The Province of Alicante in Southern Spain on the Costa Blanca is about 160 km from Denia in the North East to Torrevieja in the South, and around 50 km at its’ widest point. Apart from Alicante City itself with its’ population of about 350,000, there are several other large towns such as Elche (230,112), Torrevieja (101,792), Orihuela (86,164), Benidorm (71,034), Alcoy (61,552), Elda (55,168), and San Vicente del Raspeig (53,126).

The Province is very easy to get to, because Alicante has its’ own airport only 9 km from the city, and although it is on the coast it is almost in the middle of the Province so wherever you want to go is under an hour by car. What with that and the Mediterranean sunshine for over 300 days a year, it makes Alicante Province an extremely popular holiday destination for many, including the Brits.

This is why buying a property in the Province makes a considerable amount of sense both as a holiday home and as an investment. You can find a townhouse for sale in Alicante Province, in Orihuela, for example, for €136,900, which is about £121,000. You could use it for yourself whenever you wish, and simply let it to holidaymakers for the rest of the time.

Since people come to Alicante all year round, you shouldn’t have any trouble keeping it fully booked, and at rates far better than letting it to a permanent tenant. So you have your own holiday home, and when you are not using it you are earning a substantial income from it. You could probably let it for £350 a week, which is £16,000 a year if you use it for six weeks yourself and let it the rest of the time. At that rate, it would have paid for itself in 7½ years and then be worth £135,000 or more. 

Of course, there are several other towns in Alicante that are holiday destinations for many people, such as Benidorm for example. In common with many other towns on the South East coast, Bendiorm has plenty of sandy beaches which are ideal for swimming in the clear waters, with lifeguards and toilet and shower facilities, and there are a lot of bars, restaurants, and shops along the promenades. The biggest beach is Poniente, but Levante is probably the main attraction as it is right next to a lot of hotels.

There is a water park named Aqualandia which has one of the world’s biggest waterslides, with fifteen in total ranging from "infantile" to "radical" – their words, not ours. If you enjoy amazing scenery and hiking or rambling, then Serra Helada Natural Park is for you. There are huge cliffs and natural formations over some 5,600 hectares to enjoy.

If you want to get away from the beaches, you can try Terra Mitica Theme Park where there are plenty of rides ranging from rollercoasters to gentle attractions for the little ones.

Then there is Torrevieja which has five major beaches, separated by coves where you can swim and relax in quieter surroundings. All the way along the seafront you are within easy walking distance of the town centre where there are street markets, a resident funfair, bars, shops, and nightlife which gets very busy. The main point is the huge fountain which overlooks the beautiful marina.

Every August, Torrevieja is host to a huge music festival called the Habaneras, which has a live and TV audience of hundreds of thousands. If you want a holiday here at that time you need to book well in advance, but of course, if you own a holiday property here it is no problem, and if you don’t want to attend, you can charge almost whatever you want to rent it out for the week.

Of course, there are lots of other towns in Alicante Province that you might choose, such as Elche, Elda, Alcoy, and more, to invest in for a holiday home or simply as a profit-making enterprise. When you consider how relatively inexpensive many of these properties are – certainly when you compare them to the UK – and the wonderful Mediterranean weather, the only thing that is surprising is that there are only around 100,000 foreign residents living here permanently. Of course, if you are of retiring age, you might choose to do that as well.