Alicante

Castle above, marina below, and 300 days of Costa Blanca sun.

Explore → Get Early Access

🏖️ Alicante Essentials

⏰

Best Time: May-Jun, Sep-Oct

Beach-warm without August’s crush

⏱️

2-3 Days Ideal

City plus one boat or castle day

💶

Currency: EUR (€)

Cards fine; market stalls like cash

🚇

TRAM Metropolitano

Coastal light-rail runs to Benidorm and beaches

🧭 Why Visit

Alicante is the Costa Blanca done right: a Moorish castle on the rock, a palm-lined marina esplanade, city beaches you can walk to, and an old-town tapas scene that stays Spanish year-round — sunnier and cheaper than the famous names.

🏛️ A Little History

Iberians, Romans (Lucentum — 'city of light'), and Moors all held this harbor; the castle of Santa Bárbara has watched over it since the 9th century. The modern city grew on port trade, turrón, and, lately, very contented sunshine.

💡 Did You Know?

Alicante logs around 300 sunny days a year, the Explanada's 6.6 million marble tiles ripple like the sea on purpose, and nearby Jijona makes most of the world's turrón — Spain's Christmas nougat.

Most Popular

Santa Bárbara Castle & Old Town

Check Prices →
Best Value

Tabarca Island Boat Day

Check Prices →
Foodie Choice

Central Market Tapas Crawl

Check Prices →

Live Prices & Availability

Powered by GetYourGuide

Local Know-How

  • Menú del día in the streets behind the Central Market runs €12-15 and outclasses seafront tourist menus
  • Barrio Santa Cruz's flower-pot lanes are the photo stop — go golden hour, climb toward the ermita

Getting There & Around

  • Ride the elevator inside the rock up to Santa Bárbara castle (small fee) and walk down through the park
  • The TRAM coastal line is a scenic ride to Playa San Juan and beyond — beach-hop by rail

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Alicante just an airport for Benidorm?
That's the mistake that keeps it pleasant: Alicante is a genuine Spanish city with a castle, museums, urban beaches, and real tapas culture — a better base than the resorts it serves.
Which beach should I pick?
Postiguet sits at the old town's feet for convenience; Playa San Juan (TRAM, 20 min) is the long golden showpiece; Tabarca island adds snorkeling in a marine reserve.
What are the best day trips?
Tabarca by boat, Elche's UNESCO palm groves (20 min by train), Villajoyosa's chocolate and colored houses, and Guadalest's eagle-nest village inland.
How do I get around?
Walk the center, TRAM the coast, and use the castle elevator to skip the climb. The airport bus (C6) reaches downtown in ~25 minutes.

Explore More of rVacation

Cambodia

Siem Reap and Angkor — the temple kingdom.

Melbourne

Laneway coffee, street art, and sport as civic religion — Australia's culture capital.

Belgium

Brussels' Grand Place and Bruges' canals — two guides, one small giant.

Switzerland

Geneva to start — the lake, the Alps, the precision.

Oceania

Laneway coffee and coastal drives — starting with Australia's culture capital.

Canada

Montréal and Toronto — two great cities, two personalities.

Continue Your Journey

Explore the rVacation travel network

📷 rPhotography 🇮🇹 rItalian 🌺 rHawaii 🏛️ Rome 🎨 Florence 🚤 Venice 👗 Milan 🍕 Naples 🍝 Bologna 💕 Verona 🍷 Tuscany 🌊 Amalfi Coast

Some links on this site are affiliate links — if you book through them, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. We only recommend tours and stays we would book ourselves.