Postiguet to San Juan: Alicante by the Sea

Drop your bags at your hotel and resist the urge to unpack properly — the beach is calling and you will barely be in the room anyway.

Alicante's city beach sits right at the foot of Santa Bárbara Castle, making it one of the most dramatically framed stretches of sand on the Spanish coast. Claim a spot, get into the water and let the Mediterranean do its thing — the castle looming above you on the rock is a view you won't stop looking at.

A waterfront table at Dársena puts you right on the port's edge, salt still in your hair, with a full view of the marina. It's the natural place to ease into the afternoon over something fresh from the sea.

After lunch, climb — or take the lift through the rock — to the castle that dominated your morning skyline from the beach. The panorama over the bay from up here is the best argument for why Alicante grew where it did.

Just north of the city, Albufereta curves into a sheltered bay that catches the afternoon sun beautifully. It is quieter than Postiguet, the water is calm, and the light turns the whole cove golden as the day softens — perfect for a second swim or simply floating and watching the colours shift.

Round off the first night at Sala Stereo in the Centro, a lively bar with a great energy for a first evening out — a drink or two, get your bearings, and save the stamina for the days ahead.

San Juan is Alicante's big, wide, properly expansive beach — a long arc of fine sand north of the city that gives you room to spread out. Get here early enough and you will feel like you have it to yourself. Swim out, walk along the shore, come back and do it again.

A fresh, relaxed lunch spot to refuel after a long morning in the water. Goodita keeps things light and honest — exactly the right energy when you have another beach stop planned for the afternoon.

Sicilian-style gelato on Carrer de Muñoz — the kind of place you pop into meaning to have one scoop and leave with two. A perfect bridge between lunch and the afternoon beach.

A stretch of coast that still has the feel of somewhere not everyone has found yet. The afternoon sun hits the water at an angle that makes it look almost impossibly blue. Pull up a spot, read, swim, let the day slow right down.

Walk the port promenade as the city's early-evening paseo gets going — boats rocking gently, the sky going pink, locals out in force. It's a good way to ease yourself back into town after a full day by the sea.

One of the most respected addresses in Alicante's Centro, Nou Manolín is a proper Spanish restaurant — the kind with tapas downstairs and a full dining room upstairs and a wine list that takes the local stuff seriously. A well-earned dinner after two beaches.

On Carrer de Bailen, Sylvarum is a polished cocktail bar that takes its mixing seriously. A good place to sit, compare notes on the day's beaches and decide whether a second round is a sensible idea (it is).

Start the last day properly at Salt in Cake on Carrer de Sant Francesc — a café with good pastries and coffee that sets you up without slowing you down.

Save the best cove for the last day. Cantalars is a rocky inlet south of the city where the water is clear enough to see the bottom from the shore — bring a snorkel if you have one, or simply wade in and look down. Smaller, wilder and more intimate than the long sandy beaches of the first two days.

Back on the waterfront, Aldebarán is a seafood-focused restaurant where the menu leans into the best of what the Mediterranean gives up — langoustines, fresh fish, rice dishes cooked with patience. The right place to mark the final afternoon of a trip spent almost entirely at sea.

Built on the foundations of Alicante's main mosque, the Gothic Basilica of Saint Mary is cool, still and genuinely beautiful inside. A welcome hour of shade and quiet before the final beach of the trip.

Carabassí, south of the city near El Altet, is backed by dunes and pines rather than apartment blocks — it feels like a proper natural beach, the kind that makes you want to cancel your flight. A long final walk along the shore, one last swim, and you're ready to say goodbye to the coast.

End the trip at altitude — Boga Sky Bar on Avinguda de Catalunya gives you a rooftop perch over the city with a cocktail in hand. Look out toward the sea one more time, then call it a perfect three days.