Romantic Alicante: Sunset Sails and Old Town
Most of the crowd on the last Tabarca ferry back to Alicante leaves around 18:15, and the couples who stay behind get the island’s stone streets to themselves until the next boat arrives the following morning.
An island once the day-trippers leave
Cruceros Kontiki ’s open-return ticket, about €24 round trip, lets you take an afternoon catamaran out to Isla de Tabarca and simply not get on the boat back. Once the last scheduled sailing clears the harbor, the island quiets down to its roughly 50 permanent residents; check into Hotel Boutique Isla de Tabarca, in the restored 18th-century governor’s house, and have a slow dinner of caldero tabarquino, the local two-stage fish and rice dish, before walking the walled village under a genuinely dark sky.
Dinner above the castle, or drinks at the bar
La Ereta sits in the terraced pines below Santa Bárbara’s ramparts, looking out over the old town roofs to the sea, and its seasonal tasting menus built around local red prawns and rice are reason enough to book ahead. For something lower-key, sit at the counter together at El Portal Taberna & Wines on Calle Bilbao or at Bar Manero on Calle Médico Manero Mollà, both built around small plates and a wine-by-the-glass list rather than a formal dining room. Either works well after a sunset catamaran cruise , which sails past Mount Benacantil and along Cabo de las Huertas with a glass of cava included and a stop to swim before the light goes.
The old town at dusk, on foot
Barrio de Santa Cruz empties out in the evening into quiet, car-free stairways strung with jasmine and bougainvillea. Climb to the terrace of the 18th-century Ermita de Santa Cruz for the view over the marina, then stay the night at Hospes Amérigo , a former Dominican convent with a rooftop plunge pool looking straight at the illuminated castle walls.
What Alicante does not have
Do not go looking for a gondola or a river cruise here: the city has no navigable river, and every romantic boat option is maritime, not a canal ride. And skip Postiguet Beach if seclusion is the point, since it is a packed urban beach in summer; the quiet coves belong to Cabo de las Huertas (Cala Cantalar) or Tabarca’s northern shoreline instead.
Reserve La Ereta and the Tabarca overnight separately and well ahead in high season, since the restaurant seats a small dining room and the island hotel has only 14 rooms total. For the day-trip version of Tabarca without the overnight stay, see our day trips guide .