03
Alicante excursions, from the €2.70 lift to the 8-hour private day
Ranked by one question — what does the tour give you that a lift ticket and a walk don’t?
In the city, very little. Outside it, the coach starts to pay its way — Elche first, Guadalest second.
The terminal, the walk and the castle bus are on our Alicante cruise port guide. Heading on up the coast? Our Valencia shore excursion guide picks up the next call.
This is the Alicante day most people should have — and it barely costs anything.
The castle crowns Mount Benacantil, right above Postiguet beach. Ride the lift up from Avenida Juan Bautista Lafora for €2.70, walk the walls and the free MUSA museum, then take the long way down.
Then walk down instead of queuing for the lift again. The city lists a footpath on Mount Benacantil via calle Virgen del Socorro, and Shore Excursions Group pairs the castle with the old Santa Cruz quarter below it — a route on your feet, not a ride.
From the ship, the lift is about a 15-minute walk along the harbor to Puerta del Mar, then a few minutes more along the beach.
If you want a guide, Shore Excursions Group sells a private 3-hour old-town walk with the castle from $100.99 a person. Celebrity lists its own uphill castle trek too.
- Time commitment
- Two to three hours at a steady pace, our estimate.
- Getting there
- Walk to the lift opposite Postiguet beach, or the €1.45 CSB minibus from Puerta del Mar.
- Suits
- First-timers, short calls, budget days.
- Ship or independent
- Independent. The castle charges nothing at the gate, so a tour sells you the guide, not the access.
Why it's worth considering
A hilltop view over the harbor for the price of a lift ticket.
Its summer hours run to 23:00, so an evening departure still leaves room for a sunset visit.
The catch
On double- and triple-call days, the lift is where the queue forms. Go first thing, or take the minibus.
The minibus takes a debit card or bus pass, not coins.
Verify before you book
- Castle closing time for your date — it changes four times a year
- Whether the lift is open (it shut for maintenance January 12–16, 2026)
- Last lift down, about 20 minutes before closing
A waterfront day here costs you next to nothing — just your feet and a bit of sunscreen.
The Explanada de España is the palm-lined promenade with the wave-pattern paving. It starts at Plaza Puerta del Mar, where the walk from the ship lands you.
Postiguet, the city beach, runs the other way from the same square. Inland, the Mercado Central is the one the port names alongside the castle as cruise passengers’ favorites.
Put it together with the castle and you’ve got a full day for under €10 — lunch not included.
- Time commitment
- As long or short as you like.
- Getting there
- On foot; the Explanada begins about 15 minutes from the terminal.
- Suits
- Families, budget days, anyone who wants a slow day.
- Ship or independent
- Independent — there’s nothing here to book.
Why it's worth considering
Zero logistics. You walk off the ship and you’re in it — no tickets, no timetable.
A beach day and a city day in one square mile.
The catch
Plan for the sun — a midday summer walk along the water gets hot.
Market opening hours aren’t posted in what we checked — confirm before you build lunch around it.
Verify before you book
- Mercado Central opening hours on your call day
- Lifeguard or flag status at Postiguet if you plan to swim
Elche is the half-day out of Alicante that earns a coach seat — short drive, UNESCO site, most of the afternoon still yours.
The town’s Palmeral, a historic palm grove about 20 km inland, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000. Its showpiece is the Huerto del Cura garden.
Holland America’s Alicante & the Palms of Elche runs about 3.5 hours from $109, rated moderate. It drives past the Explanada first, then gives you the garden, a tasting and some free time.
The garden itself charges €6.80, or €4.80 for over-65s, and the tourist board puts a visit at 30 to 45 minutes. That’s the honest scale of it: a short garden visit with a drive at each end.
- Time commitment
- About 3.5 hours on the cruise-line version.
- Getting there
- Coach from the pier.
- Suits
- First-timers, couples, minimal-stress half-days.
- Ship or independent
- Either. The ship bundles the drive and the tasting; on your own you need a taxi or car to Elche.
Why it's worth considering
A UNESCO site in half a day, with the afternoon back in Alicante for the castle.
It’s the short trip of the bunch, so it fits calls that can’t take Guadalest.
The catch
Holland America flags limited shade, and the tour isn’t wheelchair accessible.
The garden closes at sunset, which changes month to month.
Verify before you book
- What the tasting includes
- Garden entry included in the fare
- Free time in Elche versus time on the coach
Guadalest is the postcard trip — a village on a crag, reached through a tunnel cut in the rock.
Carnival’s Glorious Guadalest runs 5.5 hours from $139.99 an adult, $129.99 a child. P&O Cruises sells a tour with the same name and length.
Both list about 1.5 hours on the coach each way and about 45 minutes of walking. You get the castle ruins, a restored historic house and, on Carnival’s version, a glass of local Moscatel.
Do the math on that, though. About three of the five and a half hours are the drive — you’re buying a coach ride with a village at the top.
- Time commitment
- About 5.5 hours.
- Getting there
- Coach from the pier.
- Suits
- Repeat visitors, active travelers, anyone who has seen the castle.
- Ship or independent
- Ship, for most people — it’s a mountain road with a fixed all-aboard at the end.
Why it's worth considering
Mountain scenery and a medieval village, a world away from the beach.
The ship handles the road, which is the hard part.
The catch
P&O rates it high activity, though it calls the walking moderate: uneven, steep, stepped streets.
More than half the tour is on the coach.
Verify before you book
- Walking level against your group
- Whether the castle and house entries are included
- Return time against all-aboard
Ferry · island day
A ferry to Tabarca island
Tabarca is the small island offshore, and the boat leaves from Alicante’s own harbor — no coach, no transfer.
Civitatis listed a return ferry from US$26.69 when we checked, departing from Paseo Màrtirs de la Llibertat in the port, with a crossing of about an hour.
We didn’t find the operator’s own timetable, or a cruise-line Tabarca tour. That makes this a book-it-yourself day with a fixed return boat — plan around that boat, not your watch.
- Time commitment
- About two hours of crossings, plus whatever you spend on the island.
- Getting there
- Walk to the ferry quay in the port.
- Suits
- Repeat visitors, couples, long calls.
- Ship or independent
- Independent — and for a long call, not a short one.
Why it's worth considering
A day on the water and a small island, without a coach.
The departure point is in the same harbor as your ship.
The catch
About two hours of your day are on the water, not on the island.
If the last boat back is late or weather cancels it, the ship won’t wait.
Verify before you book
- The return time of the last useful boat
- Weather and sea conditions on the day
- The operator behind the reseller ticket
For a group that wants the coast and the mountains together, this is the private option — at a private-tour length.
Shore Excursions Group lists a Private Alicante and Benidorm Full Day at 8 hours, from $88.99 a person. It heads up the coast to Benidorm, then into the Guadalest valley and the old town there.
It’s a private car, so the price per person depends on how many of you fill it — a family of five and a couple won’t pay the same per seat.
- Time commitment
- About 8 hours.
- Getting there
- Private vehicle; confirm the pickup point with the operator.
- Suits
- Families and groups who want their own pace on a long call.
- Ship or independent
- Third-party. Check the operator’s return guarantee before you book.
Why it's worth considering
Two very different Costa Blanca stops in one day, on your own schedule.
Cheaper per head than the ship’s Guadalest tour on the listed starting price.
The catch
Eight hours leaves little slack on a shorter call — check your all-aboard first.
The listing’s starting price may assume a full vehicle.
Verify before you book
- Price for your exact group size
- Return-to-ship guarantee terms
- Time in Guadalest versus Benidorm
If the castle isn’t the point, Celebrity sells two food-and-drink takes on Alicante — one in town, one out of it.
One is a small-group walking tour of the city that finishes with tapas hopping between bars. The other heads inland to Novelda for a lesson in wine production and tastings at Heretat de Cesilia.
Neither listing showed a length or a price when we checked. Ask the shore excursions desk before you plan the rest of the day around one.
- Time commitment
- Not published on the listing.
- Getting there
- From the pier with the ship’s tour.
- Suits
- Couples, repeat visitors.
- Ship or independent
- Ship, since these are Celebrity’s own products.
Why it's worth considering
A different way into the city, through its kitchens and its vineyards.
The wine visit is built around tastings, not climbs — kinder to tired legs.
The catch
No published duration means you can’t judge the fit yet.
They’re Celebrity listings; other lines may not offer them.
Verify before you book
- Length and price for your sailing
- How many tastings are included
- Walking distance on the tapas route
04
Alicante with the ship or on your own
In the city, go it alone
The castle has no admission charge, and the lift and minibus are priced like bus fares. A guided castle visit adds commentary, not access.
The Explanada, the beach and the market are a walk from the pier. The lift is the one queue you’re likely to meet — and the minibus gets around it.
For the hills, the ship earns it
Guadalest is about 1.5 hours of mountain road each way. On the ship’s tour, a slow coach is the line’s problem, not yours.
Elche is closer and easier, so it’s a fair call either way — the ship’s version just adds a tasting and the drive past the Explanada.
Third-party options
Shore Excursions Group listed two private Alicante tours when we checked: the 8-hour Benidorm and Guadalest day from $88.99, and a 3-hour old-town and castle walk from $100.99.
Private pricing depends on group size, so compare on your actual party.
How each option compares in Alicante
| Excursion | Lean ship excursion when… | Independent works when… |
|---|
| Santa Bárbara castle | Only if you want a guide | Almost always — entry is free |
|---|
| Explanada, market and beach | Not needed | Yes — it’s where the walk lands you |
|---|
| Elche palm grove | For the bundled drive and tasting | With a taxi or car and the €6.80 garden ticket |
|---|
| Guadalest | Yes — a mountain road and a deadline | On a private tour with a return guarantee |
|---|
| Tabarca | No cruise-line tour found | On a long call, with the return boat fixed |
|---|
| Tapas or Novelda wine | Yes — they’re Celebrity’s products | A self-run tapas crawl is easy; Novelda needs transport |
|---|
Short answer
On a first call, ride the lift to Santa Bárbara, walk down through Santa Cruz and finish along the Explanada — a full day for a few euros. If you’ve done that before, Elche is the easy upgrade and Guadalest the bigger one. Pick one. Two trips out of town on a single call is how people miss the castle and the ship’s horn in the same afternoon.
06
Alicante port logistics: the terminal, the walk and the castle bus
From the ship into town
Ships dock at the cruise terminal on Muelle 14, on the Muelle de Levante side of the harbor.
It’s about 0.6 mile (1 km), around 15 minutes, to Plaza Puerta del Mar. An undated secondary guide also reports a free shuttle toward the marina, which we couldn’t confirm on an official site.
Full terminal detail is on our Alicante cruise port guide.
- No tendering here
- Taxi rank at the terminal; no published tariff found
- Alicante-Elche airport about 12 km away
Getting up to the castle
The lift starts opposite Postiguet beach on Avenida Juan Bautista Lafora, €2.70. The last lift up leaves about 40 minutes before closing, the last one down about 20 minutes before.
The CSB minibus costs €1.45 a ride and runs about every 40 minutes from Puerta del Mar.
Hours to plan around
Castle hours run 10:00 to 18:00 from mid-November to late February, 10:00 to 20:00 in spring and from early September, and 10:00 to 23:00 from June 17 to September 4.
Elche’s Huerto del Cura opens at 10:00 and closes at sunset.
Safety and paperwork
The State Department rates Spain Level 2, Exercise Increased Caution, in its August 1, 2026 update.
US citizens don’t need a visa for a port day. The EU’s Entry/Exit System has been fully running since April 10, 2026, and your line will say if the call involves a border check.
ETIAS isn’t in operation and has no announced start date — the EU says it will give several months’ notice. Check travel-europe.europa.eu before you fly.
