living-costa-blanca
Moving to the Costa Blanca with your pet: papers, bans, plane and train
Microchip, rabies, EU passport or health certificate, non-EU import from the UK or US, Spanish rules, dog beaches, and travelling by plane or train.
Driving a car on the Costa Blanca: licences, registration, low-emission zone, parking and charging
The complete 2026 guide to driving on the Costa Blanca: licence rules for UK, US and EU/Irish holders, re-registering a foreign car, the Alicante ZBE and its fines, blue/orange parking and EV charging.
Mosquitoes on the Costa Blanca: an investigation into your summer enemy
Who actually bites you, why the coast is a mosquito paradise, whether it is dangerous, and how to win back your summer nights on the Costa Blanca.
Jellyfish on Costa Blanca beaches: spotting them, reacting, staying safe
Which species you might meet, why there are more each year, what to do if you are stung, and the beach flags to watch on the Costa Blanca.
Tap water on the Costa Blanca: limescale, desalination and skin
Is it safe to drink? Where it comes from, why it is so hard, what that changes for your health and skin, and the habits that actually work on the Costa Blanca.
The cucaracha: an (almost) fond ode to the Costa Blanca cockroach
Who she is, why she turns up in summer, whether she is dangerous, and how to limit the visits: making peace with the Costa Blanca cockroach.
SOS, I've had an accident on the Costa Blanca: the guide to the right moves
The first moves, car accidents with or without injuries, towing and assessment, home accidents, getting treated as a tourist or resident, and the numbers to keep.
What's on: the Costa Blanca in July 2026, town by town
Moros y Cristianos from Xàbia to Villajoyosa, the Virgen del Carmen at sea on the 16th, Torrevieja's habaneras, Chayanne at SkyFest and El Muelle Live: your July guide to the Costa Blanca.
Getting around the Costa Blanca: TRAM, bus, train and car
One coastline, several networks: the TRAM, the Alicante bus and card, the airport link, the southern commuter train, and when you still need a car.
The cost of living on the Costa Blanca in 2026: the real budgets
Rents town by town (€740 to €1,140 for a 2-bed), groceries, a €10-15 menú del día, the €1.45 TRAM: realistic budgets to live on the coast, from solo to family.
Hogueres de Sant Joan: your survival guide to Alicante's great festival
Alicante's Bonfires of St John (20-24 June): satirical monuments, deafening mascletàs, beach bonfires, the fiery cremà and the banyà soaking. How to live it rather than endure it.