Alicante Highlights Tour for Cruise Passengers with Port Pickup
Description
Make the most of your time in Alicante with this 3.5-hour guided shore excursion, specially designed for cruise passengers. Your guide will meet you at the cruise port with a sign and escort you to the starting point of your tour. Enjoy a guided walk through Alicante's historic center, visiting the vibrant Central Market, the elegant Baroque-style Town Hall Square, and the iconic Explanada de España, lined with palm trees and colorful mosaics. Continue to the impressive Santa Bárbara Castle, perched atop Mount Benacantil. Explore this magnificent medieval fortress while taking in breathtaking panoramic views of Alicante, the Mediterranean Sea, and the surrounding coastline. At the end of the tour, you'll be transported back to the city center or directly to your cruise ship, ensuring a comfortable, stress-free experience and a timely return to the port before your ship's departure.
Tour Options
Itinerary
We'll stroll along Alicante’s most iconic boulevard, a lively avenue full of local charm and history.
We’ll explore the historic Town Hall Square, one of Alicante’s most emblematic spots. There, you'll learn about the fascinating history and architecture of the Ayuntamiento de Alicante — a magnificent baroque building that has stood at the heart of the city’s civic and cultural life for centuries.
Teatro Principal de Alicante – A Cultural Landmark in the City Center. As we stop outside the Teatro Principal de Alicante, you’ll discover one of the city’s most important cultural institutions.
Visit to Alicante’s Central Market Step into the heart of local life with a visit to the Central Market of Alicante (closed on Sundays). This vibrant and bustling space is filled with fresh produce, seafood, meats, cheeses, and traditional specialties. As we explore the market, your guide will share insights into the local food culture, explain the importance of key ingredients in Alicante’s cuisine, and give you a true taste of the city’s culinary traditions and daily rhythm.
Perched high above the city, Santa Bárbara Castle offers stunning panoramic views of Alicante and the Mediterranean coastline. As we explore this historic fortress, your guide will walk you through its fascinating past, from its origins in the 9th century to its role in various military and cultural events. You'll have the opportunity to admire the impressive architecture, stroll along the ancient walls, and learn about the significance of the castle in shaping the city's history. The breathtaking views and rich history make this a must-see landmark in Alicante.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Your guide will be waiting to welcome you at the port, holding a sign for easy identification.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(62)
Alicante was way more beautiful than we imagined. Our tour guide Flor made our visit that much, more special. She was so knowledgeable and knew Alicante’s history and everything in between. She took us around the streets and shared insights of the city. She also took us to the Santa Barbara infamous castle. Alicante is home of the nougats, it has the cutest markets filled with yummy foods, drinks and boutique buys such as, souvenirs. My family and I definitely want to visit Alicante again. It’s a fabulous cozy city all on its own filled with friendly people. Thank you Flor for making our visit so special!! Viator is lucky to have her.
Dear Jennifer and family, Thank you so much for your wonderful review! It was truly a pleasure meeting all of you and sharing the beauty of Alicante together. I'm delighted to hear that Alicante exceeded your expectations and that you enjoyed learning about its history, strolling through its charming streets, visiting Santa Bárbara Castle, and discovering our delicious nougat and local markets. It means so much to know that these experiences made your visit memorable. I feel very fortunate to do what I love, and having such lovely guests as your family makes it even more rewarding. I hope Alicante welcomes you back again soon. There will always be more hidden corners, local traditions, and wonderful flavors to discover! Thank you once again for choosing this tour, and I wish you and your family many more amazing adventures together. Warm regards,Flor
We very much enjoyed this tour. Flor is wonderful and has such passion about sharing her love for this city. Great mix of history, legend and lots of restaurant recommendations. We were so glad we did this tour as opposed to booking one from the cruise line.
Dear Terry, Thank you so much for your review! I'm so glad you both enjoyed the tour. It was a pleasure sharing the city's history, legends, and my favorite places to eat with you. Your kind words truly mean a lot, especially knowing you were happy with your decision to join my tour instead of a cruise line excursion. I'm delighted I could help make your visit even more memorable. I hope you continue to have an amazing trip and that you'll have the chance to visit again someday. You're always welcome! Warm wishes, Flor
Great excusion! Especially if you are on a cruise. Flor was so friendly and knowledgeable about the city! It does require a lot of walking and the castle tour has some steep inclines. But the views are incredible! Well worth the money! Highly recommend!
Thank you so much, Brian, for your wonderful review! It was a real pleasure meeting you both and sharing Alicante with you. I'm so glad you enjoyed the excursion and that the views from the castle made the climb worthwhile! Thank you for choosing to join me, and I hope to see you again on another adventure someday. Safe travels! Flor
Flor was an excellent guide. Pre tour she communicated well, sent location and picture of where to find her . Her knowledge and love of the city shined thru. We finished the tour and felt we had gained a friend
Dear Beth, Thank you so much for your lovely review! I really appreciate you taking the time to write it. I had a wonderful time exploring the city with you, and I'm so glad you enjoyed the tour. If you ever come back, you'll always have a friend here to show you around. Enjoy the rest of your trip with your family and friends! Warm regards, Flor
This guided tour gives an excellent opportunity see amazing Alicante with wonderful tour guide Flor. Flor is very knolegable and handle the tour very professionally. The group has a number of elderly people or with some limited mobility and Flor provided the tour in the pace that everybody successfully done it. The only thing I can add that I join all 5 star previous reviews and recommend book the tour with Flor if would have the chance to visit Alicante
Thank you so much for your wonderful review and kind recommendation! It was a real pleasure to show you around Alicante and share its history, culture, and hidden corners. I'm especially happy to hear that the pace of the tour worked well for everyone in the group. I always try to make sure that all guests, regardless of age or mobility level, can comfortably enjoy the experience. Your kind words mean a lot to me, and I truly appreciate you taking the time to share them. Thank you for joining the tour, and I hope to welcome you back to Alicante again in the future! Flor
We had an excellent tour with Flor. The instructions on how to meet her at the port were sent to us clearly and well in advance, making everything very easy from the start. Flor was waiting for us at the port, and we then departed on a private bus to begin the walking tour. She provided audio headsets, which were fantastic because they allowed us to hear her clearly throughout the tour and fully enjoy her explanations. We stopped at several of the city's most interesting landmarks before finishing the walking portion at the food market. The tour was absolutely worth it! After visiting the market, we took private transportation to the castle. I loved that we were able to avoid lines and queues, making very efficient use of our limited time in Alicante. The views from the castle are spectacular. After the tour, we were comfortably transported back to the port. Highly recommended!
Thank you so much for your wonderful review! I am delighted to hear that you enjoyed your time in Alicante and that the tour met your expectations. It was a pleasure guiding you through the city and sharing its history, landmarks, and local culture. I’m especially happy that you found the meeting instructions clear and that the audio headsets helped make the experience more enjoyable. It was a pleasure meeting you, and I hope to welcome you back to Alicante and Spain in the future. Warm regards, Flor
On the day of our visit, we were hampered by heavy rain. Rain supposedly only occurs 5 days a year in Alicante, so our outside walking tour of the town was greatly impacted. It reduced the number of areas of the town we were able to actually see close up and talk in depth about. We rode the bus a lot and learned some about the town's history, but also missed out on a lot. We were able to visit a castle and walk the market, but the earpieces we were provided to listen to our guide were not good - too much static when she had the mic up to her mouth. It was much better when she let it hang. On a good side, the rain also led to us detouring to the bullfighting ring, which, after some wrangling, our guide was able to get us a tour. Many thanks to her and the manager of the ring for saving the day. Overall, our guide managed to eke everything she could out of miserable, rainy day.
Hi Mike, Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a thoughtful review. It was truly a pleasure guiding you during your visit to Alicante. As you mentioned, we experienced a very unusual storm that day, and I did my best to adapt the tour so you could still enjoy and discover as much of the city as possible despite the weather conditions. Even though we could not do as much walking as originally planned, I arranged for the VIP bus to be available throughout the tour and also included the extra visit to the bullring at no additional cost, as I wanted to make your only time in Alicante as special and complete as possible. Regarding the radios, we normally provide them to make the walking tour more comfortable and enjoyable. They allow guests to walk freely, take pictures, and still hear the explanations clearly without everyone needing to stand very close together all the time. Usually guests really appreciate this system. However, I believe the heavy rain and difficult weather conditions may have interfered with the sound quality that day. I was also trying to protect the group from the rain while speaking, which may have affected the audio at moments. Thank you as well for your feedback, as it always helps us continue improving the experience for everyone. Despite the weather, we were actually able to see even more areas of the city thanks to having the bus available, even though the original tour was designed as a walking tour. And on the positive side, the rain unexpectedly led us to detour to the bullfighting ring, which became a special extra part of the experience. Thank you again for joining the tour. I truly hope to welcome you back someday on a sunny, typical Alicante day so I can show you even more of our beautiful city. Warm regards, Flor
Flor was an excellent Guide — great communicator, knowledgeable, fun personality, flexible. Before the tour, she had sent multiple WhatsApp communications to confirm location, pick-up time & logistics. Given the weather (rain expected all day), she had made arrangements for a bus, since doing a walking tour would be challenging. The bus picked us up at the cruise port and drove us to all locations, not just to the castle (which was the only place on the original itinerary for bus use). Flor also made a change in which castle we visited, since the originally scheduled castle was under construction & could only be reached by walking a couple hours uphill. When we arrived at the San Fernanda castle, Flor checked with all of us to determine who wanted to climb to see the viewpoints; others could stay on the bus. She continued to make suggestions & solicit input from all of us on the remaining stops on the itinerary. Given that the rain was quite heavy, she suggested, & we all agreed, to go to the Central Market, so we could be inside. The market is amazing — Flor took us on an orientation tour of the market, and then, showing us the meeting place, gave us extra free time to explore, hoping that the rain would subside enough to continue our city walking tour. Given that it continued to rain, she again asked if anyone wanted to walk; we all said that we preferred to stay in the bus & she directed the driver to take us to as many sites as possible, given accessibility for the bus to enter those streets. At the Church, she asked if anyone wanted to walk a bit, since the rain was lighter & the streets were too narrow for the bus to navigate. 8 of us went for this walking tour, during which Flor shared lots of information about the city, the history, the neighbourhoods, etc. On the way back to the bus, we asked if we could return to the statue of the bullfighter and bulls, in order to get a better photo. After that stop, Flor surprised us with an extra stop at the bullfighting ring, where she arranged for us to have a tour. In short, it was fantastic — we saw famous matador clothing, pictures of bull fights, a video about the history, a walk around inside the actual bullring, where we got a group photo, and ended the day with an opportunity to hold a matador’s cape. All in all, Flor went above and beyond what other tour guides might have done, to make up for the fact that the weather did not cooperate for a walking tour — she kept us dry & comfortable, and fully engaged. We highly recommend this tour and specifically highly recommend Flor as your Guide. We would give a 10-star rating, if we weren’t limited to 5-stars!
Wow… thank you so much for this incredibly thoughtful and detailed review. Reading your words truly means the world to me. While none of us could control the weather, I’m so happy we were able to adapt together and still create such a memorable experience in Alicante! Thank you as well for noticing all the small details and extra arrangements behind the scenes. My goal is always for guests to feel comfortable, cared for, and connected to the city, no matter the circumstances. Reviews like yours remind me why I love my job so much. It was truly a joy spending the day with all of you, and I hope the memories, photos, and stories from Alicante stay with you for many years to come. Safe travels on the rest of your cruise, and hopefully next time we meet under sunny Spanish skies! Thank you again! Flor
It was a great tour despite the horrible weather. We saw most of what was planned despite the thunderstorms but Flor our guide was amazing ~ her love for her job, country and city was evident in her commentary, how she was able to do alternative activities and cheerful nature. Our group were from a cruise ship but everyone was quite kind and we had good energy throughout
Thank you so much for your kind words! Despite the thunderstorms, I’m so happy we were still able to experience most of what was planned and make the best of the day together. It truly means a lot to hear that you enjoyed the tour and appreciated the alternative activities along the way. The group brought such wonderful energy, positivity, and kindness throughout the experience, which made my job even more enjoyable. It was a pleasure sharing my city and country with you all, and I hope the memories stay with you long after your cruise. Wishing you safe travels and hopefully sunnier weather on your next adventure! Flor
We couldn’t go wrong with booking this tour through Viator. Flor was very knowledgeable in history of Alicante.
Hi Lorraine, Thank you so much for your review! I’m really glad you enjoyed the tour and that Alicante’s history came to life for you—that means a lot to me. It was amazin spending time with you, and I hope to see you again one day! Flor
