What to do in Alicante?

[Sailaweigh]

Hi English,

We will be in Alicante for a day in May (off the Princess Star), I was reading that is a segway tours in ALicante. Do you know anything about them?

Thanks, Sue

[English_in_Spain]

Hi English,

We will be in Alicante for a day in May (off the Princess Star), I was reading that is a segway tours in ALicante. Do you know anything about them?

Thanks, Sue

 

 

I have never seen them but Google search came up with the following

 

http://www.yumping.com/busc.php

 

Select 1. Alicante 2. Multiaventura en Alicante 3. Segway en Alicante 4. Alacant/Alicante

 

There appear to be 2 companies offering this

 

Segway Tours Alicante

 

Rayma Segway Entertainment Agency

 

 

 

Edited March 23, 2011 by English_in_Spain

[English_in_Spain]

I have found another company offering segway tours. Although they are based in Benidorm they appear to do a tour in Alicante. They look a bit more promising as they offer guides in English.

 

Costa Blanca Segway

 

http://www.costablancatour.com/segway/tours/alicante-segway-tour/#more-88

 

email info@costablancatour.com

 

Alicante Segway Tour

 

The best way to discover the capital Alicante.

Guided tour to Garrigós Wells (Water Museum), Port and City of Alicante + Nativity Museum. Guide:- Spanish, English or French.

Duration: 2 hours. Price €45

Includes drink in Old Town + museums.

From 2 people. Discounts for groups of 5 people.

Edited March 23, 2011 by English_in_Spain
change of font/colour

[aohkay]

Any recommendations for a beach in town?

 

Hey Girly-girl!

 

How are you? Lisa from Lisa & Julie here. Are you going back to Alicante?

[dramaqueen1]

Dear English in Spain - could you please give me more information on taking the tram to quieter beaches. We will be visiting on the MSC Armonia on 6th May. We have my 78 year old mother in law with us so dont want to walk too far.

[English_in_Spain]

Dear English in Spain - could you please give me more information on taking the tram to quieter beaches. We will be visiting on the MSC Armonia on 6th May. We have my 78 year old mother in law with us so dont want to walk too far.

The Tram stop is not far from the port gates. You should get a free shuttle bus (provided by the port) from the ship to the gates.

 

Walk passed the Melia Hotel and on the right you will see the tram stop (this is the terminus - trams start here).

 

Two possible beaches which are close to the tram are 'Playa San Juan' or slightly further to 'Muchavista'. A little further still takes you to El Campello but the station here is further from the beach.

 

You will be getting on at 'Puerta del Mar'. Change onto line 3 at 'Sangueta'. After a while the tram will run right along by the beach. You can get off at 'Carrabiners' or 'Muchavista' and be right by the beach.

 

Having said all that, as you are travelling in May, even on a Sunday, I wouldn't think the beach behind the Hotel Melia would be very crowded. This would be the easiest option and is within easy walking distance of the port entrance.

 

Have a look at this beach first and only take the tram if you find it too crowded.

 

The other advantage of going to the beach in Alicante is that if you have had enough or if it is too cool (possible at the beginning of May) you are close to the town centre. Bear in mind, as it is Sunday most shops will be closed.

 

 

[dramaqueen1]

Thanks a lot. Really helpful

[English_in_Spain]

You're welcome :)

 

I hope you enjoy Alicante. Let me know what you did and what thought of it when you get back. It is always good to get feedback of people's opinions.

 

[aj07]

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.

 

Thank you very much for all this information,

 

I would like to know if we decided to stay in Alicante what beaches would you recommend perhaps a resort which has a private beach we can stay?

 

Plus is there any nice restaurant you would recommend in the Alicante region, we usually love it if it has a good view as well.

[English_in_Spain]

Thank you very much for all this information,

 

I would like to know if we decided to stay in Alicante what beaches would you recommend perhaps a resort which has a private beach we can stay?

 

Plus is there any nice restaurant you would recommend in the Alicante region, we usually love it if it has a good view as well.

 

For beaches see post #31 above. There are no private beaches.

 

There is this restaurant in Alicante port

http://www.darsena.com/#home

 

There are some nice restaurants on the beach at Playa San Juan. There is one called La Niza which we like. You can take the tram to there.

 

Unfortunately, the best restaurants with views are inland and are not easy to get to by public transport. There is one called El Almendral de Relleu but is almost impossible to get there without a car.

 

http://www.elalmendral.es/main.html?iLng=2

 

 

Edited April 29, 2012 by English_in_Spain

[aj07]

For beaches see post #31 above. There are no private beaches.

 

There is this restaurant in Alicante port

http://www.darsena.com/#home

 

There are some nice restaurants on the beach at Playa San Juan. There is one called La Niza which we like. You can take the tram to there.

 

Unfortunately, the best restaurants with views are inland and are not easy to get to by public transport. There is one called El Almendral de Relleu but is almost impossible to get there without a car.

 

http://www.elalmendral.es/main.html?iLng=2

 

 

 

Thank you very much for the Recommendations! these are great and will be hiring a coach to take us around the area :)

[Editrix]

My husband and I were in Alicante last month and loved it. The city was beautiful and the weather perfect, but I'm guessing it gets very warm in summer. We took English in Spain's advice and booked the Royal Caribbean bus tour to Guadalest, about a 90-minute ride from Alicante. The price was affordable ($40 pp) and much less expensive than anything you likely could book privately. The route takes you along the coast and near the Benidorm, and then up a winding road to Guadalest, where you will find stunning views, little shops, tapas restaurants, and several museums.

 

It was a great place to spend a leisurely Sunday in Spain.

[English_in_Spain]

My husband and I were in Alicante last month and loved it. The city was beautiful and the weather perfect, but I'm guessing it gets very warm in summer. We took English in Spain's advice and booked the Royal Caribbean bus tour to Guadalest, about a 90-minute ride from Alicante. The price was affordable ($40 pp) and much less expensive than anything you likely could book privately. The route takes you along the coast and near the Benidorm, and then up a winding road to Guadalest, where you will find stunning views, little shops, tapas restaurants, and several museums.

 

It was a great place to spend a leisurely Sunday in Spain.

 

Glad you enjoyed it.

 

Just to let you know that as you drove along the coast you will have passed out house :)

 

We live in a quiet bay, on the coast between Alicante and Benidorm.

 

[Editrix]

Lucky you! The area is stunning. Next time I'll wave.

 

(Thanks for the recommendation. I wouldn't have known about Guadalest without your posts.)

[English_in_Spain]

Lucky you! The area is stunning. Next time I'll wave.

 

(Thanks for the recommendation. I wouldn't have known about Guadalest without your posts.)

 

This is where we live

 

 

This is the beach by our house

 

 

and the mountain behind us

 

[Editrix]

Awww. Now I'm jealous.

[Mary2223]

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.

 

The Museum you mentioned is MACA.