Alicante guide · Alirena
A weekend in Alicante
If you come for exactly 48 hours, you have room for the important things: two good meals, an afternoon at the beach, a climb up to the castle and a couple of walks. This is our proposal.
The base itinerary
The most useful thing is what we did: an hour-by-hour timeline from Friday at 18:00 to Sunday at 18:00, with real addresses, approximate prices and alternatives in case of rain. Read it all here →
Variations depending on who you come with
As a couple. Centre of gravity: long dinners, sunset at the castle and a day on Tabarca on the Saturday or Sunday. If it is a romantic trip, avoid El Barrio (a noisy drinks zone) at night.
With friends. Intense tapas on Friday night along Calle Castaños, a beach day on Saturday with a long beach-bar session, dinner and then El Barrio. Book a table for Saturday night if there are more than four of you.
With children. Mercado Central in the morning (keeps them entertained), Postiguet beach (close and with a lifeguard), the MARQ one morning if it rains, a little boat ride around the port (12€ per person). The castle is doable if the children are over six.
Work + leisure. You arrive Thursday night, work remotely on Friday from Alirena or a neighbourhood café, then tourists on Saturday and Sunday. The double room has a work desk, 100 Mbps fibre and a double socket on each side.
If it rains
Alicante rains little, but when it does the city empties. Plan B: the MARQ in the morning, Mercado Central at midday (covered), a long coffee at a café in El Barrio (almost-pedestrian lanes), a film at Panoramis in the afternoon.