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Spanish adventures from Alicante/Murcia airports

J

Johnny Vodka

The Abominable Scotsman
Has anyone used either of these airports for an interesting Spanish trip? I think they are mainly used to reach Benidorm, but am wondering if anyone has recommendations for less touristy places nearby. Looking for places that can be visited by public transport.
 
We stayed in Villajoyosa in the summer. It looks like Balamory. There's a tram from Alicante down the coast - highly recommended. Did you know Alicante is a Roman city? Lots of interesting bits and bobs around, and it's not as slap-you-in-the-face touristy as I was expecting, either! (But I don't recommend Benidorm.)
 
From Murcia you can go down more and see the settings for all the spaghetti Westerns filmed down in Almeria. Almeria is on the train network if you fancy more Spain adventuring too. Lots of Roman stuff in Cartagena.

I liked Alicante the city and a lot of the province is nice too aside from a few shitter coast bits. Tram up to Denia as mentioned. Great wine in Alicante (more inland) and Murcia if youre into wine. Worth driving around and touring some vinyards.

They make a lot of shoes round there. in Elxe I think. You can go shoe shopping and get some proper quality stuff for good money.
 
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Also. HORCHATA.

Yeah Alicante capital is a really cool city tbh. I went there by myself and went out with some friends of friends. Had great food and drink pretty cheap and bought some great wine including the incredible fondillón which is a fortified wine, try it if you like port and sherry.

Alicante has an interesting Civil War history which isnt made much of too. But you can find some info locally. This was the last stand for the Republic at the end of the war and a lot of the refugees and exiles left from boat by there for Mexico etc.

Secret confession.. I would quite like to go to Benidorm and around to see what it's like. Even Spanish people go there nowadays!
 
I like Alicante, nice sea front for promenading, good restaurants and shopping, train down the coast to Calpe.

I've also flown in to Gibraltar and used that to explore southern Spain- Tarifa, Jerez and Cadiz.
 
Yes tbf, when I say 'great', it's a traditional coastal Spanish town. Great seafood, cheap and frosty lager.
 
I hated Benidorm. I will confess that my view was coloured by a daughter who doesn't cope well with heat and the fact that we were starving and none of the cafes would let us eat! Although we're very obviously British, I do speak Spanish, everyone had a different reason why we couldn't use their cafe. But everyone was jaw-droppingly rude, to the point where we couldn't wait to leave. And I thought it would be full of Brits but we didn't encounter a single one.
 
From Dénia you can get a boat to Mallorca and possibly other islands too. Probably year round, possibly not winter. Cool option if you wanna go on a boat and theres a cheap flight back from there.

Could be a good way of doing this trip in reverse also... Mallorca all the way down to Almeria over 2 weeks..
 
Poot said:
I hated Benidorm. I will confess that my view was coloured by a daughter who doesn't cope well with heat and the fact that we were starving and none of the cafes would let us eat! Although we're very obviously British, I do speak Spanish, everyone had a different reason why we couldn't use their cafe. But everyone was jaw-droppingly rude, to the point where we couldn't wait to leave. And I thought it would be full of Brits but we didn't encounter a single one.
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Wow! Why wouldn't they let you eat?
 
There are places in Alicante resorts that wont willingly serve Spanish people or only if they speak English. It's crazy. Theres probably some resentment tbh.

None of that in Alicante capital tho luckily. Its a v Spanish city. flights are 37 quid return from Bristol in January ive just seen. One of the main benefits of flying to Alicante is its just such a cheap and easy airport to get to from the UK with flights every single day most of the year.
 
If you can get a super cheap flight to Alicante there's the stuff people have mentioned and you're also day trip or stop over distance from Valencia by train, which is a tremendous city.
 
ElizabethofYork said:
Wow! Why wouldn't they let you eat?
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All the tables were suddenly reserved at one place, at another we could eat but not drink. 'We're thirsty. Can we have some Diet Coke?' No. No drinks. Everyone else had a drink. At another place they just ignored us and blanked us. It got to the point where it stopped being funny tbh. If I'd been with an adult I'd have seen the funny side but I was alone and trying to take care of the kids so it just made me really cross, which probably didn't help...

I would recommend absolutely anywhere else. Alicante is great. You don't need Benidorm.
 
Wow. not being offered a drink in a Spanish bar. That is something I have never seen or heard of before. So rude!

I would love to do the GR7 hiking trail which goes from Tarifa all the way through Alicante/Valencia provinces up to Catalonia. The stretch from eastern Andalucía to Alicante (Alcoy) would be awesome.
 
Riklet said:
Secret confession.. I would quite like to go to Benidorm and around to see what it's like. Even Spanish people go there nowadays!
Click to expand...

I went to Benidorm around 20 years ago and enjoyed it. Mind you, I was off my chops on some pretty amazing pills most nights.
 
Riklet said:
None of that in Alicante capital tho luckily. Its a v Spanish city. flights are 37 quid return from Bristol in January ive just seen. One of the main benefits of flying to Alicante is its just such a cheap and easy airport to get to from the UK with flights every single day most of the year.
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Yup, I can fly to Alicante and Murcia from my very local airport, which is why I'm asking about them.
 
Johnny Vodka said:
Yup, I can fly to Alicante and Murcia from my very local airport, which is why I'm asking about them.
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How long would you be going for and when?

Id reserve the first 2 nights accomm and then just wing it. Youll have a blast! 2 weeks would be awesome if you can take time off.. could def be done on a budget.
 
Riklet said:
How long would you be going for and when?

Id reserve the first 2 nights accomm and then just wing it. Youll have a blast! 2 weeks would be awesome if you can take time off.. could def be done on a budget.
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Would probably be May/June for a week, possibly slightly longer.
 
Johnny Vodka said:
I'm guessing Alicante is similar to Malaga vibe-wise?
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Theyre similar. I would say Malaga is a bit more hip and alternative. More arty and studenty too maybe. More museums. Alicante is a bit more commercial and maybe kinda fashion orientated, more beach body ready too. I would say that about Valencia in general. Geordie Shore in Spain is called Gandía Shore (Gandia is the area up the coast). This info could be out of date as I was there a good 6 years ago now back when I was living in Madrid.

I def think it's worth checking out and will be great weather in May and quieter than June too.
 
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I went there a few times as someone I knows family had a place out there. I quite liked Cartagena and Elche for old stuff and civil war stuff. Also some place by the big lagoon where you can put the black sand on you and it dries and it’s meant to be good for you
 
Johnny Vodka said:
Has anyone used either of these airports for an interesting Spanish trip? I think they are mainly used to reach Benidorm, but am wondering if anyone has recommendations for less touristy places nearby. Looking for places that can be visited by public transport.
Click to expand...

The city of Murcia (and capital of the region of the same name) is nearby, and I live there. I would suggest a visit. It has a grand baroque cathedral, and loads of places to eat and drink (including Zigzag where I´m off to soon with my wife: 1.50 euros for 0.4L!) It´s also well-known for various local dishes, including caballitos, which I would thoroughly recommend. Don´t go in July or August, though, because it´s unbearably, punishingly hot, and the city pretty much closes/empties and decamps to the coast.
 
Riklet said:
From Murcia you can go down more and see the settings for all the spaghetti Westerns filmed down in Almeria. Almeria is on the train network if you fancy more Spain adventuring too. Lots of Roman stuff in Cartagena.

I liked Alicante the city and a lot of the province is nice too aside from a few shitter coast bits. Tram up to Denia as mentioned. Great wine in Alicante (more inland) and Murcia if youre into wine. Worth driving around and touring some vinyards.

They make a lot of shoes round there. in Elxe I think. You can go shoe shopping and get some proper quality stuff for good money.
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Yeah, we did a wine tour, to Jumilla, for my wife´s birthday one year.
 
Also: the region isn´t endowed with the best public transport in the world, so you will probably need to hire a car.
 
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