Alicante is one of the most popular tourist resorts in the whole of Spain and, in recent years, has started giving nearby longstanding favourites with the British public, such as Benidorm, a run for their money. However, as with any place you might choose to visit, the strength of street knowledge and a bit of an insight into local conditions will go a long way to making sure you have the best possible holiday. There are a number of things that you should look out for to avoid getting into sticky situations, some are common sense, some less so.
One important thing is to avoid getting into unlicensed taxis, which often prey on naïve tourists who look unsure of their surroundings. If you fall into the hands of such unscrupulous individuals you’ll find yourself being charged an arm and a leg, even for short journeys. One way around this is to always establish the cost of a journey before you set off, that way there won’t be any nasty surprises at the other end. Better yet you can sort out car hire at Alicante airport, which provides an easy, relatively inexpensive way to get around for the duration of your entire trip.
If you decide that you’d rather get around on foot it’s worth noting that the powers that be in Alicante recently repaved the walkways around the beaches in rather wacky way. The new paving tiles tessellate in a way the makes the flat road ahead look like a steep set of steps and the pattern has been know to cause nausea in certain people using them (all the more reason the use cheap car hire in Spain.) This is especially worrying for those of you who may have had a few drinks and are feeling in a somewhat, unbalanced or delicate state. Let’s face it walking over an optical illusion is the last thing you need when your staggering back to the hotel.
If you need to go shopping in Alicante avoid the temptation to simply drop into the huge El Corte de Ingles shopping centre. Although convenient it is rather pricy and you may get better, deals, produce and local flavour at the many local markets.
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