Town · Valencian Community, Spain, Europe
Alicante, Valencian Community
Alicante is the drier, smaller and cheaper sister of Valencia: a Blue Flag beach in the city centre under a free hilltop castle, a longer one at San Juan by tram, and the region's busiest airport. Research draft.
- Best months
- Apr–May, Oct
- Our pick
- Coworking day pass
- €20 / day
- One operator’s price
- Cappuccino
- €1.94
- Estimate, crowd-sourced
- Time zone
- Madrid time
For families
Alicante with kids
Opening hours, prices and age limits for each day out, with the date we read them. Beaches have their own access notes further down.
Postiguet
calm, flat city beach with playgrounds, Blue Flag 2026 (Alicante Turismo).
San Juan
2.9 km flat beach with playgrounds and pedal boats, Blue Flag 2026, by TRAM lines 3, 4 and 5 (Alicante Turismo).
Santa Bárbara castle
free entry, €2.70 lift from opposite Postiguet (Alicante Turismo).
In detail
The notes behind this page
Alicante in short
Alicante is the southern base of the Valencian Community: a city of 366,221 people (INE, 2025) with a Blue Flag beach in the centre, a free castle on the hill above it, a 2.9 km beach at San Juan by tram, and the region’s busiest airport (19.95 million passengers in 2025, Aena). It is drier and sunnier than Valencia and rents are lower.
Keep reading: 6 more sections
Alicante or Valencia?
| Alicante | Valencia | |
|---|---|---|
| Residents (INE 2025) | 366,221 | 840,792 |
| Rent, €/m² (idealista Sep 2026) | 13.9 | 16.3 |
| Rain a year (AEMET 1991–2020) | 285 mm | 459 mm |
| Sun a year | 3,014 h | 2,733 h |
| Airport passengers 2025 (Aena) | 19.95 million | 11.85 million |
| Coworking day pass (examples) | €20–30, mostly + VAT | €15–40 + VAT |
Valencia has the bigger coworking and café scene and the Turia park; Alicante has the beach right in the centre. They are about two hours apart by the fastest train (2 h 17 from Valencia, about 1 h 55 back). The full comparison: Alicante vs Valencia.
Month by month: Alicante weather by month.
Beaches
- Postiguet: 900 m in the centre under the castle, calm, playgrounds, Blue Flag 2026.
- San Juan: 2.9 km, flat, sports areas and playgrounds, Blue Flag 2026, TRAM lines 3, 4 and 5.
- Blue Flags 2026 in the city: San Juan, Postiguet, Saladares-Urbanova and Tabarca island. [Alicante Turismo]
- With children: lifeguard seasons, the castle lift, the MARQ, parks and a boat to Tabarca in Alicante with kids.
Things to do
The castle (a €2.70 lift from opposite Postiguet), the Santa Cruz quarter, the Basílica de Santa María and the free MACA, the Explanada, the MARQ, the Mercado Central, a boat to Tabarca and a day in Elche’s palm groves, with a one- to three-day plan and a rainy-day list: things to do in Alicante.
Working from Alicante
- ULab in the old town: €24 + VAT a day, €183 + VAT a month. Space Sky on the Rambla: €30 a day (no VAT note), €120 + VAT a month, 600 Mb fibre stated. TerretUp is the cheapest day pass we found, €20 + VAT. [operator sites, 9 and 10 Oct 2026]
- Laptop cafés named most often in 2026 guides: Sip and Wonder, Madness Specialty Coffee and the Santander Work Café, open to non-customers. [costa-blanca.space, Jun 2026; Alicante Smart Hotel, Sep 2026; Banco Santander]
- nomads.com shows 29 Mbps crowd-sourced; Spain’s fixed median is 262.62 Mbps (Speedtest, Aug 2026). Neither is an Alicante measurement.
- Five coworkings compared, laptop cafés, the April Nomad Summit and monthly costs: Alicante for digital nomads.
Getting around
- Airport bus C-6: €4.70 single since 24 July 2026, running 24 hours (every 30 minutes at night). Taxis, Benidorm and Valencia from the airport, and late arrivals: Alicante airport to the city. [Vectalia] Heading straight up the coast: Alicante airport to Benidorm, Altea and Calpe.
- TRAM and metropolitan bus (TAM): single €1.50 from 1 October 2026; a 30-day unlimited Móbilis pass €35; free travel up to 14 is a personal pass that visiting children may not get. The Generalitat’s fare order confirms €1.50 for the TAM single, which covers the TRAM in Alicante (zone A); €2.00 is the one-zone TRAM single further up the coast, €2.90 Alicante to Benidorm. These are reference fares from 1 October 2026; temporary discounts may apply until 31 December 2026, so check before you go. [Ajuntament d’Alacant, 30 Sep 2026; DOGV Orden 8/2026]
- Santa Bárbara castle lift: €2.70, from opposite Postiguet. [Alicante Turismo]
- Flying in: flights to Valencia and Alicante compares the two airports and lists direct routes. Trains to Madrid and Valencia: trains in Spain.
- Hiring a car for the coves or inland villages: Alicante airport car hire covers the desks, deposits, the toll AP-7 south and Benidorm’s permit-only low-emission zone.
- Health: Hospital General Universitario Dr. Balmis has general and paediatric emergencies; in an emergency call 112. More in healthcare in Spain for travellers.
Where to stay
- idealista (September 2026): Centro €14.3 per m², Playa de San Juan-El Cabo €15.9, city average €13.9. Centre for walking and Postiguet; San Juan for a beach-first family stay.
- Area by area, with the June fiesta noise and the tourist-flat moratorium: where to stay in Alicante.
Alicante: quick answers
How do I get from Alicante airport to the city?
The C-6 airport bus (Vectalia) costs €4.70 a single since 24 July 2026 and stops in the centre, including by Postiguet beach. Check the timetable on Vectalia's site.
Is Alicante or Valencia better for a month?
Alicante if you want a smaller, drier city with lower rents (idealista: €13.9 vs €16.3 per m², September 2026) and a beach in the centre. Valencia if you want more coworking, more cafés and a bigger city. They are about two hours apart by the fastest train (2 h 17 southbound, about 1 h 55 northbound).
Which Alicante beaches have a Blue Flag in 2026?
Four, per the city's tourism office: San Juan, Postiguet, Saladares-Urbanova and the island of Tabarca.