Where to base yourself
Where you base yourself decides more than which house you book. Alicante has fast trains to Madrid. Dénia has a tram that terminates and a ferry to Ibiza. Xàbia has neither, and expects you to drive.
Airports, trains, and what is there
Geographic order — never a ranking
Dénia
North coastA working harbour town with a castle in the middle of it, a mountain behind it and ferries to the Balearics leaving from the end of the street.
Xàbia
North coastThree separate towns wearing one name — an inland old town, a working port, and a beach strip — with coves between them.
Altea
Central coastA whitewashed old town stacked up a hill under a blue-tiled dome, with Benidorm's skyline visible along the bay and nothing else in common with it.
Benidorm
Central coastA high-rise city on two beaches that divides opinion on sight, and which works year-round almost by accident.
Alicante
South coastA provincial capital with a castle on a rock above it — a working city that happens to have a beach, and the only place on this coast with a mainline railway and a major airport.
Town decided?
Space profiles are filed by town, so the shortlist is already narrowed by the time you get there.