The city of Alicante can boast of a wide range of beautiful beaches, all having as their common denominator, fine, golden sands and high standards of cleanliness and service. It is hardly surprising that, year after year, they are awarded the Blue Flag of the European Union, the maximum guarantee of their consistent quality.
And as an integral part of this heavenly climate, it is precisely the colour blue, merging as it does a luminous sky with a transparent sea, that makes a relaxing swim or the practice of a wide range of nautical sports so attractive, whether near the city itself, along the coast, in residential complexes or on an island shore.
Those who prefer rockier coastlines, with tranquil, gravely coves (some of which are nudist bathing areas), will also find something to their taste. Alicante, blessed as it is with a wide variety of beaches, has been a favourite destination for visitors for over a century and a half.
Beaches
San Juan Beach
Located 8kms to the north of Alicante, San Juan has a long, open beach of some 7kms in length and with an average width of 85m. The beach corresponds to the two municipalities of Alicante and El Campello.
It is located in a residential area that is lively in the summer months and very peaceful during the rest of the year. Facilities available on the seafront include restaurants, bars, cafés and car parks, and services include access for the handicapped, toilets, watchtowers, a Red Cross post, tourist information and water sports on the beach.
As in previous years, this year the beach has been awarded the Blue Flag of the European Union.
The beach can be reached by car, by bus (numbers 21 or 22) or by trenet, the narrow-gauge railway that promises a pleasant trip around the coast from Alicante.
The Coves of Cabo de las Huertas
Located in a residential, tranquil area lying between San Juan and Albufereta, the coves along this part of the coast of Alicante are outstandingly beautiful, combining as they do, rocks and sand.
Some of these beaches are nudist bathing areas, and diving is possible in almost all of them, but particularly in the rockier coves. Of particular note are Cala de los Judios and Cala Cantalares.
The coves can be reached by car; alternatively, a bus (number 22) runs all round the Cabo de las Huertas as far as San Juan Beach.
Albufereta Beach
Located in a semi-urbanised area to the Northwest of the city of Alicante, Abufereta Beach is about 500m long. Beach patrol and lifeguard services are available for Holy Week and the summer season. Other services include a Red Cross post, watchtower, foot showers, toilets and parking facilities.
Nearby there is the smaller Almadraba Beach.
The easiest way to get from Alicante to this beautiful beach is by car via the A-190 road known as the carretera de la cantera, by bus (numbers 09, 21 and 22), or by trenet (narrow-gauge railway) or tram.
Postiguet Beach
This fine, sandy beach, 900m long and washed with tranquil waters, is located in the heart of the city at the foot of the Santa Barbara Castle.
As in previous years, this beach has again been awarded the Blue Flag of the European Union. A lifeguard and patrol service is available during Easter, from the 15th of June to the 15th of October, and at weekends from mid-October to the end of the year. The most important facilities on the beach include a watchtower, a Red Cross post, parking, foot showers, toilets, access for the handicapped and a tourist information office.
There are several urban bus routes that stop at or near the beach, namely, bus numbers 02, 05, 21 and 22. The beach can also be reached by tram or by the narrow-gauge railway known as the trenet, which has stops at the beginning and the end of the beach, and which runs further along the coast northwards to Albufereta and the golf course in San Juan beach (tramway), and on to Dénia (trenet).
Saladares-Urbanova Beach
Saladares-Urbanova Beach is located in a residential part of southernmost Alicante, in an environmentally significant area of marshlands that were formerly an important source of salt. Located nearby is the new OHIM (the Office for the Harmonisation of the Internal Market).
The beach is 1,600 metres long and has an average width of 50 metres. This year it has been awarded the Blue Flag of the European Union. There is a patrol and lifeguard service during Easter and the summer season, and also toilets, foot showers, a watchtower, parking facilities, etc.
The beach is reached by following the road that runs south to Santa Pola, or by bus number 27.
Tabarca Island
The only inhabited island in the Autonomous Community of Valencia, Tabarca is located off the Cabo de Santa Pola at a distance of 11 nautical miles from the city of Alicante. The main beach on the island, Levante Beach, is approximately 250m in length. Located nearby is the village, which has been listed as both an Historic-Artistic Monument and a Cultural Asset.
The waters surrounding the island have been officially declared a Mediterranean marine nature reserve. The reserve is considered a prime example of virtually undamaged Mediterranean marine life, given the excellent quality of its waters and the biodiversity of its fauna and flora.
The beach patrol and lifeguard services are operational during Easter and between the 1st July and the 15th September. Beach facilities include access for the handicapped, toilets and a Civil Defence post.
Surrounded by crystalline waters, offering the tranquillity of a fishing village and the opportunity to enjoy a splendid seafood cuisine, the island can be easily reached by boat from Alicante. There are various departures daily in summer and at weekends during the rest of the year, from the Marina opposite the Explanada de Espańa.
Parks
Canalejas Park is the oldest park in the city. It was designed in 1886 by the architect González Altés. The entranceway is guarded by stone sculptures of lions and dogs, and inside is a spectacular hundred-year-old ficus of enormous proportions, a small monument by Daniel Bańuls as an allegory to the Alicante writer Carlos Arniches, a map of Spain carved in wood and various fountains.
On the southern outskirts of the city, next to the sea, there is a palm tree plantation which has been used as a natural film location. Today it is one of the most delightful green zones of Alicante, called the El Palmeral park. It has waterfalls, ponds, flowerbeds showing a range of local flower and plant varieties, a children’s playground, a cross-country biking circuit, an auditorium, promenades, a café, etc.
On the eastern slope of San Fernando Castle is the so-called Monte Tossal Theme Park, a large leisure area covering 63,000m2 distributed over the terraced slopes of the mountain, and named after local districts of the Land of Valencia. It has installations for minigolf, bowls, skating, giant chess, a biking track, a rock climbing practice wall, etc., all set on a spectacular lookout point over the sea and the city.
On the northwestern fringe of the city, far from the centre, is the largest green zone for leisure and recreation in Alicante, called Parque de Lo Morant, with promenades, playgrounds, an open-air auditorium, etc.
The city’s green lung, however, is undoubtedly the hill called Monte Benacantil, carpeted in pine trees in a large proportion although populated with eucalyptuses as well. The area is located next to the new Jaime II Avenue and Vázquez de Mella Street. Using the access road to Santa Bárbara Castle, visitors can stop at various lookout points for fine views of the town through the pine trees.
On one of the slopes running down to the old quarter of town towards the southwest, an innovative area to be called Parque de La Ereta is soon to be completed. Designed by the French architects Marc Bigarnet and Frédéric Bonnet, winners of the European architecture competition EUROPAN, this park will be a natural kind of recreation area to be kept as rough and wild as possible, with terraced slopes, and populated with native plant species in keeping with the colours of the local terrain. There will be plants, shrubs and trees, stone pathways flanked by shady trees, fountains with drinking water, a kiosk with a pergola, a café on the flat central area of the park (a former threshing ground), which will be used for open-air shows, and a multifunctional classroom, with all buildings fitting in appropriately with the natural surroundings.
