What to do in Alicante?

Our May cruise is stopping in Alicante. We are uncertain what to do there. Any suggestions? Thanks for your advice.

There are a few good websites which you can find when you "google" things to do in Alicante. There's a Hop on Hop Off Bus, the Old Town sounds interesting, and we won't miss having paella while there. We will also be there in May on Princess Crowne. Have fun.

thanks for your advice.

It's worth going up to the castle- doesn't look much from below, but really nice when you get up there, and great views. There is a lift up from right opposite the beach. Just below the castle, there is an "old town" of charming whitewashed houses in stepped streets full of flowers. Near the cathedral are some very good restaurants and food/ confectionary shops. The beach is good, if you walk along the promenade you can check out the "pensioners playground" of keep fit equipment on the beach! A stroll along the shady esplanade is good in the heat- there are restaurants and stalls along the way.

kate

Oh, and I forgot the nativity museum- I liked that!

kate

attached a few photos

It's much more "Spanish" than other resorts, not everyone spoke English.

It's worth going up to the castle- doesn't look much from below, but really nice when you get up there, and great views. There is a lift up from right opposite the beach. Just below the castle, there is an "old town" of charming whitewashed houses in stepped streets full of flowers. Near the cathedral are some very good restaurants and food/ confectionary shops. The beach is good, if you walk along the promenade you can check out the "pensioners playground" of keep fit equipment on the beach! A stroll along the shady esplanade is good in the heat- there are restaurants and stalls along the way.

kate

I second all that!

Alicante is not really a ‘tourist’ town like Barcelona but there are a few nice things to see and do in the area.

ALICANTE

There is a castle called Castle Santa Barbara. This is a 13th century castle on a hilltop over 500 feet above Alicante. There is not a great deal to do there but it is worth going if only for the magnificent views. There is an elevator not far from the port which costs €2.40. Otherwise there is no entrance fee.

Back down at sea level you can take a walk along the nearby Explanada de España. This palm tree lined promenade is composed of 6.6 million colourful marble tiles and is a lovely walk.

If you are interested, there is MARQ (Alicante's Archaeological Museum). A couple of years ago it won an award for Best European Museum. I must confess I have not been there but keep meaning to.

This Museum is closed on a Monday.

For those that like to shop, there are some nice shops within walking distance of the port. These are not tourist shops. If you want more details let me know.

You can get more information on Alicante from this website

http://www.alicanteturismo.com

with a street map here

http://www.alicanteturismo.com/generales/callejero.asp

On this map, underneath the copyright in the bottom right hand corner, you will see a strip of land going out to sea. The cruise terminal is down there. How far it is depends on where your ship docks. Smaller ships dock within walking distance of the port gates but for larger ships there will be a shuttle bus.

GUADALEST

Guadalest is a village up in the mountains about 65km (40 miles) north of Alicante about one and half hours drive. The drive there depends on which route the driver takes. It is possible to get there by a fairly direct, not very interesting, main road. There is also a more scenic route.

If you decide to go to Guadalest, I would recommend taking the ship’s tour. There is a company that does private tours. I do not have any experience of them and I think they look rather expensive. Here is a link to their web page

http://www.privateshoretrips.com/alicante.html

Guadalest is one of the first places we take people who come to stay with us. Apart from being very scenic there are a couple of very interesting small museums there.

You can get more information about Guadalest here

http://www.guadalest.eu/

One thing I would ask the shore excursions people on the ship is how many people will be on the ship’s tours. The reason I say this is that Guadalest gets very crowded in summer and if you add to that several buses from a large cruise ship it might spoil the enjoyment. Having said this, I am sure that is true of many places we all visit while on our cruises.

ELCHE

The town of Elche is about 25 km (15 miles) from Alicante. It is known as “The Palm Forest of Europe”.

There you can visit the Huerto del Cura(Priest's Garden).The garden features a large variety of palm trees and cactuses as well as other typical Mediterranean species, such as lemon and orange trees, pomegranate trees, carob trees and jujube trees along with other subtropical species gathered throughout the years to create a stunning collection of plants from the most unexpected places. The garden’s focal point is the magnificent eight trunked ‘Imperial Palm’ .

The entrance fee to the garden is €5.

You can get a taxi at the port to go to Elche. I am not sure how much it would cost as I have never had to use the taxi. You can always ask the taxi driver.

To return, the best place to get a taxi is at the Hotel Huerto del Cura which is opposite the gardens.

If you have time in Elche there are other interesting things to do including a visit to the Municipal Park.

More information about Elche here

http://www.turismedelx.com/en/

BEACHES

There are some wonderful beaches in the area. There is one right by the exit from the port (behind the Melia Hotel) but that will probably be very crowded if the weather is good.

There are other (in my opinion better) beaches nearby. If you are interested in this let me know and I will let you have details.

If you have any questions on Alicante and the surrounding area please let me know and I will try to answer them.

Edited to say. I don't know why the colour of the text changed. There is no significance in that.

Hello English-Spain,

I see you are in Alicante and I hope you don't mind if I ask you a Question. We are disembarking off the cruise ship in Alicante in order to catch a flight back to Germany. What would be the best transportation option to get from the ship dock to the airport, and also what would the cost be approximately?

Hope you can help and thanks in advance.

Nancy

THERE IS A MARVELOUS CONTEMPORARY MUSEUM IN ALICANTE. UNFORTUNATELY i cannot remember the name of it, but it is easy to miss as the entrance looks like a regular door. wonderful architecture inside. A beautiful city. good shopping to. The Castle is a must, very interesting and worthy.

Alicante and Barcelona were our favorite ports on a recent transatlantic. We went out to Elche. There is a wonderful Priest's Garden filled with palm trees, cactus and water features. It has a real feeling of serenity about it. There is an archeological site not far from it that's interesting too.

I second the Santa Barbara Castle. The ride along the coast is beautiful. There are great views from the top of the castle. Make sure you get a local person to tell you the legend of the young lovers.

We just spent a great day in Alicante in May. Loved strolling the Esplanade, fun shopping the stalls there, great shopping in Corte de Ingles department store, wonderful paella lunch at Darsena at the Alicante Marina, walked through the food and flower market. Missed the Old Town and would go there there next time. Fabulous place Alicante.

Hello English-Spain,

I see you are in Alicante and I hope you don't mind if I ask you a Question. We are disembarking off the cruise ship in Alicante in order to catch a flight back to Germany. What would be the best transportation option to get from the ship dock to the airport, and also what would the cost be approximately?

Hope you can help and thanks in advance.

Nancy

The best way is to take a taxi. Unfortunately, I have no idea of the cost. It is always difficult in your home town when people ask you taxi costs :o. I would guess about 20-25 Euros. There is an airport bus which is very slow but it is cheap. Depends how much luggage you have. See this link for the bus http://www.alicante-spain.com/alicante-airport-bus.html

Also, to everyone else who said nice things about Alicante I am so glad you liked it. It is quite different to most other Spanish ports of call.

Any recommendations for a beach in town?

Any recommendations for a beach in town?

There is a beach near where the shuttle bus drops you. You will find it behind the Melia hotel. This beach can get crowded.

If you wanted nicer, less croded beaches you can take the tram which you will see just past the hotel. There are some wonderful beaches in this area. Let me know if you are interested in doing this and I will give you more details about the tram.

There is a beach near where the shuttle bus drops you. You will find it behind the Melia hotel. This beach can get crowded.

 

If you wanted nicer, less croded beaches you can take the tram which you will see just past the hotel. There are some wonderful beaches in this area. Let me know if you are interested in doing this and I will give you more details about the tram.

Hi English:

Is there an embroidery/linen shop on the Esplenade ?

My wife loves these handicrafts

Thanks

Ed

Hi English:

 

Is there an embroidery/linen shop on the Esplenade ?

My wife loves these handicrafts

 

Thanks

Ed

On the Esplanada there are not really shops. They are sort of stalls selling mainly tourist items.

Are you going to Guadalest? There is a shop there I think she will like.

Other than that, it would be in Alicante town - not far to walk. I can't think of a specific shop though.

When are you going? If, next time I am in town, I see a shop I will post back here.

On the Esplanada there are not really shops. They are sort of stalls selling mainly tourist items.

 

Are you going to Guadalest? There is a shop there I think she will like.

 

Other than that, it would be in Alicante town - not far to walk. I can't think of a specific shop though.

 

When are you going? If, next time I am in town, I see a shop I will post back here.

Thanks English. We will be there in early November on a Transatlantic

Which ship? I am always interested to know which ships are docking here. We don't get many.

English, I'm considering a timeshare exchange before my cruise and I think Alicante is one of my options. This will be mid-October, right before October 23, 2011 TA. Is it too cold for the beach? How about swimming? Are there beaches/areas of Spain that might be warm enough for swimming then?

English, I'm considering a timeshare exchange before my cruise and I think Alicante is one of my options. This will be mid-October, right before October 23, 2011 TA. Is it too cold for the beach? How about swimming? Are there beaches/areas of Spain that might be warm enough for swimming then?

Warm enough for the beach? That is a difficult question to answer. We have people here on the beach in December but they are mainly from northern Europe and they find 20 degrees warm.

For me, I would say end of October is generally not beach weather although you may get lucky and get a few warmer days. It can also get a few rainy days.

Where in Alicante are you looking at? I would have thought it unlikely for a timeshare to actually be in Alicante.

You might find it warmer on the Costa del Sol/Andalucia but not a great deal.

Hi English

We are arriving on Celebrity Constellation on November 8th 8 AM to 5 PM

Which ship? I am always interested to know which ships are docking here. We don't get many.

we're on TA that departs Barcelona Nov 6th- Celebrity Constellation- be in Alicante Monday, Nov 8th

Alicante is not really a ‘tourist’ town like Barcelona but there are a few nice things to see and do in the area.

 

You can get more information on Alicante from this website

http://www.alicanteturismo.com

 

with a street map here

http://www.alicanteturismo.com/generales/callejero.asp

 

On this map, underneath the copyright in the bottom right hand corner, you will see a strip of land going out to sea. The cruise terminal is down there. How far it is depends on where your ship docks. Smaller ships dock within walking distance of the port gates but for larger ships there will be a shuttle bus.

Thanks for the excellent information. From the map, it looks like Alicante town center is easily accessible on foot from the cruise port - is that right? I'll have a 5-hr stop from 14:00-19:00 in early April and would like to explore the town and the Castle of Santa Barbara on my own.

Thanks for the excellent information. From the map, it looks like Alicante town center is easily accessible on foot from the cruise port - is that right? I'll have a 5-hr stop from 14:00-19:00 in early April and would like to explore the town and the Castle of Santa Barbara on my own.

Yes, the town centre is very near the port entrance. If you are on a small ship like WindSurf you will be able to walk off the ship and be right by the marina. Larger ships have a shuttle bus which takes you to the marina.

Which ship are you coming on?

If you need any more information please let me know.

Yes, the town centre is very near the port entrance. If you are on a small ship like WindSurf you will be able to walk off the ship and be right by the marina. Larger ships have a shuttle bus which takes you to the marina.

 

Which ship are you coming on?

 

If you need any more information please let me know.

Great, I look forward to visiting your town. I'll be coming on Seabourn Odyssey. It's not a big ship, with capacity for about 450 guests.