciudad Quesada property market

What your money buys, and what really moves the price

Ciudad Quesada offers an unusually broad range of homes for an inland community: bungalows and apartments with lagoon or garden views, townhouses, and detached villas with private pools, both in the established urbanisation and in the newer developments rising around it. The area has long been known for value relative to the seafront, though strong foreign demand has narrowed that gap, and frontline golf villas now reach well into the premium bracket.

As a guide, here is the kind of spread currently available through Sunshine Homes:

As with any new build or resale, the headline figure is only the start. Plot size, the presence of a private pool, distance to the golf and commercial centre, orientation and the age of the build can move the price of two otherwise similar homes by tens of thousands of euros. That is exactly the detail we help buyers see clearly before they travel.

A note on buying costs.  Ciudad Quesada is in the Alicante region of the Valencian Community, where resale purchase tax (ITP) is charged on top of the price at 9%, alongside notary, registry and legal fees, while new builds carry IVA (VAT) and stamp duty (AJD) instead at 10%. We always recommend taking advice from a qualified independent Spanish lawyer before you commit, and being especially careful with off-plan contracts and stage payments. We are happy to introduce you to recommended local solicitors, and the choice of who advises you is always yours.

Price growth and market benchmarks

What the numbers say about the last five years

Ciudad Quesada has tracked the wider southern Costa Blanca, one of the stronger-performing coastal markets in Europe since the post-2015 recovery. As a rough guide, average values in the area climbed from somewhere around €1,500 to €1,800 per square metre in 2015 to comfortably above €2,800 per square metre by 2025, with the Alicante province posting double-digit annual growth at the 2025 peak. The figures below give a sense of the trend. They are drawn from public asking-price indices, which vary between sources and sit above final sold prices, so treat them as direction of travel rather than a valuation.

• Around 2015: the area averaged roughly €1,500 to €1,800 per square metre.
• By 2025: values reached around €2,800 per square metre for houses and close to €3,000 for apartments (asking).
• Mid-2025 peak: Alicante province was up around 15.9% year on year.

Sources: idealista, indomio and INE / CaixaBank regional data, 2015 to 2025. Asking prices; final sold prices are typically lower.

The broad picture across the decade to 2025: a steady climb in the calmer years, accelerating sharply in 2024 and 2025 as foreign demand returned in force and the supply of quality new build stayed tight. In Ciudad Quesada specifically, the priciest stock sits frontline to the golf and in the newest gated developments, while the most affordable is found among the older apartments and bungalows set back from the centre. International buyers, led by British, Irish and Scandinavian families, make up a very large share of the local market.

New build versus resale: a benchmark

The two parts of the market behave differently and carry different costs. This is the honest comparison we walk buyers through:

Total acquisition costs on the Costa Blanca generally run around 11 to 15 per cent above the purchase price once tax, notary, registry and legal fees are included. Tax rates and reliefs change, so confirm current figures with your lawyer.

What this means for a buyer.  Resale gives you an established location and a quicker, often cheaper, entry. New build gives you modern efficiency, developer guarantees and lower running costs, usually at a premium per square metre. Neither is automatically the better buy. It depends on your budget, timescale and how you intend to use the home, which is exactly the conversation we are here to have with you. You can compare both live: pre-owned in Ciudad Quesada and new build in Ciudad Quesada.

Why buy in Ciudad Quesada with Sunshine Homes

We are an independent agency working right across the Costa Blanca South, with deep local knowledge of Ciudad Quesada, Rojales and the surrounding Vega Baja. Rather than pushing a fixed stock list, we start with what suits you and then find it across the market, including new build developments that are never advertised on the portals. From the first conversation through viewings, negotiation, the legal process and key handover, you have one honest point of contact who knows the area and is working for you.

You can browse all Ciudad Quesada listings, explore our new build developments in Ciudad Quesada, or get in touch to start a tailored search. Selling instead? Request a free property valuation.

Ciudad Quesada buyer questions, answered

Where is Ciudad Quesada and how far is the airport?

Ciudad Quesada is an inland residential area in the municipality of Rojales, in Alicante province on the southern Costa Blanca, a few kilometres back from the sea between Guardamar and Torrevieja. Alicante-Elche Airport is about 35 to 40 minutes by car via the N-332 and AP-7, and Murcia-Corvera Airport is roughly 40 to 45 minutes to the south.

Is Ciudad Quesada a good place for foreign buyers?

It is one of the most established choices on this coast. A large share of residents are foreign, mainly British, Irish and Scandinavian, drawn over the decades by the golf, the value and the climate. You get a genuine year-round community, full amenities, healthcare and schooling nearby, and a relaxed residential setting rather than a purely seasonal resort.

What does property cost in Ciudad Quesada?

Expect two-bedroom apartments and bungalows from around the high €100,000s to low €200,000s, with villas typically from the high €300,000s and frontline golf or larger detached homes reaching €650,000 and well beyond. The right figure depends heavily on the plot, the pool, the build age and the location within the urbanisation, so it is best confirmed with an agent against live availability.

What is there to do all year round?

The 18-hole La Marquesa golf course, the AquaPark in summer, walking and cycling in the La Mata and Torrevieja nature park, the beaches of Guardamar a short drive away, weekly markets, and the bars and restaurants of the commercial centre. With around 3,000 hours of sun a year, outdoor life continues right through the winter.

Is Ciudad Quesada better than Guardamar or Torrevieja?

It depends on what you want. Ciudad Quesada is inland, greener and built around golf, with more space and often better value for a villa with a pool, but you drive to the beach. Guardamar gives you the pine forest and Blue Flag sand on the doorstep, while Torrevieja is larger and livelier with more nightlife and shopping. Many buyers compare all three, and we are happy to talk you through the trade-offs honestly.

Thinking about Ciudad Quesada?

Let us bring you a genuine shortlist of Ciudad Quesada homes that fit what you are actually looking for, with the real price and the full picture before you ever step on a plane.

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Guardamar   ·   Torrevieja    ·   Orihuela Costa   ·   Benijófar   ·    Los Alcázares   ·   Santa Rosalía    ·   La Finca   ·   Pilar de la Horadada   ·   San Miguel de Salinas  

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