Arriving on a Sunday meant that most shops were closed and taxis cost a little bit more. A taxi which we found at the airport cost €23 to deliver us to our hotel. On the Monday morning we asked for a sea view room and they switched us to a corner room with a 270° view from the beach to the harbour at no extra charge.
The promenade Explanada de España is lined with touristy chain restaurants, but we eventually found a good place to eat Paella, called El Buen Comer.
Santa Barbara castle is definitely worth the visit. One can get there on the hop-on / hop-off bus, which I think is just a waste of money, but there's also a lift that will take you up to the castle.
San Juan beach is a beautiful, long, clean, quiet beach (at least when we were there, early in the morning on a public holiday). It's about a twenty minute bus ride east on the 22 or 21 bus. Hop off anywhere along Avenida Costa Blanca for a short walk to the beach. Take change with you, because the bus driver won't give you change for anything more than €5.
Talking about 5€, that is the entry fee, including a drink, for a visit to the Santisima Trinidad, an old replica ship at the harbour.
Tabarca island is worth a visit if you like snorkelling and having lots of fishes swimming around you. The Cruceros Kontiki boat ride takes about an hour, or you can get there by smaller speed boats, possibly including guided snorkelling tours. The beach on Tabarca is very close to where they drop you off, so you can spend your time doing some snorkelling there, or take a wander around the island. The island is divided into two halves, one with almost nothing on it and the other with houses on it. We walked around the half with nothing on it and it felt like a waste of time, so if you do go wandering, it's probably best to go around the built up area.
When it was time to leave our hotel a taxi arrived in a couple of minutes and took us back to the airport for a little bit less than our Sunday journey.
Stephen Oberauer
YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/soberauer
3D travel video playlist: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB7C0C73135F83AD9
