Benidorm is a beginning rather than a destination. Most people spend the week on the beach or by the pool, which is an entirely reasonable way to spend a week. But within forty minutes of any hotel on the strip there is a castle above a turquoise reservoir, a street of painted fishermen’s houses, a 332-metre rock you can climb, and waterfalls you can swim under. Most of it goes unvisited.
None of the five below needs a hire car. The tram and the ALSA buses reach all of them, and we have put the fares and the journey times against each one so you can decide over breakfast rather than over an hour on a booking site.
The five closest, at a glance
| Where | Distance | Time | Easiest way |
|---|---|---|---|
| Villajoyosa | 10 km | 20 mins | Tram |
| Altea | 12 km | 25 mins | Tram |
| Calpe | 20 km | 35 mins | Tram |
| Guadalest | 24 km | 40 mins | ALSA bus |
| Fonts de l’Algar | 25 km | 40 mins | ALSA bus, then a short walk |
Villajoyosa
10 km · 20 minutes · half a day
The fishermen’s houses along the front are painted in pinks, oranges and yellows, and the reason is entirely practical: the boats needed to pick out their own house from the water. The effect, four hundred years later, is one of the most photographed streets in Spain.
What makes it worth the twenty minutes is that it has not been turned into a set piece. It is a working town that happens to be beautiful. The Valor chocolate factory runs free guided tours daily and they finish with a tasting, which is a rare thing to be able to write.
Getting there. The tram stops directly in the town, about 15 minutes. The ALSA bus towards Alicante also stops here, roughly 20 minutes and around 1.80 euros. A taxi is 12 to 16 euros.
- The colours are at their best in the hour before sunset.
- Book the Valor tour ahead in summer. They fill up.
- Thursday is market day and the town feels different for it.
Altea
12 km · 25 minutes · half a day to a full one
The blue-domed church above the old town is the most reproduced image on the Costa Blanca, and standing under it explains why the artists who arrived in the 1960s never quite left. Whitewashed walls drop away to the sea below.
The old town is small enough to walk in an hour and rewards considerably longer. Galleries sit between tapas bars. The pace is deliberately unhurried, which after a week on the Levante is either a relief or a shock, depending on the holiday you are having.
Getting there. The tram from Benidorm centre, about 20 minutes and around 2.50 euros, and the ride itself is worth the fare. ALSA Line L-1 from the bus station takes about 25 minutes for roughly 2 euros. Parking is difficult, so do not drive.
- Tuesday morning is market day and the better stalls go early.
- Walk up to the church for sunset. The climb is worth it.
- Restaurants at the bottom of the old town are better value than those at the top.
Calpe
20 km · 35 minutes · a full day
The Penon de Ifach is 332 metres of limestone rising straight out of the sea, visible from twenty kilometres away and considerably more imposing up close. You can climb it. It takes about two hours there and back.
There is more to the town than the rock. Two Blue Flag beaches, noticeably less crowded than Benidorm’s, and the salt lakes at Las Salinas in the middle of town, where flamingos turn up during the spring and autumn migrations. The old fishing port is where Calpe stops being a resort: the auction runs in the afternoon and the restaurants round it serve the day’s catch.
Getting there. The tram has its own Calpe stop, about 35 minutes. ALSA Line L-1 towards Denia takes a similar time for around 3 euros. A taxi is 22 to 28 euros, and agree the price before you set off.
- Start the Penon climb early. It is hot and exposed by mid-morning.
- Numbers on the climb are capped in high season, so register online.
- The fish restaurants nearest the port beat the tourist strip on both price and quality.
Guadalest
24 km · 40 minutes · half a day
You reach Guadalest through a tunnel cut into solid rock, and the view as you come out of it reliably silences a coach full of people. The village sits on a limestone outcrop above a turquoise reservoir, with Moorish castle ruins above that and the mountains behind.
Fewer than 200 people live there. It has been looked after rather than tidied up. The road in climbs through orange and almond groves and is a pleasant drive in its own right.
Getting there. ALSA runs a seasonal service from Benidorm bus station, usually two or three departures a day, around 3.50 euros each way. Check the current timetable before you rely on it. A taxi is 25 to 35 euros, and it is worth agreeing a return time with the driver.
- Timing is everything. Before 10am or after 4pm, or you get the queues.
- The reservoir viewpoint photographs best in morning light.
- The small museums, miniatures and bells among them, are better than they sound.
Fonts de l’Algar
25 km · 40 minutes · half a day
On a genuinely hot day this offers the one thing the beach cannot: cold water falling through limestone gorges into pools you can swim in. It is a designated natural park near Callosa d’en Sarria, with marked paths running between the pools through orange and lemon orchards.
Entry is around 3 euros and the site is kept to a high standard for it. The upper pools are quieter and a good deal better than the lower ones most people stop at. In spring the citrus blossom is worth planning a visit around.
Getting there. ALSA to Callosa d’en Sarria, about 40 minutes, then a 2 km walk or a short taxi to the site. Some direct services run in summer. A taxi the whole way is 25 to 30 euros, and ask the driver to come back at a set time.
- Water shoes are not optional. The rocks are algae-covered and genuinely slippery.
- Go in the morning. By midday the tour groups have arrived.
- Bring a packed lunch. The cafe is limited and the picnic spots by the pools are not.
The photographs of Villajoyosa, Altea, Calpe and Guadalest were sent in by Bulletin readers. Thank you to everyone who replied.
The other nine, and the two boat trips
These five are the easy ones. The full guide covers fourteen: Denia, Alicante, El Campello, Valencia, Terra Mitica, Sierra Helada, the Isla de Benidorm, and the glass-bottom boat and catamaran that go from the marina. Each one gets the same treatment, the bus and tram details, what to avoid, and where to eat.
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