The Best Beaches on the Costa Blanca & Costa Cálida
There's a particular kind of morning here on the Spanish coast — the light comes up soft and gold, the sea is glassy and calm, and you realise the whole day stretches ahead of you with nothing more pressing than choosing which beach to visit.
At Sunshine Homes, we spend our lives along this stretch of Mediterranean shoreline, and one of the questions we're asked most often by people thinking of a holiday — or a whole new life — out here is wonderfully simple: "Which beaches are the good ones?"
It's a lovely question, because the honest answer is: it depends entirely on the day you're after.
A coast of two characters
Run your eye along the map and you'll find two coastlines that feel quite different. The Costa Blanca in the north gives you dramatic headlands and jewel-bright coves — places like Jávea's Granadella, where pine-clad cliffs tumble down to water so clear it barely looks real. Further south, the beaches open out into long, golden, easy-going strands, perfect for a lazy family day with shallow water and a chiringuito never far away.
Then there's the Costa Cálida — the "warm coast" — home to the remarkable Mar Menor, Europe's largest saltwater lagoon. Here you can paddle in bath-warm, waist-deep water on one side of a narrow sandbar, then cross to the open Mediterranean on the other. And tucked away near Cartagena, the wild beaches of Calblanque remind you what this coast looked like before any of us arrived.
Something for every kind of beach day
Want soft sand, shallow water and a coffee within reach for the children? There's a beach for that. After a quiet cove for snorkelling and a picnic with no crowds in sight? That exists too. Chasing a sunrise swim, a long promenade stroll, or simply the best spot to do absolutely nothing at all? We've got you covered.
The trick is knowing where to go, when to arrive, where to park, and which little coves are worth the effort. So we did the hard part for you.
Read the full guide
We've pulled together our definitive beach guide — eleven hand-picked shores across both coasts, complete with live map links, the amenities you can expect, and our own insider tips for each one.
Grab a coffee, have a browse, and start planning your perfect day by the sea. We'll see you on the sand.
— The team at Sunshine Homes
