QUICK LOOK:
Location: Puerta del Mar
Main Attractions: Playa del Postiguet, Old Town/Centre, Playa de la Albufereta, Centro Comercial Plaza Mar 2, Castillo de Santa Bàrbara, Mushroom Street, Calas de Alicante (The Cove)
Transportation: Walking, tram, bus
Holidays: Día de las madres, May the Fourth Be With You, Cinco de Mayo
ALICANTE - In the heart of Costa Blanca, Alicante is a beautiful coastal city lined with white sand beaches and white-washed buildings. Although many think Costa Blanca (“White Coast”) was named after those characteristics, others believe it was simply named for tourism reasons. Either reason, it is well-worth visiting.
When we arrived in Alicante from a relatively smooth travel day (we did run into one challenge with check-in to our apartment leaving us homeless until 20:00, but it all worked out in the end and she offered an extra night complimentary for the hassle), the beaches were already full of sunbathers, swimmers, castle-builders, and fitness enthusiasts. Our apartment, nestled between Alicante’s city center and the more suburban neighborhood of L’Albufereta, overlooked the bright blue Mediterranean Sea (more specifically, the Balearic and Alboran Seas). Even though it was about a 30- to 40-minute walk to city center, the walk was along a promenade adjacent to the water (I only did the full walk twice—once with the girls and once by myself). Otherwise, catching the bus and tram was easy and took us straight to where we needed to go.
Side note: while in Alicante, I got an emergency root canal done. My tooth had started aching while we were in Switzerland and we heard Spain had great dental care. So, on our first full day in Alicante, I saw the dentist at Clinica Dental SCJ. They were amazing! They fit me into their busy schedule, helped with my Spanish (I told them that I needed to practice Spanish for my patients at the hospital and they graciously explained everything in slower-tempo Spanish), and were just so kind and helpful. If you’re ever in Alicante and need dental work, this is the place to go. And, I just need to add that my Flagyl and ibuprofen were only under 4€ total without insurance!!! I am still shocked. So, three appointments later and my tooth was feeling amazing. Thank you, Clinica Dental SCJ!!!
Exploring Alicante was so fun! Of course, we enjoyed the beaches—Playa Postiguet (ridiculously busy during high season), Playa de la Albufereta (smaller and less crowded), and our little beach area in Calas de Alicante. Calas de Alicante consisted of these sweet little coves surrounded by a children’s playground and restaurants. As residents, we had the key to the gated tunnel that led to the coves. It appeared that the public could access it, but it was definitely a hidden gem. When we went, we found a patch of sand all to ourselves, parked our umbrella (provided by our host), and played for hours. The girls purchased (they are earning allowance weekly for doing chores to learn more about the value of money, effort, and time) pails, shovels, and foam water blasters from the Centro Comercial Plaza Mar 2 (one of the largest and busiest shopping centers I have been to in Europe). Even though they were willing to leave these items behind for the next guests because we didn’t know if we could fit them in our luggages (they, too, have found little gems left behind (mostly accidentally) from previous guests in other apartments), we were able to fit them in their backpacks and now have them for Morocco. We were all pleasantly surprised when they fit. Hooray!
In addition to beaches, we went to the Castillo de Santa Bárbara (definitely one of the larger fortresses we have been to), walked around city center, ran through fountains, played in parks, strolled through Mushroom Street (ended up there three times), and tried delicious foods.
Oh, the food. Está delicioso! Of course, we got “arroz a banda” (similar to paella) and tapas. Apparently, the very popular paella served all over Spain was created in Valencia. However, a main rice dish similar to paella called “arroz a banda” was created by the fisherman of Alicante. According to my minimal research, “arroz a banda” is a rice dish made with fish stock from the fishermen’s leftover fish and seafood (feel free to do your own research about this topic and let me know if you find anything else). Surprisingly, it was difficult to find “arroz a banda” because most restaurants served paella. We decided to go to L’Arruzz on Mushroom Street (real name C. San Francisco). We got a classic “arroz a banda” dish, mushroom truffle croquetas (we ended up getting two servings because our girls loved them so much), and pan-roasted artichoke (“alcachofas de ajillo”). We left full and happy.
Even full and happy, we still had room for a treat. Around the corner from Mushroom Street was the Macaron Boutique. If you know our girls, you know they love French macarons and, I have to say, these were some of the tastiest and most unique combinations. We enjoyed our treats at a park at the end of Mushroom Street and then, of course, the girls played in the playground as we enjoyed the sunny day.
Our time in Alicante was simply wonderful and relaxing. Thank you, Alicante, for white sand beaches, delicious food, and kind people.
Adios!
You have chosen to visit the most beautiful places. Happy travels💗