The complete area guide for Playa Flamenca, Orihuela Costa

Playa Flamenca is a residential urbanisation located on the eastern coastline of the Mediterranean Sea, in the southernmost quarter of the Alicante province, and 4 km south of the Mediterranean city of Torrevieja.

The area is popular all year round and can be particularly so during the summer season, as tourists and second home owners descend on the location attracted by the magnificent sandy beaches and the abundance of quality amenities.

Occupying just 2.4 km² of premium beachfront real estate, Playa Flamenca is a favoured location for international property owners, with many nationalities choosing to buy a holiday home in the community.

LOCATION

Falling within the jurisdiction of Orihuela Town Hall, the locality is bordered by La Zenia to the south, and Villamartin´s Valencia urbanisation inland to the west.

To the northeast Playa Flamenca borders an undeveloped natural area that stretches 1.2 km toward the beach-side resort of Punta Prima.

The main N-332 coastal road runs north to south through Playa Flamenca, separating the beachfront residential area from communities further inland. The AP-7 toll motorway marks Playa Flamenca's westernmost boundary and offers easy access south toward Cartagena, or a fast route northbound toward Alicante and northern areas of the Costa Blanca.

Playa Flamenca is well-served by two international airports, with Alicante-Elche airport and Corvera Región de Murcia airport almost equidistant and both airports can be reached in less than 50 minutes by car.

HISTORY

Construction began at Playa Flamenca in 1972 when a group of Dutch investors saw the potential of what was then little more than a rocky outcrop of undeveloped scrubland. They transformed the area into the popular and thriving Mediterranean holiday and leisure destination we see today.

But Playa Flamenca's beachfront area represents only a small proportion of the community found right now, and development of the territory further inland didn´t begin until the late 1980s. Composed of slightly higher-density housing stock, development slowed following the global financial crisis of 2007-2008 but returned to pre-crisis levels in 2015.

Playa Flamenca's inland area west of the N-332 coast road makes up 90% of the locale's total area, and the majority of modern development over recent years has occurred in this location, with new commercial centres and leisure facilities finding a home in the urbanisation.

GEOGRAPHY

The area is characterised by a low-lying relatively flat topography typical of most Mediterranean beach-side locations. It benefits from its immediate proximity to the sea, providing cool onshore breezes during the summer and temperate generally dry winters.

Playa Flamenca's coastal area tends to be a mixture of sandy beaches and naturally weathered exposed ancient volcanic rock. Both Cala Mosca and Cala las Estacas beaches act as a natural storm drain to return surface rainwater from surrounding inland areas to the sea.

Playa Flamenca benefits from a healthy Mediterranean micro-climate, characterised by relatively low annual rainfall, and an average of 325 days of sunshine each year with an average annual daytime temperature of 19.3°c.

Long warm summers and short mild dry winters are emblematic of this part of the Costa Blanca, and visitors to the area from June through to September can regularly expect temperatures to vary between 25°c at night to 35°c during the day.

FACILITIES

Playa Flamenca offers a wide variety of local amenities and excellent public transport links, with regularly scheduled bus services to surrounding towns and villages, and directly into the city of Torrevieja.

The locale possesses three magnificent white sandy beaches replete with clean safe swimming waters, and a traditional Spanish beach bar serving an informal dining menu and a complete bar service for light refreshments.

Playa Flamenca has two Blue Flag accredited beaches, Cala las Estacas and Cala Mosca. Separated by a promenade, each crescent-shaped beach nestles within a cove offering swimmers a degree of protection against riptides and undercurrents.

Playa Flamenca's third beach is unspoiled, secluded, natural, and only accessible via a rocky unadopted path. Unlike neighbouring beaches, Cala Cabo Peñas is bereft of lifeguard service year-round, but it's a popular alternative to the more prominent beaches during peak season and was appointed Orihuela Costa's official dog-friendly beach in 2021.

The promenade that separates the two main beaches is a wide expanse of a tiled and paved walkway that overlooks the Mediterranean Sea. Offering a small children's play park, public seating, and a functional sundial, Playa Flamenca's promenade is punctuated with mature Mexican fan palm trees that produce a spectacular seaward vista.

A small parade of commercial units beside the promenade hosts a café, a bistro, local shops, and restaurants including the locally renowned Lobster Restaurant that serves freshly cooked seafood daily.

Playa Flamenca hosts a veritable array of casual cafés and intimate eateries, and with world-class cuisine on offer from restaurants such as El Sarmiento (famous for their authentic Spanish paella and rice dishes), residents and visitors are spoiled for choice.

The community also boasts a popular go-kart track, Mercadona, Lidl and Carrefour supermarkets, and a municipal sports complex offering a gym, tennis courts, an indoor heated pool, and a full-sized turfed football pitch.

Easy access to the neighbouring Zenia Boulevard shopping centre provides additional shopping and leisure facilities, and for those looking for peace, tranquillity, and wide-open green spaces, three 18-hole championship golf courses are on the doorstep, with Villamartin, Las Ramblas, and Real Club de Campoamor resort all less than 15 minutes away by car.

PROPERTIES

Because Playa Flamenca's seafront residential area is so small, beachfront properties rarely come to market and tend to get snapped up quite quickly. Typically comprised of large detached villas or two-storey properties on medium-sized private plots, beachfront real estate tends to command premium prices.

Newer style developments in Playa Flamenca constructed somewhat inland, slightly further away from the coastline, are inevitably built on smaller and more manageable plot sizes.

Generally, most of these newer properties tend to be more affordable, more modest housing, dominated by developments of apartments, townhouses, and quad villas that appeal to a greater range of prospective buyers.

These newer properties typically require less maintenance than older-style properties and are built to adhere to more modern building standards. With a few notable exceptions properties in Playa Flamenca tend to be low-to-mid-rise, and ordinarily, developments do not exceed four storeys in height.

The land area in Playa Flamenca is almost fully developed, with only a few undeveloped building plots remaining in the urbanisation, and a large scale residential development currently undergoing completion.

SUMMARY

Playa Flamenca is home to residents from more than 100 different countries around the world, with a familiar mix of British, Irish, German, French, Danish, and Scandinavian expatriates settled within the community.

The residential community offers a wealth of quality services and amenities that are open year-round, and the close proximity to neighbouring La Zenia and the city of Torrevieja ensures ease of access to all modern facilities required by discerning homeowners.

Playa Flamenca will suit property buyers who value quality services, who desire a great choice of shops and restaurants, and buyers who want an affordable and central beach-side location. As a hub for exploring everything Spain has to offer, Playa Flamenca is hard to beat and offers the perfect blend of value and choice of properties.

Start looking for your perfect home in Spain, click here to see all properties available in Playa Flamenca right now.

Data included in the graphics are correct at the date of publication. Price per square metre is for illustration only, and calculated from the prices of resale properties available on our website at that time. For official market data, please contact us.