Useful tourist information for people intending to visit or spend a holiday in the Los Balcones urbanisation close to Torrevieja and Punta Prima on the Costa Blanca in Spain.
Los Balcones is a thriving residential urbanisation and community situated just 3 km south of the huge town of Torrevieja on the Southern Costa Blanca right next to the large Torrevieja salt water lake.
To get to Los Balcones, you can either fly into Alicante airport or Murcia airport. Once at the airport you have a range of different airport transfer options to Los Balcones including private shuttle buses, taxis or car hire.
Los Balcones development is made up of many villas and apartment blocks. Many people have bought property for sale in Los Balcones and now live here all year round. Los Balcones is a popular tourist destination due to the close proximity of many fine golf courses and beaches in the Orihuela Costa of Spain.
As well as being a popular place for holidays and vacations, many people from all over Europe, but especially the United Kingdom, have bought property in Los Balcones and live permanently in the area. They are known as expats or expatriates.
Are you an expat in Los Balcones? What do you like/dislike about it? Let us know in the comments box at the bottom of the page.
Los Balcones Weather
We show you the weather now as well as today’s weather in Los Balcones, the latest current temperature in Los Balcones and the conditions in Los Balcones i.e. sun, cloud, rain, overcast, clear, etc as well the humidity, pressure, wind direction and wind gust strength.
We also show the predicted daily high and low temperatures and chances of showers and rain to help you with any travel plans.
You can click on the graphic and get a much more detailed weather outlook including: tomorrow’s weather in Los Balcones, long range forecast, a weather map showing any pressure systems, visibility, UV, pollen count, dew point, where the weather station providing this data is located, a 5 day, 7 day (week forecast), 14 day, 15 day and 10 day forecast for Los Balcones weather.
Los Balcones Map
Below we have an interactive guide and map of the Los Balcones urbanisation on Spain’s Costa Blanca.
Use the Los Balcones urbanisation map as a street map to help you with driving directions and travel information, to and from Los Balcones. You can use it from your place of origin such as Alicante airport or Murcia airport. It will help you get to Los Balcones urbanisation.
On the map of Los Balcones urbanisation we have placed markers showing the locations of the best-known tourist attractions and sights in the area.
What Things to See and Do in Los Balcones
In this tourist guide to Los Balcones, we help visitors who are planning a trip with useful and practical advice on many tourism related subjects such as car hire, accommodation, hotels, flights, sightseeing, weather, where to go, where to stay, travel information and what to see and do in and around Los Balcones.
We also have photos, picture galleries, views, videos and webcams of Los Balcones so you can see what Los Balcones has to offer you for your holiday. We cover everything you need to know about Los Balcones in this tourist guide so you get the most of your visit and holiday.
There are plenty of activities, attractions, shopping, trips and excursions you can do when you stay in Los Balcones. There are many things to do and see and places to visit and explore.
Los Balcones is also very popular as people come here to visit and spend a holiday. Nearby attractions include many popular golf courses and sandy beaches just 3 km away.
You are very close to Lago Rosa de Torrevieja, known as the pink lake of Torrevieja.
Los Balcones has its own facilities close by at the Filton shopping centre with amenities such as shops, banks, supermarkets (Carrefour), opticians etc. The Habeneras shopping complex in Torrevieja includes household names such as H&M, C&A and Zara.
Nearby Torrevieja has superb beaches, a marina, market and pedestrianised sea front area (promenade) very popular with Spanish families for their traditional evening stroll. There are lots of restaurants, tapas bars and shops. It is very Spanish, there are no package tours here. You can get to Torrevieja from Los Balcones urbanisation (urbanization) by the local bus service or local taxi service.
Punta Prima is 5-minute drive away (approximately twenty minutes walk) and is the nearest stretch of beach with an area full of bars and restaurants of different types and nationalities, as well as supermarkets such as Aldi, Mas y Mas, Champion and further south to Playa Flamernca. There is the Flamenca Beach Commercial Centre with more bars and restaurants, Lidl and Supercor supermarkets and a go-kart track.
Nearby Villamartin is a 5-minute drive worth noting because of the large Villamartin plaza. This is a square with a black and white chessboard pattern surrounded by shops, bars, cafes, banks and restaurants. In the heat of summer the atmosphere is buzzing with life and noise. Certainly it is worth a visit for a night out.
More shops and restaurants are also 5 minutes away at the Los Dolses Plaza.
Is Los Balcones a Nice Place to Live?
Yes Los Balcones is definitely a nice place to live because of the location which is right on the Costa Blanca coast of Spain with many blue flag rated beaches to choose from but importantly two airports a short distance away – Alicante (45 mins) and Murcia (20 mins) airports.
Excursions and Days Out
If you are going on a holiday to Los Balcones, here are some of our ideas for excursions so you make the most of your visit to Los Balcones on the southern Costa Blanca:
1. Visit the inland town of Elche famous for its palms and safari park.
2. Go north to visit Alicante with great beaches and a fantastic marina.
3. For history, visit the city of Murcia or nearby towns of Rojales and Orihuela with their old towns and cave houses.
4. Guardamar del Segura is a large coastal town with great beaches.
5. Water Parks of Aqua-Park (at Rojales) and Aquapolis (at Torrevieja).
6. Acuario is an aquarium at nearby Santa Pola.
Webcams
We are building and compiling a list of Los Balcones webcams so please submit any web cams of Los Balcones that you know of.
Golf
For golf lovers, Los Balcones urbanisation is superbly positioned. The southern Costa Blanca has built up a highly deserved reputation due to the many golf courses all very close together which means you can be based in Los Balcones and travel to a different course each day.
The three championship courses of Villamartin, Campoamor and Las Ramblas are within 20 minutes drive as well as La Marquesa golf and country club which is near the small town of Ciudad Quesada and La Finca golf.
Los Balcones Car Hire
We do recommend you hire a car to get the most out of your stay in Los Balcones because it is slightly inland. The beaches and golf courses are only about 15 minutes drive but clearly you can’t walk there. Of course you could get taxis but car hire in Spain is so cheap, is much more convenient and easy just to jump in your own hired car. We have a price comparison tool to help you find the cheapest car hire for Los Balcones.
Is Los Balcones a nice place to live?
Los Balcones is the perfect destination in which to own a holiday home that you can easily fly into and be on the beach that same afternoon. Four magnificent golf courses are in the area and needless to say, being a popular tourist area, restaurants, bars and amenities are in abundance.
The nearest hospital is Hospital Universitario de Torrevieja which is just 1.5km away – about a 20 minute walk.
Beaches Near Los Balcones
Since there are so many beaches along the Costa Blanca South, you can find uncrowded white sandy beaches even at the height of the tourist season in August. Examples of towns with beaches close to Los Balcones are Punta Prima (just 5 minutes drive away), La Mata, Playa Flamenca, Torrevieja, La Zenia and Cabo Roig.
The beaches we recommend are at Playa de los Locos, Cala del Palangre, Playa del Cura, Paseo Marítimo Juan Aparicio and Playa de los Náufragos.
All of them have the European Blue Flag which signifies high standards of water cleanliness, safety and good facilities for the family. To the south the beaches are made up of sandy coves and to the north there are miles of long golden sandy beaches.
Many beaches have children’s play areas and volleyball facilities as well as beach football, kite flying and kite surfing, as well as water sports such as snorkelling, scuba diving, sailing and windsurfing.
The beach facilities and services are good. Make sure also that you stop by a chiringuito (beach bar) for a drink or snack.
Which is the nearest beach to Los Balcones?
Playa Torrevieja is 2.8km away which is a 36 minute walk. Playa Punta Prima would be our next nearest suggestion, this is 4.4km away which if you wanted to walk would be an hour but only a 9 minute drive.
Getting to Urbanisation Los Balcones
Los Balcones is located only two minutes from the A7 motorway and N-332 which takes you north to Alicante airport in about 45 minutes or drive south towards Murcia’s San Javier International airport in only 20 minutes.
Major low-cost and budget airlines including Easy Jet, Jet2 and Ryanair, Jet 2, BMI baby, Thomsonfly fly to either Alicante or Murcia from most UK airports.
Taxis or airport transfers to Los Balcones usually cost around 40 Euros one-way.
Accommodation in Los Balcones
The large size of Los Balcones and means many people have bought accommodation in Los Balcones to rent out.
Therefore you will find no shortage of long-term lets and short-term holiday rentals and lets in Los Balcones (mostly villas, townhouses and apartments).
Los Balcones is also close to Residencia Los Altos, Lagosol, Urbanisation Lago Azul, Villa Rosa-La Cinuelica, Urbanisation La Chismosa and Urbanisation Las Calas.
Property
Los Balcones has grown rapidly in recent years with many British people and other Northern Europeans snapping up cheap apartments as second homes in the sun.
Accommodation is mostly apartments but also townhouses and villas. The Lago Jardin 1 development is well-known.
Estate Agents/Inmobiliaria
Danny’s Immo Tours
Address: Urb. Los Balcones Centro Comercial, Local 8 bajo 03186 Torrevieja – Alicante Spain.
Telephone: +34 966 798 222 / +34 966 722 288; Mobile: +34 609 638 880
E-Mail: info@dannys-immo-tours.com
Old Tower Properties
Address: Centro Commercial Filton, Local N˚40, Avenida Asuncion 7, Los Balcones 03186
Telephone: +34 966 722 737
E-Mail: info@oldtowerproperties.com
Markets
The nearest market is in Torrevieja and it’s open every Friday morning. You can buy everything from fruit, vegetables, jewellery, shoes, leather goods and clothing.
There is an indoor market in the town centre open daily for fish, vegetables and meat. Fresh seafood and fish can be bought daily at the port of Torrevieja.
There is a popular market on every Saturday morning in Playa Flamenca.
Eating Out – Restaurants
There are many good restaurants and bars in Los Balcones itself as well as the nearby beach areas such as Punta Prima, Playa Flamenca and Torrevieja.
As you would expect with Torrevieja being a working fishing port, seafood dishes are the best choice. Most restaurants are Spanish but there are all types of eating-out options such as English, Indian, Italian, Mexican, Dutch and lots of Chinese.
Fiestas
As usual in Spain, they love their fiestas (festivals) with many days (and nights) of music events, dancing, fireworks and much eating and drinking. The best local fiestas are in Torrevieja.
Los Balcones Tourist Information – Page Summary – This page contains unique content about the urbanisation of Los Balcones, a popular tourist destination on the Costa Blanca coast of Spain in the region of Alicante.
Please help us to make this the number one tourist resource for Los Balcones by adding any comments, reviews, ratings and feedback on any aspect of Los Balcones that you know about. We also welcome your photos, pictures and videos of Los Balcones for posting on our website.
Are you an expat in Los Balcones? What do you like/dislike about it? Let us know in the comments box at the bottom of the page.
Moving to Los Balcones
If you are thinking of moving to Los Balcones, then you must read our expat interview with Sue Chaloner who now lives in the area with her husband at a large villa after initially renting an apartment in Torrevieja in July last year.
When my husband was medically retired from the police, we had to make a decision to either both work full time in the UK in order to be able to afford to stay in our large 5 bed detached house or take the plunge and move to Spain which we had discussed on and off over the years. We initially looked at Majorca but you couldn’t get a lot for your money there. So after looking at flight times and availability for our family to visit, we decided on Costa Blanca South.
Did you choose to buy or rent?
In a very short space of time, we looked online at various places to rent and as it was July and we wanted long term rental, there was not a lot to choose from. We came over for 4 days to look at properties and after looking at some awful properties and estate agents not turning up, we eventually went for a 3-bed apartment in Torrevieja right near the beach.
What are typical prices like in the area (to rent or to buy)?
We agreed with the landlord to pay 500 euros a month for a year’s rental and flew home very excited. We then had to get our UK property rented out and find somewhere to live for our 21 year old who was the last remaining son still living at home and after an emotional leaving party, we left for Spain on a one way flight to Alicante.
How soon were you able to settle?
We decided to spend that year exploring the area and deciding where to buy if we liked it long term. We settled in very quickly and was surprised to find how Spanish Torrevieja was. The bars and restaurants were all fine and we could get by on our limited Spanish we had learnt. But trying to arrange mobile phone SIMs and getting bank accounts etc., we struggled by using our phone translater to get by.
How does your area compare to well-known areas such as the Costa del Sol or Costa Brava?
We loved life in Torrevieja as it was so vibrant and lively with festivals and fiestas on every few months. There was always something to see and do. We found regular bars where the waiters got to know us and anticipate our drink orders which was welcoming but certainly not the expat British area we had been expecting. We have since found out these exist on the outside urbanisations and are glad we did not end up in “little Britain.”
Would the area not suit certain types of people, i.e. are there any possible downsides?
The things we found out quite quickly were it was sweltering hot in July and it was too hot, you keep your windows closed. But as we were in the centre of town, it was very noisy as the Spanish are not the quietest of people when they are out. We loved living so near to the sea as we went swimming every day but apartment living was very limiting due to lack of outside space. And when you are cooking at home, one is the hottest setting and twelve is the lowest which took our landlord coming ‘round to see why the cooker wasn’t working to find out.
Getting there – what is the public transportation like?
Initially, we relied on buses to get around which was enlightening as the routes back were not the same as the way out and we ended up walking a lot after getting off at the wrong stops. When we finally purchased a car, we explored further afield and decided we wanted to stay as close to the coast as possible but in a larger place with more outside space that was affordable.
Any tips and advice to people looking to buy in Los Balcones or surrounding area?
You can get a lot more for your money further inland but we finally settled on Los Balcones after again not having a lot of long term rental properties that we liked and we’re within our price range. Luckily, it was one of the places we had decided on along with La Mata, Punta Prima and Torretas as we wanted to try and stay within a close distance to Torrevieja.
We were going to buy after deciding we were going to stay in Spain long term. But after putting it on a blog my husband does, we got a lot of advice to rent rather than leaving us with no base in the UK which, after having a long think about, we decided that was a sensible advice. We had a dilemma whether to risk waiting until June when our current tenancy ended and finding it even harder to find a long term rental. They are reluctant to rent over the summer period due to the amount they can charge between June and September. Otherwise, we can find a place somewhere else sooner and then pay for two lots on rent which we ended up doing for a few months. We found a large villa with a private pool with lots of outside space and separate accommodation downstairs which was ideal for the visitors that had already invited themselves over.
After a few weeks in the UK sorting our house out there and moving our last pieces of furniture and personal belongings, we then used Howells removals to help one of our sons move our belongings from our apartment into our villa.
Are there many expats in the area?
We found a lot more Brits living here and quickly tested all the local bars and restaurants with the help of visiting relatives.
Perhaps you could give us an overview of your area and give an idea of what it is like, mountainous, flat, dry, etc so readers get a better picture?
The area is quite hilly and the road leading into Los Balcones does not have any pavements. So it is a bit precarious walking to the beach which is about a 30-minute walk. Or take a 5-minute bus ride to a very large beach with lots of activities on it.
Can you give us some insider tips to the best bars or restaurants?
There are a few large supermarkets and plenty of bars and restaurants in a small complex which I will review in more detail.
El Balcon is a welcoming Spanish bar with a separate room used by Brits for quiz night, darts etc.
Dublin Bar, which is an Irish bar run by a Spaniard, shows live sport and has numerous pool tables. Nice cocktails and mainly Brit clientele.
Alingui restaurant is a very popular restaurant with a “Menu del Dia” for 7.90 euros. Excellent value for money with a large choice of dishes and good size portions and lovely food. Highly recommended for good value simple food. It can get very busy so I recommend calling for a reservation.
Attila’s kitchen has excellent food, lovely décor and more expensive at 13.50 euros for the “Menu del Dia.” But they have much higher quality of food and going there is more of a treat night out.
The Filton Bar on the corner is very Spanish and popular. We haven’t eaten there yet.
The Sunny terrace upstairs is a very English bar showing live sport and karaoke. They even serve pastries and pies and chips etc.
Taking Los Balcones, what would you say would be the advantages to living there?
Overall, Los Balcones is a lovely place to live with regular bus service into Torrevieja. It is especially popular with the youngsters as there are free sports facilities running up a central reservation with football, hockey and basketball courts, table tennis tables, bowling areas, all free and floodlit at night. There is also a lovely picnic area for the residents to enjoy.
It is straight onto the N332 or the Ap7 toll road to get to the airport in Alicante and it takes about 45 minutes.
Are there many facilities such as doctors and dentists, shops etc?
You are close to 2 large shopping centres, La Zenia Boulevard or Habernas shopping centre. Both are 10 minutes away and we are next to a large hospital.
Sue, thank you so much for taking the time to help our readers with your experiences in Spain.
Nearby Towns & Resorts:
Mandy Parker says
This has helped me so much with my plans for retirement to the area
Thank you
R hughes says
Living in Spain and los balconies in good as it’s much cheaper than the uk,much warmer in the winter but can be very hot in the summer, the area is very multi cultural which is a good thing as I like to learn obout different ways of life. However we have our share of residential Pratts our urbanisation being no different with selfish parking and dog muck on the paths and public areas