Alicante Bike Tour: Old Town, Beach & Central Market Ride

4.90

(123 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I’ll admit, I signed up for this Alicante bike tour mostly because I wanted to see more than just the beach — but I didn’t expect to feel so much like a part of the city. Our guide, Marta, greeted us near the marina with this easy smile and handed out bikes (I went for the regular one, but you can get an e-bike if hills aren’t your thing). The first few minutes were a blur of color — narrow streets in Santa Cruz Quarter with blue flowerpots everywhere, old ladies chatting from balconies. There was this faint smell of oranges in the air. Maybe it was just my imagination or someone’s breakfast.

We stopped at St. Mary of the Sea Cathedral and Marta told us how it used to be a mosque — she pointed out some details in the stone that honestly I would’ve missed. At Mushroom Street (yes, actual giant mushrooms painted on the road), a little kid zipped past us on a scooter and nearly crashed into my front wheel. His mom just laughed and shouted something in Spanish that sounded vaguely encouraging. The Central Market was busy — people buying tomatoes, someone arguing over fish prices. We didn’t go inside but just standing outside you could smell bread baking somewhere nearby.

The breeze picked up as we rode along Postiguet Beach. You can see Santa Bárbara Castle looming above — it really does look like a face if you squint (Marta called it “la cara del moro” and tried to get us all to say it right; I failed spectacularly). We paused under these ancient ficus trees for water, which felt like relief after pedaling through sunlit streets. The whole ride was maybe two hours? Time got weird — I kept wanting to stop for photos but also not wanting to miss anything Marta said about Alicante’s history or how parts of the city were rebuilt after bombings. Honestly, I still think about that view from the marina with all those boats bobbing around.