Cruise Port Guide · 662 cruises visit Alicante →
The bucket-list things to do — and who runs each one.
Here’s the bucket list for your day ashore: the most extraordinary thing to do at each stop, who runs it, and how to book it direct — so you can weigh it against your ship’s excursion and pick what suits you.
Ships dock at Muelle de Levante. It is not a tender port. The terminal sits roughly 1.5–2 km from the Explanada de España and the base of Santa Bárbara Castle, a 15–25 minute walk along an industrial pier that offers zero shade in the Mediterranean sun. Most lines run a free shuttle to Plaza Puerta del Mar or the marina; it usually takes 5–10 minutes but is not guaranteed on every call—check your daily program or ask the shore excursion desk the night before. Taxis queue at the terminal and cost around €8–10 to the old town.
Gangway is typically open by 8:00–9:00 a.m. All-aboard is usually 30–60 minutes before the ship sails, most often 4:30–6:00 p.m. depending on the line. The first-timer trap here is assuming the castle is “right there” and then discovering the climb or elevator queue eats an hour while the pier walk back adds another 20–30 minutes in the heat. Build in real buffer time; the last shuttle or taxi can get crowded.
Ascend Alicante's iconic 9th-century Moorish fortress for panoramic Mediterranean views, then wind through the whitewashed lanes of the Santa Cruz quarter with a private certified guide. A cinematic, story-rich encounter with 2,500 years of layered history.
Glide through fragrant orange groves and dramatic mountain gorges to the medieval cliffside village of Guadalest, then cool off beneath the cascading Algar waterfalls — one of Spain's most spectacular inland day trips from the coast.
Sail to Spain's only inhabited fortified island — a UNESCO marine reserve — aboard a premium catamaran, snorkel the crystalline waters of the Costa Blanca's richest reef, and lunch on freshly caught fish in a harbourside restaurant.
Uncover Alicante's hidden culinary and architectural soul on this intimate small-group tour starting at the Central Market — sampling local cheeses, jamón, turrón and vermut — before weaving through secret baroque courtyards and Moorish alleyways.
Explore one of Spain's most celebrated regional museums — a three-time 'European Museum of the Year' finalist — on a private guided tour that transforms Alicante's 7,000-year story from Iberian settlements to Moorish courts into vivid, personal narrative.
Step into Spain's most overlooked Modernista gem — the Casa-Museo Modernista — then tour a boutique Vinalopó valley winery for a private cellar visit and seated tasting of award-winning Monastrell reds, paired with local charcuterie.
A couple can spend as little as $116 direct for two Roundtrip to Tabarca Island tickets at $29 each, or $120 for two seats on any of the three Santa Bárbara Castle Wine Tasting & Tapas options at $30 per person. Adding a second excursion or transport pushes the day toward $200–250 for two. Ship tours for the same experiences routinely run $90–$160 per person, so the markup is real.
The math flips when the tour includes a long transfer. From Alicante/Benidorm: Guadalest & Algar Waterfalls Tour at $49 direct looks like the clear winner on price, yet the ship’s version is sometimes the better buy because it guarantees return timing on a route that takes roughly an hour each way by road. For the castle-based tastings, the independent versions—especially the one run by Free Walking Tours Alicante (4.80 from 613 reviews) or Ascensor del Castillo de Santa Bárbara (4.50 from 7,500 reviews)—deliver the same experience at a fraction of the ship price. Tabarca’s roundtrip ferry at $29 is almost impossible to beat unless you need the absolute latest possible return. A ship excursion remains the rational choice only when schedule certainty matters more than cost.
Assume a typical 8:00 a.m. gangway and 4:30 p.m. all-aboard. Take the shuttle into town by 9:00, do one Santa Bárbara Castle Wine Tasting & Tapas (choose the operator whose review count and rating best match your priorities), then walk the old town and Explanada. Be back at the shuttle stop by 2:30 p.m. at the latest. Skip Roundtrip to Tabarca Island entirely—its one-hour crossing each way leaves no margin in a short call. Guadalest is also off the table; the transfer time chews up most of the morning. One tasting plus the hill is plenty for half a day.
Clear the ship by 8:30 a.m. and head straight for the 10:45 ferry on Roundtrip to Tabarca Island. The one-hour sail gives you roughly five hours on the island before the afternoon return that lands you back in Alicante around 6:00–6:30 p.m. If you prefer to stay ashore, catch the earliest available Santa Bárbara Castle Wine Tasting & Tapas (culture or history version), then taxi or bus to the bus station for the roughly one-hour ride to Benidorm and onward connection to the From Alicante/Benidorm: Guadalest & Algar Waterfalls Tour if timings line up. Otherwise stay in town and add a second tasting from a different operator. Allow 90 minutes from old town back to the ship.
If I could pick only one, I would take Roundtrip to Tabarca Island. At $29 it is the cheapest water-based escape on the page, the ferry ride itself is part of the day, and it removes you from the pier-and-castle crowd that every MSC, Costa, Oceania, and Explora sailing dumps into the old town. The castle tastings are fine, but they are essentially the same product offered by three different hosts at the same price; Tabarca gives you actual distance, different light, and the quiet satisfaction of having left the cruise port behind while everyone else is still queuing for the elevator.
You know what to do on the day. Here is the trip it belongs to — each one opens as a whole plan, not a list: where to fly in, every port, what it runs.
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