Loafing around in Alicante, Spanish style

This year it hasn’t been a warm summer in London. And somehow all of my last few vacations have been to coldish places. So I desperately wanted to have a warm and relaxing European getaway before summer was over. So at the last minute in August, I booked a short 5 day break to Alicante as it had direct flights from London. And of course, it was a hot place as the weather in Spain is always warm. And what a vacation it turned out to be!

View of Costa Blanca, from Altea

I hadn’t really researched much about what to do when there. But it turned out, there was a lot more to do than I would have expected. Which was definitely a bonus. The whole coast around Alicante is known as Costa Blanca and is full of touristy things to do. There are islands nearby, beaches to sunbathe in, towns to visit, castles to explore and amazing shopping to splurge on. So, over the 5 days, we managed to do a lot of different things:

• Alicante and around: Explored Old Town, the promenade and the local beach - Playa de Postiguet, trekked up Castillo de Santa Barbara and visited the amazing beach of San Juan
• Nearby places: Drove to the nearby villages of Villajoyosa, Abril, Altea and Elche and spent time on the beach as well as walked through town
• Island of Tabarca: Took a ferry to Tabarca island and swam in its hidden coves
• Shopping: Shopped at the Spanish brands - Zara and Mango - which have huge stores here, offering better variety, and at lower prices than London

But most of all, what I found most different about the vacation was the long 3 hour lunches we had on the beaches and the daily siestas we took when it was too hot to be outside. That really helps you set the pace for a relaxed enjoyable vacation.


Alicante and around

Getting there

While landing in Alicante, I found the Spanish scenery quite a contrast to London. London had been very green, while Spain had lot of interesting but brown landscapes on the way. There were some mountains but they seemed to be full of dried brown stepped fields. After the mountains also, most of the area looked very brown, with some small shrubs or greenery scattered here and there, but mostly brown. It still looked quite picturesque from the air though.

While landing, Alicante looked like a spread out industrial and boring city (all the houses had swimming pools though!). It did scare me a bit initially as I hadn’t researched by then whether there was enough to do in the city or not. And the first views were not encouraging. The airport was small and I took the shuttle bus (c6) to town. It was a quick ride, but even this ride did not look inspiring. The landscape was all brown and dry, and the outer city just felt like it was full of industrial buildings everywhere. I did have a moment of doubt whether I had chosen the right vacation spot or not.

When I got down at the bus terminal and walked to my hotel, all my doubts went away altogether. I first walked on the palm lined waterfront. And then through Old Town. The walk turned out to be quite enchanting. And the weather had also got warm by then. So it all felt perfect suddenly 😊.

The Old Town

The Old Town was full of colourful yellow and orange buildings everywhere, with the cobbled streets in between. And there was some pretty architecture to observe all around. It was always a pleasure to walk in this area as it was the most active place around.

Streets of Alicante

During afternoons, all the restaurants were full, and people would be sitting outside in the streets having a lazy lunch in the sun. Some of these streets were also lined with trees which made it easier to be outside. The temperatures were really hot during the day and so everyone preferred to be inside. So the town would become totally empty after lunch, from say 3-7 pm when everyone was off for their siestas. It was a bit difficult for me to do that the first day if you are not used to daily siestas. But by the end, I was also totally in the zone 😆.

And then evenings again, the town became alive and there would be people all out of their homes, eating and shopping. There were lot of small squares with palms trees giving shade to people who were lazing there. It seemed like the regular place for everyone to get together. The streets here were lined with antique iron lamps which would switch on every night. And it gave the town a very old world charm. The whole ambience in this part of town was always lively even at midnight. In fact by then, people would still just be starting their evening.

We spent a lot of time in this part of town, mostly just walking around, doing a bit of shopping, seeing some sights and just generally chilling when we were there. We did hear one day of a boat dance party which was planned but we got to it late. But its definitely something to do if you can.

One of the days we had to get our car filled with petrol and I followed google maps to find a petrol pump. I think I must have landed at the smallest petrol pump in the world! It was literally just a pump setup on one edge of a square, right on the road! I actually drove past it once and had to take a full round to come back to it to find it. It was definitely an interesting experience.

The Promenande

The main promenade of Alicante is on one edge of the Old Town, and runs all along the beach. One side of the promenade is lined with restaurants and local markets, while on the other side you can see all the yachts parked in the water. And as you walk, you come to the local town beach.

The Playa del Postiguet beach was a long one with the castle on one side of it, then the high-rise resorts and then the hundreds of people in their coloured umbrellas, in the water. The sunset from there was striking. The beach was too crowded though and I decided not to go there at all.

Summer concert

The promenade was full of people every time I went there, enjoying a stroll outside next to the water. They had some small trinket markets there, mostly run by the Africans. One of the evenings, they had a free summer concert going on in the open, where I sat for a bit. Most of the women in the audience were using paper fans, it was so hot. I haven't seen anyone use such fans for years now, but clearly it was a thing in Spain.

One of the days when we had lunch on the Promenade, there was a group of old Spanish musicians singing and playing Spanish music all afternoon. It was lovely to just sit there, under the palm trees, listen to the music, enjoy the food and just observe people walking around with nowhere to reach. And the breeze from the sea making it feel cooler than it was. It felt so perfect to be there. How much I miss this in London?!

Castillo de Santa Barbara

View of the castle from the ferry

Castillo de Santa Barbara is a small castle on top of a mountain, right in the middle of Alicante. It is visible from across the city and overlooks the main beach. One of the evenings, we walked up the castle which was a 30 mins walk up the road. Apparently you can walk from Plaza del Carmen but we took a longer route along the road. This route went around the mountain and then had a steep climb up through the forest hills. The forest walk was refreshing, though there an almost deafening sound of crickets on this which felt quite out of place. Overall, it was a nice short walk up, though given it was still hot and sunny, it wasn’t as easy as expected.

The castle

The castle on top, though small was impressive. It had a wall all around, and many smaller buildings and towers inside. You could easily explore it for an hour. It was partially bright with sun and sometimes in the shade. It definitely felt better once the sun had set. The castle had great views of the city below, the beaches, its blue waters, and the hills beyond.

Sunset over Alicante

We also got to view an impressive sunset over the city. They also have some cafes for people who want to spend more time there, plus they were also getting ready for a concert in the evening. So the castle definitely felt like a hub of activity and worth a trek up. It was especially refreshing while coming down when the weather got cooler and breezier.

Eating out in Alicante

Spain is a foodie’s heaven. They love their food, and even the small villages we visited had multiple restaurants offering some great fare. Our favourite foods during the trip were patatas bravas, garlic prawns, fish or veg croquettes, padron peppers and spanish omelette. We ended up ordering the same things at most of the places we went.

The Spanish really love long lazy lunches, and most of our lunches turned out to be 3 hours long along the beach, as the waiters took their own sweet time to get the menu, take the order, get the order, get the bill and then the machine to get paid! Not that we were complaining, as the long lunches were totally welcome during the hot afternoons.

Nou Manolin

In Alicante, we went to Nou Manolin twice for dinner. Its a famous restaurant but as we had no booking, we sat in their bar on the ground floor. And the ambience was very lively. There was the bar in the middle, with lot of green decorations. And it was full of people both evenings. They serve such huge servings of starters that one of the days, I didn’t even have a main course! Their paella is to die for. I had the lobster one and loved it totally. But most of it, I loved the overall lively feel of the place.

One evening, we had dinner at Casa De Leon, again in the Old Town which had a very interesting Spanish fusion menu and I loved it. It had outside seating which is always preferable. And one afternoon, we walked to La Tavernas del Gourmet for lunch which had great reviews. Once at the restaurant, we realised they had a place to sit outside also on the promenade. So we just chose to go there, enjoy a nice meal while just sitting outside in the sun enjoying the warm lazy air. I had one average meal in Alicante which was at a vegetarian place called Bodhi Green. That was definitely a bad idea as they took the vegetarianism to the next level. Definitely not a place for me!

Of course the Spanish eat their dinner late, starting at 9 pm. Then go for drinks after 12 and then go partying after, staying out till very late. We never got past the dinner as we were too tired with the siestas and long lunches by then 😜 but the areas of El Barrio and El Casco Antiguo are good to go for drinks while websites recommend to go to the Puerto area after 4 am for partying.

Shopping in Alicante

Spain is known for its Mango and Zara, and I recommend it totally. The prices are cheaper, the clothes variety more colourful. The shops here were open till very late at night (9/10pm depending on the day) plus the sales made it such a pleasure to shop. There were also loads of local boutiques and shops selling clothes and locally manufactured shoes (apparently this region is famous for its shoes too). They were always a pleasure to browse through and shopping is one of the things I would recommend to anyone going to Spain.

Hotel in Alicante

We had booked a relatively inexpensive hotel called La City Mercado for our stay. But it turned out to be just perfect for us. Its location was its best part. It was right next to the Old Town which ensured that we were able to walk or take local transport to all the places we wanted to go to. It was walking distance from the shuttle I took from the airport, 10 mins walk from the central stations where all the car rentals were located and minutes from the tram/bus stations to San Juan beach. We were located right in the Old Town, again walking distance from all the sites of the town, the Castillo de Santa Barbara, supermarkets, ATMs as well as the party areas. And the hotel was clean, with nice convenient room and good quality service. All for a very reasonable price. Totally worth it!


San Juan beach near Alicante

Tram to San Juan

One of the days, we spent only on the nearby beach of San Juan. It was a bus ride away from Alicante, and even though it is technically in a different city, it felt like being within Alicante itself. Getting there is easy - there are multiple options. You can either take tram L3 or L4. Or a few of the bus options. We decided to take the tram and it was very very convenient (and cute). It took us about 20 mins to get there. The tram route was along the beach and it felt like the area was continuously inhabited all the way, lined with holiday apartments along the coast. It was an enjoyable and short ride to the beach.

San Juan beach

The beach is apparently 7 kms long and on both sides there were small mountains. All along it, there were high-rise hotels and restaurants. Right next to the beach was a walking promenade, lined with palm trees. And once at the beach it was heaven. The sun was out, there was a breeze, the sand was white, the waters were deep blue, full of waves, the beach was lined with colourful umbrellas and thousands of people were there. All enjoying this paradise 😊.

We spent a couple of hours on the beach, alternating between sleeping on the sunbeds in the shade and swimming in the warm waters, going up and down with the waves, and swimming deep in the ocean. It was heavenly, as if time had stopped and we were just floating. I loved the day spent there, totally relaxed, with nothing to do and nowhere to go (other than back into the water when the temperatures felt too hot!). The water was warm, but coolish enough after the hot sun outside. And there were loads of waves which made it fun swimming in the waters. This beach was definitely the high point of my trip and we did not want to leave at all.

We had lunch at one of restaurants along the promenade - Lorea which served Basque food. It was bit tough to get something I could eat but whatever I got was tasty. And then sadly it was time to get back to Alicante. It was very tough to leave the place. But we did manage to pull ourselves away somehow 😜. We took the bus this time (no 22) which again took just 20 mins back to drop us to the centre of Alicante town.


Nearby villages of Villajoyosa, Abril, Altea and Elche

We spent one of the days driving to some of the nearby villages on the Costa Blanca and what a revelation it was. Each village had something different to offer. Our start to the day (as all days in Spain) had been a bit late and we decided to rent a car. It easy to just walk to the car rentals near the station and get one. I did manage to get a much cheaper rate, booking online while at the car rental shop than what they were offering us!

We took the day as it came, first driving east, towards the village of Villajoyosa (or La Vila Joiosa) which was about an hour away. The drive was mostly through motorways and some small roads. And it was picturesque. Most of the time, the route was lined with bare brown mountains on the side but at times we would glimpse beautiful houses on them. They were mostly orange and yellow coloured villas all on mountain tops, with views of the beach below. It looks like the entire area is full of holiday homes, and why not? The sun, the warmth, the palms, the glistening blue water and the waves. No wonder Spain is so popular among holiday home owners in Europe. Its paradise.

Beach at Villajoyosa

We first drove to Villajoyosa and just looked for the beach on the GPS. All the parking along the beach was full, so we parked a bit inside the village and then walked to the beach. The first views of the beach were magnificent. Golden yellow sand, with blue waters, scorching heat with green palms to provide shade and colourful houses all along the way. There were hundreds of people on the beach, all either in the water or sitting under colourful umbrellas. It felt like a great place to relax. And it was really hot that day too, just the perfect excuse to get into the water. I went into the water only for the a bit but found the sand too hot to walk on.

The rest of the time, we just sat by the restaurants on the promenade and had a nice 3 hour long lunch in the typical Spanish leisurely way. The food was the usual we would order - tapas orders of garlic prawns, patatas braves, spanish omelette and some fish. It felt nice just to sit and have a nice long lunch without a thought to bother. Just perfect.

Beach at Abril

After the lunch, we thought of driving to another beach, and from the map, just picked the beach of Abril. And it turned out to be even better. The whole area turned out to be quite a richer high end area with huge holiday homes lined with trees everywhere. You could feel the richness of the place just looking at the cars and the people around. The beach there was awesome too. It had mountains on both sides with some of the peaks covered with clouds even in summer. This beach was more windy than the previous one and that’s why felt cooler. The water was a deep blue, and the beach though pebbly was full of umbrellas and sunbeds everywhere. It felt awesome to be out there after a heavy lunch. So we got our 2 hour daily siesta here on the beach. And when the weather got cooler, we left to explore the old town of Altea.

Streets of Altea

It took us a bit to find a parking near the old town, known as Casco Antiguo. The Altea old town was enchanting. It was full of narrow cobbled streets, up and down the hill, lined with white houses all around. Just like you see in pictures from the islands in Greece. There was small shops everywhere and people were selling their locals wares. There were also loads of restaurants all around.

Streets of Altea

The architecture is very Moorish, and the squares on the top reminded me of Granada. There was a church on the peak which was worth exploring. From the top, we could also see some grand views of the sea, the beaches and the mountains around. This was my most memorable view from the entire trip. And I totally enjoyed our stroll in this village.

After the third stop of the day, we were in two minds whether to visit another place or not, but then decided to do it anyways. Our last stop of the day was the city of Elche which was famous for some palm groves. This was not a coastal village and turned out to be a much more modern and bigger city. But its city centre still had a nice small town feel to it.

Grand Basilica

We parked near the city centre and explored the area on foot. We first walked to the Grand Basilica which was quite grand and currently full of people. They were showcasing the religious play called misterio which is enacted there once a year. Then we walked around to the palm grove park and the old museum which had lights on and looked heavenly at night. But it was too late to visit the places as they had shut down. So we ended up just walking around a bit and finally stopping for dinner. We had a leisurely Italian dinner at one of the local restaurants, Lungo Mare and were on our way back by nighttime.

Museum at Elche

There are some other scenic villages on the coast which are worth visiting, like Javea and Novelda. And Altea apparently has many great restaurants, including Michelin star ones. But as I quite often say, for the next time 😁. We had a very fun-filled day visiting these villages, and even though we started with no plans, we ended up doing a lot. The villages were quite similar but unique in their own way. They had the typical beaches, but the old towns were full of colourful houses and made for a fine few hours of strolling around in a cosy atmosphere. All in all, definitely worth a visit.


Tabarca Island

My last day was spent in the island village of Tabarca, very close to Alicante. Its easy to get there, you can just take a 1 hour ferry ride from the Kontiki boat company on the promenade. They have multiple ferries going there every morning. When I tried to get on one, it got full just 2 people before me in the queue and they told me to get the next one. I had to get in with a bit of senti, as my flight was later in the day. But it did help as I got to spend enough time on the island.

Main beach on Tabarca Island

It was a very interesting trip, as I didn’t enjoy it at first but then realised how much the quaint island had to offer. The island is quite small and you can walk all around it in 20-30 mins I think. When you land, you walk into the first beach which was crowded to say the least. That did put me off for a bit as I didn’t feel like getting into the water then. So I walked around the island a bit which was bare and hot. There was a tower and some small buildings to explore. I ate at one of the crowded restaurants next to the main beach and by this time I still thought the place was too touristy.

Streets of Tabarca

Then I walked into the small village and my view changed. The village had the narrow coloured streets which made it quite an enchanted place. There were cafes and local restaurants, squares with benches, small churches and the island walls, all providing magnificent views.

One of the smaller coves

And while walking around the village, I also came upon hidden coves with stone structures and cliffs all around which were just perfect for enjoying the sun. There were small groups of people going into the waters in these protected areas, snorkelling, sunbathing and swimming. And this felt perfect, away from the crowds on the main beach. And the water was such a deep blue, it was breathtaking. I spent some time in these areas and then it felt like worth coming to this little paradise away from the mainland.

It was a bit hot earlier when I was in the main beach but had got cloudy and windy later which made the whole experience more enjoyable. The ride back in the ferry was also amazing. I sat in the front of the ferry, outside in the sun with the wind blowing in my face. And it was a spectacular ride!


And just like that, the trip got over. The weather had been awesome the time we were there, warm and comfortable. People around looked very chilled all the time. Altogether, there was something very calming about being there, forgetting work and just slowing down for a bit.

And so I found it very tough to bid adieu to such a mesmerising place. We had such an amazing time in Alicante, and it was such a surprise too as we hadn’t expected there would be so much to do. But it turned out to be the perfect vacation - with its mix of sun, water, beaches, food, villages, castles, islands, shopping.. And most of all, the relaxed pace of life to forget about everything else you’ve left behind. And feel fine with not doing too much. It was perfect. And I would suggest a trip to Alicante anytime, totally worth it!