• See
• Do
• Buy
• Eat
• Drink
• Sleep
• Get out

Alicante [1] is a popular city with tourists in the Alicante Province in the Valencia Region of Spain.

Most of the town consists of 1960’s flat-roofed buildings, which make it reminiscent of a British inner-city council estate. This effect is further enhanced by the prostitutes and drug-dealers who operate in the streets parallel to the sea-front.

[edit] Get in

[edit] By plane

The Alicante Airport (ALC), connected by many international airlines, is located 11 km (6.8 miles) south of the city.

Bus No C-6, departing every 45 minutes from Bus stop No 30, takes you to the city in about 30 minutes for €1.20. Ask the driver to notify you when to get off, for example the Train Station, Estacion de trenes. Bear in mind that this bus follows a circular route and takes about 40 minutes to get from Alicante back to the airport, the extra 10 minutes can make all the difference in missing your check-in time.

Alicante is served by Monarch[2],Iberia, Germanwings, Spanair, Aerlingus[3], Air Berlin, Finnair, Thomsonfly[4], Sterling[5], easyJet and Ryanair. And Transavia.com

[edit] By train

Trains run by RENFE [6] from Madrid, Sevilla and Barcelona daily go to Alicante Train Station, located in the city centre.

[edit] By boat

Direct ferry links exist between Alicante and Ibiza, and Palma de Mallorca. It is best to book early to avoid disappointment.

[edit] Get around

One of the best ways to go sight seeing and enjoying is by a car. The roads are good, and the town can be better explored with the freedom that a car brings. Many tourist rent a car for their holidays in Alicante. Often you can book the car with the flight booking before arrival. Many companies like Europcar also sit at the Airport.

[edit] By bus

The main bus station is located close to the harbour at Calle Portugal 17

[edit] By tram

Alicante has a modern and still-expanding tram system [7]. Trams now cover many areas of the city and also travel along the coast to Benidorm where you can connect with a line running further along the coast to Altea, Calpe and Denia.

[edit] See

Visit the Santa Barbara Castle (Castillo de Santa Barbara) for an amazing sight of the town and harbour. There is an elevator that starts near the beach (Playa del Postiguet).

[edit] Do

The sandy beach is popular during the day and fairly busy during the evening when it's illuminated by sodium street lights. These give the beach and breaking waves a surreal effect.

[edit] Buy

You can still buy commemorative plates of General Franco from some souvenir stalls!

[edit] Eat

Try a paella from one of the sea-front restaurants, they're less than €10. Some of the smaller restaurants in the side-streets will do a 3-course meal for about the same price. Restaurant El Flamenco in c/. San Francisco 12 does a 4 course meal for only 9 euros.

Traditional delicacies will commonly include dishes with fresh seafood or rice. Alicante also counts with its own regulatory wine council [8].

[edit] Drink

Keep a lookout for the Irish pubs - they're run by Spaniards who don't speak English but they serve draught beer which is hard to get anywhere else.

[edit] Sleep

The cheapest place to sleep is on the beach! The police don't seem to move people on and in the summer mini hippy colonies spring-up. This seems to typify the easy going attitude in Alicante.

[edit] Get out