Jávea, Moraira or Dénia: which is the better base for a large group?

By the owners of Villa Palmview · Published 28 October 2026

All three towns share the same coast, the same airports and the same weather. The differences are in shape: how the town is laid out, what kind of beach it has, and how much there is to do without a car. For a group of 18 to 28 that last point matters more than anything else.

Jávea: three centres and a sandy bay

Jávea is really three places: the old town on the hill with the church of San Bartolomé and the indoor market, the port with its fishing harbour, and the Arenal, a sandy bay with a promenade of restaurants and shops. The Montgó natural park rises behind the town. From our villa the Arenal is about 15 minutes on foot and the old town 5 minutes by car, which is why a big group can spend a day here without organising transport.

Moraira: small, quiet, marina

Moraira, 20 minutes south, is the smallest of the three: a marina, a castle on the beach, a handful of streets of restaurants and a Friday market. It is calm and pretty, and that is also its limit for a large group — fewer beaches, fewer shops, and most villas sit on the hills outside the centre, so cars are needed for everything. We send guests there for dinner at Le Dauphin or Amantes, and for the Friday market.

Dénia: the biggest town and the ferry port

Dénia, 20 minutes north on the other side of the Montgó, is the largest town of the three, with a castle above the centre, a long main street of restaurants, a Monday market and the ferry port to Ibiza and Mallorca. It feels like a town rather than a resort, which some groups like. Its beaches are long and flat to the north of the port and rocky to the south.

Beaches for 28 people

Jávea has one proper sandy beach, the Arenal, plus a string of pebble and rock coves — Granadella, Portitxol, Cala Blanca, Ambolo — within 15 minutes. Moraira has smaller sandy beaches at El Portet and in the centre. Dénia has the longest stretches of sand. For a group that wants a sandy beach on foot from the villa, Jávea's Arenal or Dénia's Les Marines are the realistic options; our estate also has its own sandy beach inside the grounds.

Getting a group there

Alicante airport is about an hour by car from Jávea, Valencia about an hour and twenty minutes; the same applies to Moraira and Dénia within a few minutes either way. There is no train to any of the three. A group of 28 usually travels with one coach or two minibuses and hires a few cars locally; at Villa Palmview four cars park inside the gate and two just outside.

Our conclusion

Choose Moraira for a quiet week with a small group and cars. Choose Dénia if you want a real town with a ferry to the islands. Choose Jávea if the group is big and mixed: a sandy beach and a promenade on foot, an old town and a market five minutes away, the Montgó and the coves for the active half, and Moraira and Dénia both twenty minutes away when you want a change. That is the combination we built Villa Palmview around.

Read the owners' guide to Jávea, Moraira and Dénia, or see ten things to do in Jávea with a large group.