Days Out

There is much to see and do during a holiday in Alicante City, and visitors with access to a vehicle can also enjoy fun days out exploring the surrounding areas. Being centrally located on the sunny Costa Blanca, visitors to Alicante are not much more than an hour's drive from all this wonderful part of Spain has to offer, whether you head north towards the party capital of Benidorm or south to the popular resort areas of Orihuela Costa and the Mar Menor. For those who don't have a vehicle, there are local buses and coach tours to a variety of towns and cities.

South Coast Days Out

There are some fantastic places and attractions to visit to the south of Alicante, and just a 20 minute drive or slightly longer bus journey is the bustling coastal town of Santa Pola. Backed by a picturesque 7 kilometre long promenade, the town's huge port and marina area is a hive of activity and is famed for having the largest fleet of fishing boats of any harbour on the Mediterranean coast. Here visitors can enjoy a number of water and wind sports such as scuba diving, jet ski, kayaking, private boat hire, boat charter and wind and kite surfing.

Santa Pola is also the closest point on mainland Spain to the lovely island of Tabarca that, during peak summer season can receive up to 3,000 visitors per day. There are a number of boats, ferries and water taxis from Santa Pola to Tabarca, the glass bottom ferry being the most popular. The island is a pleasure to visit with crystal clear waters perfect for snorkelling, a variety of interesting buildings and monuments, and famous seafood restaurants.

North Coast Days Out

Of all the days out to enjoy during a visit to Alicante, the party city of Benidorm is by far the most popular and it's easy to see why, with fantastic golden sand beaches, several water and theme parks, thrilling activities, a charming old town and legendary nightlife. The lively Penelope Beach Club rocks both day and night, and for dancing until the sun comes up, the huge Discoteca Penelope boasts over 10 bars, restaurant, boutique shop, several dance halls and even a chill out terrace complete with swimming pool.

Aqualandia Water Park is Benidorm's family favourite fun attraction and covers a vast area of landscaped parkland boasting numerous rides and slides for all ages. The wave beach is the hub of the action, and the park offers a good selection of bars, cafes and restaurants. Nearby Algar Waterfalls are stunning and one of the best days out that all the family will enjoy. Bring along a picnic and towels to have an icy dip in one of the refreshing rock pools or if you fancy a sit down meal, there are several restaurants boasting wonderful views of the falls.

Inland Days Out

Inland from Alicante are the two major wine producing regions of Yecla and Jumilla where visitors can either visit a number of the bodegas (wineries) with their own vehicle, or choose to visit on a guided wine tour which gives you the chance to enjoy the wine tasting without the worry of driving. Caves are thrilling to explore, especially for the young ones and there are two major cave systems open to the public inland from Alicante. Located near the village of Buscot, Canelobre Caves are spectacular and the main Cathedral Cavern has perfect acoustics, great for holding live music performances. Calvares Caves are a bit further afield and got their name from the numerous human skulls found when they were discovered in 1768.

Located slightly inland between Alicante and Santa Pola, the city of Elche boasts two claims to fame, its spectacular palm groves, the largest in Europe, and its footwear industry, the largest in Spain. The groves are wonderful to explore on those scorching summer days when visitors can find welcoming shade among the palm trees while hiking the variety of nature trails. Some of the shoe factories offer free tours and have huge on-site retail outlets where visitors will find a large variety of excellent quality footwear, perfect for gifts to take back home.