Villajoyosa, officially la Vila Joiosa, is known for chocolate and colour. The Valor factory and its museum trade on a port that once handled cacao imports, and along the mouth of the Riu de la Vila stand the brightly painted fishermen's houses. Tradition says the fishermen coloured them to pick out their own from the sea, though no archive confirms the story. The houses, and the walled medieval town behind them, are real enough. This is a working town of around thirty-seven thousand people, not a resort.
Geography explains the rest. The town sits on the Alicante to Benidorm corridor, and the FGV tram makes four stops inside the municipality; and the town sits closer to Alicante than the resorts further north do. Hospital Marina Baixa, the public referral hospital for the whole comarca, Benidorm included, is here too, with its own tram stop. The airport is roughly thirty-five kilometres away. January days reach about seventeen degrees and August peaks near thirty-two, measured at the nearest station along the coast.
It is not for everyone. Buyers who want towers, nightlife and an English-speaking resort economy should look to Benidorm next door. Families needing an international school will be driving to Benidorm or l'Alfàs del Pi, and anyone set on a polished whitewashed old town will likely prefer Altea.
The verdict
The upside is real. So is the downside. Both matter more than any brochure will admit.
The comarca's public hospital is in this town
Hospital Marina Baixa, the public referral hospital for the entire Marina Baixa comarca including Benidorm, sits inside the municipality with its own tram stop, Hospital de La Vila. Benidorm's two hospitals are both private.
A tram commute to Alicante that actually works
TRAM Line 1 stops four times in the municipality. The town sits between Alicante and Benidorm on the line, so the run into the city is shorter than from the resorts further north.
Prices roughly a fifth below neighbouring Benidorm
Asking prices rose sharply in the year to July 2026 across all five districts, yet the municipality still starts from a base roughly a fifth below its high-rise neighbour next door.
A year-round working town with real identity
The walled medieval core, the painted houses along the Riu de la Vila and the Valor chocolate factory with its museum give the town a working, year-round life that resort neighbours lack.
A kilometre of town beach plus quieter coves
Platja Vila Joiosa runs roughly a kilometre of sand directly in front of the town, while the coast towards Benidorm and El Campello breaks into cliffs, coves and the Montíboli headland.
A working town rather than a resort
Villajoyosa is a fishing and chocolate town first. Buyers expecting resort infrastructure, nightlife or an extensive English-speaking service economy will not find them here and should be looking at Benidorm instead.
No international school within the municipality itself
Families must look to Benidorm or l'Alfàs del Pi for international schooling, which turns every school day into a commute by car or tram rather than a short local walk.
Old housing stock in the cheap centre
Centro Urbano is the cheapest district for a reason: narrow streets and older buildings, many needing serious renovation. Budget for surveys and reform work rather than expecting turnkey condition at the headline price.
A modest town beach beside Benidorm's sweep
Platja Vila Joiosa is roughly a kilometre of sand backed by mid-rise blocks. It serves the town well, but buyers choosing this coast primarily for big beach resorts will find Benidorm's offer larger.
No direct coach link from Alicante airport
Alicante-Elche airport is roughly 35 km away, about 35 minutes by road, but the ALSA airport coach runs to Benidorm, not here. Without a car, arrivals mean a taxi or an awkward connection.
Editor's note
The case for Villajoyosa rests on two unglamorous facts. The public hospital that serves the whole Marina Baixa, Benidorm included, is in this town, and the tram runs to Alicante from four stops inside the municipality, an unusually strong transport story for this coast. If daily practicality matters more to you than resort polish, that combination is hard to argue with.
If it is not what you are optimising for, look elsewhere honestly. El Campello, down the same tram line, sits closer to Alicante and suits buyers whose working life is in the city. Altea, to the north, offers the whitewashed old town and the pebble-beach postcard that Villajoyosa's older, rougher centre does not attempt. Benidorm is the choice for buyers who want scale, entertainment and services in English, and its prices are the benchmark Villajoyosa undercuts by roughly a fifth. Finestrat and La Nucía trade the seafront for newer inland estates. Buy here for the working town it is, chocolate, fishing fleet and medieval walls included, not for the resort it is not.
Elche municipality, station: Alicante-Elche Aeropuerto (8019), 39 km south west
Average 1981-2010 · AEMET
Updated 1 Jul 2026
INE Annual Population Census, nationality basis, 1 January 2025
Where to live and what to expect at each price point.
The coastal strip north-east towards Benidorm: cliffs, small coves and the Montíboli headland with its clifftop hotel. It is priced above the municipal asking figure.
The main town beach, roughly a kilometre of sand directly in front of the town, backed by mid-rise blocks and seafront restaurants. The slowest riser of the five districts over the past year.
The urbanised stretch south-west towards El Campello, built around cove beaches. Detached villas and low-rise developments on the hillside, largely second homes and foreign residents rather than locals.
Inland residential district on the northern edge, away from the sea and near the hospital. Newer estates and everyday housing on the main road side, and the fastest riser of the five this year.
The historic core, including the walled medieval town and the row of brightly painted fishermen's houses along the mouth of the Riu de la Vila. It is priced below the municipal asking figure.
Honest answers to the questions buyers actually ask.
Transfer tax rates as of August 2026. Rates are set per autonomous community and do change. Confirm the current figures with a Spanish lawyer or tax adviser before you budget.
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