Alicante Activities Worth Your Time
A 166-meter limestone crag stands directly behind the beach here, and half of Alicante’s best activities are built around getting on, around or under it, the other half around the water at its foot.
On the water at Cabo de las Huertas
The rocky headland northeast of Playa de San Juan hides a string of small coves, Cala Cantalar, Cala Palmera and Cala dels Jueus, cut into limestone shelves and lined with protected Posidonia seagrass. Guided sea kayaking and stand-up paddleboarding tours run about two hours here for €35 to €45 per person, gear included, and thread you past the volcanic reef edges you would otherwise miss swimming from shore; browse kayak and SUP trips before you go. Wear hard-soled reef shoes if you get in the water at these coves: black sea urchins sit in the rock crevices and there is no lifeguard cover.
Further out, Isla de Tabarca holds Spain’s oldest marine reserve, declared in 1986. Half-day guided snorkel trips from the island or Alicante port run €40 to €55, and two-tank certified dives go for €75 to €95, both putting you among dusky groupers, octopus and moray eels in water that is startlingly clear for a working Mediterranean coast. Cruceros Kontiki runs the catamaran crossing from Puerto de Alicante, 50 minutes each way for a €23 to €25 open return; check current sailings on cruceroskontiki.com .
On two wheels
The Via Verde del Maigmo takes a decommissioned rail line 22 kilometers into the pine hills around Agost, an easy gradient with a couple of old viaducts and short tunnels along the way, good for a half-day out of the city without a car. Closer in, a dedicated bike path runs the length of Playa de San Juan and around Cabo de las Huertas, flat and fast, with e-bike rental in the center running €25 to €35 a day.
Learning to cook the local way
Alicante’s rice dishes are not Valencian paella and a cooking class here should make that clear from the first ingredient: salmorreta, a paste of dried ñora pepper, garlic and tomato, is what gives arroz a banda and arroz del senyoret their depth, built on a seafood broth rather than the chicken-and-rabbit base used further north. Workshops typically start with a shopping walk through Mercado Central for cuttlefish and shrimp before a hands-on class in a traditional paella pan, €65 to €85 per person including wine and the meal you cook.
The Saturday tardeo, and how not to miss it
If you are only in Alicante one weekend, build it around this. From around 13:00, the tapas bars in and around Mercado Central on Plaza 25 de Mayo fill with locals ordering cold cañas, vermouth and salted cod off the counter. By 16:30 the same crowd has drifted onto the open-air terraces along pedestrian Calle Castaños and Calle San Francisco, where it runs into live acoustic sets and stays out until around 21:00. Arrive at the market end early if you want a table rather than standing room; by 14:00 the good spots are gone.
Book a cooking class or a Tabarca snorkel day through the GetYourGuide Alicante portal, and check current TRAM fares on tramalicante.es before planning a coastal cycling day that includes the tram back. Alicante Turismo publishes the official festival calendar if you want the tardeo timed around a local event. For a slower look at the city’s landmarks between activities, see the sightseeing guide .