I Was Completely Wrong About The Costa Blanca

I Was Completely Wrong About The Costa Blanca

The Costa Blanca is famous for Benidorm’s high-rise resorts, but escaping the beach reveals ancient Moorish fortresses and surreal architecture.

When a massive storm forced me off the sun lounger, I decided to drive Spain’s most notorious coastline to see what it’s actually made of. Beyond the imported sand and cheap pints, the reality of the Costa Blanca comes down to a battle between towns that surrendered to the concrete and towns that fiercely fought it off.

Starting in Calpe, I found the surreal, geometric pink architecture of La Muralla Roja—which heavily inspired Squid Game—hiding right next to the 1970s holiday flats. Driving into Benidorm, a city I swore I’d never visit, I discovered why the “Bikini Mayor” Pedro Zaragoza defied a dictatorship to build the Manhattan of the Mediterranean, and why those vertical towers actually make perfect sense. Just a few miles up the road, Altea gave the exact opposite answer, legally banning skyscrapers to protect its historic Moorish maze and blue-domed church.

Turning inland, I explored Guadalest, an 11th-century mountain choke point, before finishing on the raw, stormy edges of Cap de la Nau in Javea to find a bizarre brutalist church shaped like a ship. If you’re willing to lean into the bad weather and rent a car, there is a totally different side to Spain hiding right behind the tourist strips.

Let me know in the comments if this changed your mind about Benidorm or the Costa Blanca. If you enjoyed this honest look at the coast, subscribe to the channel for more unfiltered European travel.

CHAPTERS:
00:00 – Why I avoided the Costa Blanca (until it rained)
01:12 – Peñón de Ifach: Calpe’s 332m pirate lookout
02:00 – La Muralla Roja: Spain’s private pink fortress
03:48 – Why Calpe’s historic old town is completely empty
06:20 – Why Benidorm’s skyline actually makes perfect sense
08:15 – Inside Calle Gerona: Benidorm’s British tourist strip
09:50 – The “Bikini Mayor” who defied a dictator
11:03 – Altea: The coastal town that banned skyscrapers
12:12 – Exploring Altea’s protected Moorish maze
14:20 – Guadalest: The 11th-century mountain choke point
18:15 – Polop’s ruined castle turned ancient cemetery
18:40 – Why Javea hid its old town 2 miles inland
20:05 – The stormy reality of a Spanish winter
21:00 – Javea’s bizarre brutalist concrete church
21:40 – Cap de la Nau: Looking for Ibiza from the raw edge
22:05 – The final verdict on Spain’s most famous coast

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📖 Read the full written guide:

Costa Blanca Travel Guide: The Truth About Spain’s Tourist Trap