Travel

Alicante is a historic Mediterranean port city situated in the southern part of the Land of Valencia, in Spain. Uniquely located between the sea and the mountains, the city, it is both a commercial town and a popular tourist destination in Spain. In administrative terms, Alicante is the headquarters of the province of Alicante. It is also the second biggest Valencian city, which is home to over 0.3 million people.

If to browse through the pages of Spanish history, it becomes evident that Alicante has had inhabitants since at least 7000 years back. Its early inhabitants were the hunter gatherers who moved down from Central Europe to the Spanish terrains between 5000 and 3000 BC. Greek and Phoenician traders followed suit in 1000 BC. But, the events that had permanently altered the destiny of Alicante came not before the 6th century BC, when the region started to figure in the territorial expansion plans of the two powerful conflicting armies of that time - the Carthage and Rome. In fact, that was a period that had impacted virtually every traditional settlement of the early Europe. Not many parts of Europe had escaped the Roman invasion in those times, and the destiny of Alicante was also no different from theirs.

After the decline of the Romans in the 5th century, Alicante passed hands quite a number of times, came under the war lord Teodmiro, and had a brief period of Arab occupation, before it eventually fell under the rule of the Castellan king Alfonso X in 1246. However, that was not to end the cycle of wars and conquests - which was a common phenomenon in the medieval Europe - Alicante has to withstand as it took another three more centuries to settle down as a major trading station in the continent. Historians consider this 15th century period as the golden age of Alicante. But, as it is said that there is every low for every high, the city went through another low in the 18th and 19th centuries owing to different political reasons. But the end of the 19th century saw a vast revival of fortunes for Alicante and the city slowly clawed its way back to prosperity, thanks to international trade and a new world order (Spain was a neutral nation during the World War I).

The present day economy of Alicante is mostly based on tourism, wine production and export, and a thriving service industry. In terms of tourism, Alicante has some of the best beaches in the world, and its heritage is something that is unmatched in the whole of Europe. The major attractions in and around the city include the “Castillo de Santa Barbara”, City Hall Building, Paseo de la Explanada, Concatedral de San Nicolás de Bari and other cathedrals from the medieval periods, Palacio Gravina, Museo Municipal Casa de la Asegurada, and its many beaches - La Playa de San Juan, La Albufereta, and El Saladar and Los Judios, to name a few. Bonfires of Saint John and Moros y Cristianos are the two festivals characteristic of Alicante that are must-see events.

Alicante airport has connections to all parts of Spain and Europe. Alicante also has a bus station and a central train station that offers daily connections to Madrid, Valencia, Barcelona and Seville. Bus services cover virtually every part of Spain. To know more about Alicante, visit the city page.

To view more articles on Alicante and Costa Blanca, Spain visit:
Alicante Articles

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Ask for a card in the reception with the name, address and phone number of your accommodations. This is useful to show to taxi drivers and people on the street to find your way back.

If you arrive late in a popular place you will probably find the first alternatives mentioned in the popular guidebooks already full, start with the ones mentioned further down in the text.

Try to avoid looking for accommodations after dark and when you are tired and hungry.

Have a look at the room before deciding. Things to check out include:

• The shower - hot water is a relative concept

• Does the toilet work (flush)

• Is there a shower curtain

• Noise (traffic/bars around)

• The bed: are the mattress and pillow okey or have they been worn out

• Cleanliness

Before leaving the hotel ask the reception if the accommodations closes at a certain hour and how to get back in after closing time (e.g. you have to ring a bell which is often ingeniously hidden to make it impossible to find in the dark). If you plan to bring company it can be wise to ask beforehand if it is okey.

Turn off the refrigerator if it makes noise at night. If there is ice inside it may melt and start dripping making more noise. In this case put a towel on the bottom of the refrigerator floor.

Use an alarm clock in addition to the hotel wake-up calls (maybe your cell phone has a built in alarm). If there are manual wake up calls they are not always reliable, especially in cheaper places.

Some places (such as love hotels in Japan) may not accept gay couples. In that case one of you has to dress like a woman or you can go with two females, pose as two straight couples and switch rooms afterwards.

Budget accommodation

If you are on a tight budget camping may be an alternative (depending on the country). There are official camp grounds with showers, lockers etc or you can sometimes stay in peoples gardens for a small fee. Some countries have very liberal rules regarding where camping is allowed (e.g. Sweden).

You can stay for free in other travelers´ homes through the Hospitality Club or the Couchsurfing project. You may also be able to sleep in some airports to save an expensive hotel room.

Traveling by night buses or trains saves you a night´s accommodation, but do not leave things lying around while you sleep, lock your backpack to something and use earplugs and eye shades to get some sleep.

Hostelling International is an international chain of budget hostels. You can also book accommodations online which may be convenient if you arrive late at night or travel during high season.

Even if you live in a cheap place it is often possible to use the swimming pool of expensive hotels for a small fee, ask at the reception.

If you stay several nights at the same place you can sometimes get a discount, try asking for it.

Booking on-line can give you really good discounts compared to walking in from the street. Check with your travel agent if there are any package deals which include hotels and airfare.

If you walk into a hotel and manage to negotiate a discount get the price in writing since different people work day and night and by the time you check out there may be another person working in the reception.

Personal Experience

The Havana Hotel Heist

I was in Cuba and walked into a pretty fancy hotel. I thought the price for the room was too high and started walking out. The hotel staff then told them me that I could go to the travel agency in the hotel to book a room at a great discount (which I did).

This article is based on the free e-book The Backpacker’s Toolbox It contains checklists, templates, FAQs and practical advice (and a few bad jokes) to make your backpacking experience as smooth as possible.

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