El Campello

El Campello, the Costa Blanca next door to Alicante

El Campello is a fishing town 13 km northeast of Alicante, with 23 km of coastline and just under 31,000 residents. It still moves at the pace of a place that lives all year round: the afternoon fish auction runs at the market hall, the port bars fill up slowly, and the beach is around the corner.

A beach for every part of the day

Muchavista beach opens the town to the south, a long and wide stretch of sand that carries on from Alicante's San Juan, with a seafront promenade, beach bars and room to spare even in August. In the centre, Carrer la Mar is the everyday town beach, a few steps from the houses. To the north, the coves at Baños de la Reina and La Illeta offer clear water and rock for anyone who prefers a swim away from the crowd.

Voramar promenade, El Campello. Photo: Concepción Amat Orta / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)

Port, fish market and old town

The port is the heart of the town. A marina sits beside the fishing fleet, and every afternoon you can watch the fish auction from the stands: the boat comes in, the crates are unloaded, and the price drops until someone buys. Around it, the old town keeps its narrow streets, its rice dishes and fresh fish on the table.

El Campello's coastline seen from La Illeta. Photo: Concepción Amat Orta / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)

History at the water's edge

Next to the port, the Illeta dels Banyets site holds more than 4,000 years of history on a small headland: Bronze Age huts, an Iberian settlement and Roman fish-salting works. Beside it stands the Torre de la Illeta, a 16th-century watchtower built to spot ships approaching the coast.

The Illeta dels Banyets site. Photo: Lucalicante / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Easy to reach

The TRAM links El Campello with central Alicante in about 20 minutes and carries on north to Benidorm and Denia. You can live here by the sea and get into the city without a car.

Weather and year-round life

With an annual average of 17.6 °C and mild winters, El Campello is a place to be outdoors almost any day. In October the Moors and Christians festival takes over the streets. The rest of the year the plan is simpler: the weekly market, a walk along the port, lunch with a view.

Buying in El Campello

From apartments near Muchavista to houses in the hillside developments to the north, El Campello offers new-build and resale homes at a gentler price than Alicante's seafront. If you are looking around here, let's talk.