What to do in Alicante

We will be in Alicante for one day on April 25th for approximately 8 hours. What is there to see and not to be missed?

Hi, I live just outside Alicante. Here are some notes I put together for some CC visitors last year. I have not checked out the prices recently so bear in mind there may be some slight increases.

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 (you can select English version at top of page)

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, just off the bottom of the map. 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.

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.