Villajoyosa: a town by the sea that lives its own life

The town that never became a resort

Villajoyosa sits on the coast between Benidorm and Alicante: Alicante is 32 kilometres away, Benidorm about a quarter of an hour by car. On 1 January 2025 about 37,400 people lived here, almost four times as many as in Finestrat. Around 23% of residents were born abroad (2022 register), so most of your neighbours will be Spanish, and in winter the town lives the same life as in summer.

Home buyers split almost evenly: over the year 46% of sales were signed by Spaniards and 54% by foreigners, whereas in Finestrat foreigners buy almost four homes out of five. Among foreign buyers Poland and Ukraine lead with 12.78% each, followed by the Netherlands, Belgium and Romania. The median buyer is 47, younger than in Benidorm (53) and Finestrat (50).

The old town on the walls

The coloured houses above the river Amadorio have become the town's calling card: fishermen painted their façades in different colours so they could spot their home from the sea. The old town walls and the church of the Assumption, which doubled as a fortress, date from the 16th century, and the Roman tower of Sant Josep has stood since the 2nd century AD.

In the bay, 25 metres down, lies the Roman merchant ship Bou Ferrer, which sank in the 1st century with a cargo of amphorae; in summer there are dives to it, and the finds are shown in the town museum, Vilamuseu. The town has also lived off chocolate for a long time: the Valor factory has a museum that shows the way from cocoa bean to bar in an hour and treats you at the end.

Fifteen kilometres of coast

The municipality has about fifteen kilometres of coast: Centre beach below the old town, the Paraíso and El Torres beaches, small coves. In 2026 six beaches won the blue flag: Bol Nou, Centre, La Caleta, Paraíso, Varadero and El Torres. That is more than any other town in the Marina Baixa, for the second year running.

The climate is mild, like the whole coast: in January about 16 degrees on average during the day, in August up to 29, and most of the rain falls in October. For a buyer something else matters more: from all eight developments on sale in the town today you can walk to the beach.

Hospital, schools and the road

For living here all year round the hospital matters most, and the town has its own: Villajoyosa is home to the Marina Baixa Hospital, the public hospital for the whole district. It is being expanded: in 2026 alone 29.4 million euros go into the works, and after the refurbishment it will have 113 more beds and 13 operating theatres instead of eight.

Schools are simpler too: the town has three public secondary schools, so a teenager studies in their own town, whereas children from Finestrat go to Benidorm after primary school.

The Alicante - Benidorm tram runs through the town, and the airport is about 45 minutes by car.

A festival you can hear all over town

From 24 to 31 July Villajoyosa celebrates Moros y Cristianos in honour of Saint Martha, a festival of international tourist interest that recalls 1538, when the town fought off a raid from the sea. On the night of 28 July, from three in the morning, the landing takes place by the old town walls: the boats of the «Moors» head for the shore and the «Christians» meet them with arquebus and cannon fire. About four thousand people in costume take part.

What notarised sales show

The typical sale in Villajoyosa is a 94-metre flat for 225,923 euros, and flats make up almost 95% of all sales. The median metre and the years of income needed to buy are the lowest in my set of coastal towns, and yet prices rose 11.9% in a year, almost as in Finestrat: affordable does not mean stagnant.

New builds accounted for 178 sales in the year, one in five in the town, almost twice as many as a year earlier (91). A new-build sale usually falls on handover day, so this is a wave of finished buildings, not a spike in demand. The average new-build sale is 103 metres for 388,909 euros, and the metre in a new home is 57% dearer than the town average: an old flat in the centre and a new one with a pool by the beach are two different markets here. How to read notary prices I explain in the article on real sale prices on the coast.

Where they are building now and what it costs

Most of the building is in the eastern part of town, closer to Benidorm, by El Torres beach. In the centre, next to the old town, a small development is going up, and in the west, by Paraíso beach, two more.

The most affordable way into town is a one-bedroom flat at Allonbay Hills for 240,000 euros, 450 metres from the beach; in the centre, at Allonbay Urban, a similar flat costs 254,000 euros, four minutes from the beach. At Alonis Living the ground-floor flat comes with a 140-metre garden, and the roof of the development has an infinity pool. To a family with children I would first show Orizonne II: a three-bedroom flat there starts at 375,000 euros, less than many two-bedroom flats in the buildings next door.

Anyone who does not want to wait for construction looks at Azure: the building is finished, you can see the flat in person and move in right after the purchase, and next door at Orizonne handover is by the end of 2026. In the west, at Sea Gardens, the top-floor flats have their own roof with a solarium.

Who Villajoyosa suits

People moving here to live rather than to spend holidays: the hospital, the schools and a town that lives all year round are right here. Families with children, because a teenager studies in their own town. Those who want to live by the sea but are not ready to pay for Benidorm's front line. And remote workers who value quiet but want Alicante and Benidorm to stay a tram ride away.

What to know in advance

Villajoyosa is a town of flats: houses make up only about 5% of sales. If you need a villa with its own pool, start the search in Finestrat, Polop and La Nucía; I have written about Finestrat separately.

The last week of July the centre is noisy: the landing starts at three in the morning and the parades go on all week. Anyone buying by the old town should love this festival or go away for those days.

The tram runs every 30-60 minutes, so you can live without a car, but not always comfortably.

And new homes here are noticeably dearer than old ones, so the town's average price says little about a specific flat: compare new buildings with each other.

What it means for a buyer

Villajoyosa offers something that is getting rarer on the coast: a real Spanish town by the sea, with a hospital, schools and life all year round, and new homes a few minutes from the beach from 240,000 euros. If you are choosing between Benidorm, Finestrat and Villajoyosa, I will show you all three in person and help you compare specific flats, not averages. Your price is the same as at the sales office. Why you are better off with me than without me.