Spain has always been on my list, and probably on most people’s list. We spent one week in Alicante area in late April. The reason to choose a lesser know area for our first time visit as a family is because of HomeExchange. Spain has lots of vacation homes actually, but the only house available for hosting us during that time and meeting our requirements is at a small beach town called El Campello. Our requirements were:
So we ended up in this cute two-story vacation house just one street away from a quiet sandy beach in the laid back town of El Campello, 20 minutes drive from Alicante airport. Everything seems to be perfect except for the lack of a proper dining table and chairs. There is only one high table with very high bar stools, so that you can see the beach from the balcony while dining. But my 2-year-old couldn’t even climb onto that bar stool and my 5-year-old looks like being in a circus sitting up there. So, hard lessons learnt from our first home exchange experience. Nevertheless, we are quiet happy about the location and our Spain trip in general. Here is the itinerary and I highly recommend to families with little kids. Day 1: 4 hours flight from Copenhagen to Alicante. Picked up the rental car at the airport and drove to El Campello. Lesson 1: most restaurants don’t open for dinner until about 8pm! A diligent Chinese one said it would open from 7pm, but we found a more diligent Kebab restaurant that was open all the time! Grateful. Day 2: enjoyed the beach at El Campello. Quiet, sandy, with an almost car-free promenade lined with shops and restaurants, the beach is perfect for families with little kids. Had lunch at an Indian restaurant called something like Curry House. At La Lonja by the beach, every evening around 6pm there is a fish auction that sells freshly caught fish. It was fun to see what was on offer and to hear the nonstop talking of the auctioneer even though we didn’t understand a word. Lesson 2: the town doesn't really wake up until 9 or 10am, and restaurants serve lunch from 1pm! Lunch menu is really a good deal with appetizer, salad, main course and dessert/coffee. Day 3: day trip to Alicante city. Climbed the Santa Barbara Castle which was free entry and had an amazing view from the top. It was a pity that there was no explanation signs about any part of the castle. There were free tours in English, but with two little kids it was better to explore at our own pace. The beach in Alicante is right by the main roads so very loud. I didn’t feel as relaxed as at the beach in El Campello. Lesson 3: it is almost impossible to find street parking in Alicante or El Campello. Streets are very narrow and packed with cars. Always safer to look for a paid garage in advance. Day 4: day trip to Altea and Dénia. There was no flyer about Altea in the tourist information binder in the house, but a friend from Dénia recommended it and it was my favorite spot of the whole trip. I fell in love with the old town of Altea at first sight. It satisfied all my imagination about a classical Spanish old town: cobblestone alleys winding up a hill, vibrant flowers and cactus against dazzling white walls, houses drenched in the color of the sun, bells toll from a magnificent cathedral on top of the hill, and the Mediterranean Sea shimmering in dozens of shades of blue underneath. Along the beach there are restaurants and the tourist information office. We didn’t get much time for Dénia, because we arrived in the late afternoon. It was so windy by the beach that there were mini sand storms. It seemed to be a lively beach town with much more options of entertainment than the sleepy El Campello. Lesson 4: if you want an early lunch before 1pm, look for cafés which serve pastry and coffee all day long. During a week there, I had so many croissants and empanadas and drank coffee thrice of my usual daily intake. I didn’t want any in the following two weeks. Lesson 5: some shops and museums are closed 1-5pm for lunch and siesta, and reopen till 9pm. Day 5: half day trip to the mountain village Guadalest. The castle (ruined) and the bell tower on top of the hill were really impressive! The village is surrounded by mountains and at the foot of it lies, instead of the sea, a cobalt blue lake! We were thinking about a change of scenery from beach towns but Guadalest didn’t feel so different even though surrounded by mountains. It was still so beautiful but lots of tourists. Day 6: day trip to the tiny island Tabarca, about 20 minutes boat ride from Santa Pola. A few hundred meters before they arrive at the island, passengers can get down to see fish from some windows. Just three streets but great views. No sandy beach but the water is shallow and crystal clear that we can easily see the fish. The Dénia friend told me that it was fantastic to dive there in summer to see the sea life. I bet. Tabarca is very pretty! It feels just like out of a film where teenagers and young people, full of hormone and lack of things to do, dive and swim all day long with budding romance. Had lunch at a restaurant with one of the best views in the world and the local dish Caldero was delicious, better than Paella I would say. Day 7: half day trip to Elche, the city of palm trees. I was pleasantly surprised by how cosy this little city is. It doesn’t lie by the coast and maybe that makes it a bit less visited than those beach towns and cities. The palm tree garden is very peaceful during the siesta hours. Kids had a nice time at the play ground. Visited the Archeology Museum and Basilica de Santa Maria. Then just before we were about to leave, the mini amusement park on way back to the parking was open, so the kids had their first time ever rides with dazzling lights and sounds. Had dinner at Restaurant Quintin close to El Campello on our way back. We arrived at 7:45pm and was told that the kitchen didn’t open until 8pm. Fine we could sit and wait. But when we were ready to order at 8pm we were told that the kitchen actually would open at 8:30pm. Well, our poor Spanish to blame I guess. We were too tired to look for another one so we sat down for some cold tapas and by the time we finished the three cold tapas it was 8:30pm so we ordered more hot tapas. We finished around 9:10pm and kids were so ready for bed. I really don’t know how local kids handle the Spanish time. The restaurant was good though! Lesson 6: brush up your Spanish before heading to Spain! Even though they speak Catalan, Valentian Spanish, Basque or whatever dialect that they are proud of, the Spanish Spanish that you learn from the books could still help. I highly recommend Complete Spanish by Teach Yourself, actually, all the books by Teach Yourself are great for self-learners. Day 8: a side trip to Las Selinas by Santa Pola before heading to the airport. There was supposed to be wild flamingos. We did see a couple, not as bright pink as those at the zoo. Lots of other birds with long beaks and long legs, and lots of mosquitoes! I was grateful that we didn’t come to Spain in summer. I’d be eaten live by mosquitoes. We didn’t go to Benidorm or Murcia, both are pretty close to Alicante. Benidorm looks like a mirage from the highway with its skyscrapers. We are more into little classic Spanish towns. Weather in April in Alicante is considered cold to the local Spanish people, but the temperature of about 20 degrees Celsius is perfect for me. Not sweaty but breezy. Mostly sunny, but can be rainy sometimes. And when it rains, it’s a bit cold. You have to be extra braze to swim in the sea in April. Roads are well connected and convenient to drive between cities, but it’s not easy to drive within the city with many narrow and one way streets. Trains are also very developed. Personal opinion:
We visited Spain from Sweden, almost the opposite of each other in every possible way. Compared to Spain, I appreciate the quietness and emptiness of Sweden, the forests and pastures, the wide and not busy streets, the bikes and pedestrians everywhere, buildings of minimalistic colors and designs, wide spread out parks with few people, chewy and healthy down to earth bread, drinkable tap water and the most delicious milk in my experience. Ok, let’s forget about the dark cold long winter for now. If I was younger and without kids, my preference might be different. Spain feels more like a holiday heaven while Sweden a family-life destination. My impressions about Spain came from Pedro Almodóvar and Woody Allen. Romance, tapas and flamenco dance have nothing to do with kids. But it could also be just because I’m not a water or beach person. Costa Blanca reminds me a lot of California where I never feel so interested in living. But maybe my impressions will change if I actually live there instead of just visiting for a week. If I could even grow attached to Seattle where the rainy winter lasts 6 months, Spain would be definitely easier to fall in love with! This post may contain affiliate links. That means I may receive a small commission if you click on the link and purchase something. But don’t worry, this will not result in any extra costs to you. The commission is really insignificant but your action of acknowledgment is the greatest support for the passion of this stay at home mother. Thank you!
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