I’ve spent a beautiful week in Alicante, located on the Spanish East coast. The tourists that visit this area usually go to the most touristy spot: Benidorm, full of beaches and pubs. But Alicante has many other interesting places, less crowded and worthy to be visited: Altea, Calpe, Guadalest, Jalón… I invite you to travel there with me through this article and have a look by yourself .

The little villages along the coast, like Altea are lovely. Hilly and narrow alleyways paved with cobblestones, white houses looking to the world through old balconies, the sun playing at dawn on the surface of the peaceful Mediterranean sea…

Alicante has many other interesting spots. There are breathtaking mountains where the wind whispers at your ear. Atop of them you can go back in time, feeling the history excavated on the rocks, witness of invasions and recaptures. There you can come across a cleft running through a rocky mountain and arrive to Guadalest, an old fortress built by the Moors over 1200 years ago. It can be only accessed through this tunnel carved through 50 feet of solid rock and its views over the valley are spectacular.

Guadalest from the outside:

Accessing to the village:

Inside the ancient fortress:

Local villagers are kind and welcoming, and the atmosphere is lively day and night. Moreover, the gastronomy is excellent, as in any part of Spain. Plenty of sidewalk cafés in the streets, full of people enjoying the colourful salads, lamb slowly roasted over wood, the famous paella or desserts that would make you feel like if you had arrived to a sweet heaven.

In summary, Alicante is a charming place worthy to be visited. I’ve come back home with renewed energy after letting nature embrace me in this beautiful land. A great holiday!

Kindly submitted by Silvia Martínez Sánchez. You can read more of Silvia’s journeys through Spain and life in her web-site and her lens

Hopefully, this will have given you the desire to see more of Alicante and if you need a hotel near the airport I can recommend Alicante Airport Hotels