It’s been so long since I have been in the south of Spain, hopefully Augustin or Luvthebeach or someone else will jump in here, but I remember really enjoying the Costa Blanca. But trying to find an uncrowded beach down there might be difficult these days.

We were staying in Javea, which was a very small town at the time, but we roamed around a bit. One of the places we went to was Denia, another was Elche with its Moorish monuments.

Maybe augustin can be more helpful with specific beaches in southern Spain. My experience with beaches is more eastern Spain, and I second Cil’s suggested places. The Costa Blanca is beautiful, and outside Benidorm, even here you can find relatively mild (not completely mobbed with tourists) places.

Another town in Valencia region with really good beach, but not quite touristy is Castellón de la Plana, in the northern part of Valencia region, maybe roughly half-way between the larger cities of Barcelona and Valencia. Architecturally, Castellón de la Plana isn’t that exciting. The town looks like it grew mostly during the 1960s/70s, but there is a charming, but very small, historical center. The beach is great though.

In any case, ryfela, “southern Spain” is a broad region. I’d characterize it as Andalucía and Murcia. Although the southern portion of Valencia region (which includes the areas Cil mentioned), is geographically southeast Spain, pretty much. Andalucía itself is a large region, with a long coast.

One thing you may want to consider, is perhaps renting a car for a day and look for quieter beaches and seaside towns, which shouldn’t be hard. If you’re going to be in eastern Andalucía, for example, you can maybe do a bit of Granada, maybe a check out a neat Costa del Sol town…and yes, this is a very busy beach area with foreigners…but perhaps you can also check out Almería in addition to [or instead of the Costa del Sol) and then rent a car for a day, and head east along the coast to San José, and look for great beaches in that general vicinity. This is supposed to be an amazing coast, and this guardian article talks about specific beaches (scroll down to San José). Just Almería, and the cost east of the city, you may find rewarding. A similar example can be the city of Murcia in Murcia region, or Cartagena, also in Murcia region. Accessible by train, then maybe rent a car for a day, and look for beaches along this scenic, jagged coast.

Thanks so much, sorry I wasn’t a bit more specific, something in between valencia and Barcelona is perfect so I’m definitely going to check out Castellón de la Plana. Renting a car at my age and budget it a little prohibitive, butnyour suggestions are very helpful, thanks!