Spain Cruise: Alicante

In this fourth post of a multi-part series, Bethany explores Alicante, Villajoyosa, and Altea, Spain on her Spanish Wine Discoveries Cruise on Azamara.

Day 2 of the cruise was spent in and around Alicante, Spain. The ship docked in alluring Alicante, but I spent the day on an excursion which took me to two delightful seaside villages in the Costa Blanca (“White Coast”) area. My morning was spent in Villajoyosa, and my afternoon in Altea. We returned to the ship just before setting sail again. Tonight’s dinner was a fantastic one at one of the specialty restaurants on the ship.

Spanish Wine Discoveries Cruise Full Itinerary

Below is the full itinerary for the trip. This post includes details about Cruise Day 2 in Alicante, Spain. Looking for info on other stops? Check out the ‘Links’ section at the end of this post!

• Pre-Cruise Day 1 – April 7: Barcelona, Spain
• Pre-Cruise Day 2 – April 8: Barcelona, Spain
• Cruise Day 1 – April 9: Valencia, Spain
• Cruise Day 2 – April 10: Alicante, Spain
• Cruise Day 3 – April 11: Melilla, Spain
• Cruise Day 4 – April 12: Malaga, Spain
• Cruise Day 5 – April 13: Cadiz/Seville, Spain
• Cruise Day 6 – April 14: Lisbon, Portugal

Buenos Dias, Alicante!

Another picture-perfect arrival into another gorgeous port in Spain! We arrived and docked in Alicante as the sun was rising and the port was waking up. After breakfast I joined my excursion group, and we boarded the bus. Our first stop was about a 30-minute drive northeast of Alicante, in Villajoyosa.

Valor Chocolate Museum

Once we arrived in Villajoyosa, our first stop was to the Museo del Chocolate, or the Valor Chocolate Museum. This small but interesting museum showcases the history of chocolate and the chocolate-making process. Valor Chocolates is family-owned, and the fifth generation of master chocolatiers proudly carries on the traditions. The first part of the tour was a video which provided some interesting information about the journey of cocoa. We then toured an area with historic machines and tools used in the chocolate-making process on display.

Our tour continued with a peek into the manufacturing area (no photos allowed!), where we got to see all of the delicious Valor chocolates being made and packaged. The tour ended on a sweet note, as we finished up in the shop. There were plenty of chocolates for us to sample – I made the extreme sacrifice to sample all of the different options, just in case one was better than the others! Spoiler alert: they are all delicious.

Villajoyosa

After a sweet start at the Chocolate Museum, we then headed into the heart of Villajoyosa (“the Joyful Town”). This lovely town is less than 8 square miles in area and has a population of just under 34,000. This typical seaside village has nearly 2 miles (3 kilometers) of beaches. Along the beaches are blocks and blocks of vibrantly colored buildings lining a wide walkway. There are also a few remnants throughout the town of the walls and castles that were used to protect the area centuries ago.

We walked to a local restaurant on the beach (the light blue one in the picture below) and stopped for a quick breakfast. I enjoyed a nice cup of tea and shared some pastries with my tablemates, a lovely couple from the UK. We relaxed and soaked up the gorgeous views for a bit.

After breakfast we had some free time to explore the area. I walked up and down the beach area and admired the stunning architecture. The bright colors and narrow, winding streets are beautiful.

Scroll through the slideshow below to see some highlights from my morning in vibrant Villajoyosa:

Altea

After a relaxing time in Villajoyosa, we boarded the bus again and headed another 20 minutes northeast further up the coast to Altea. Whereas Villajoyosa is right on the water and is full of brightly colored buildings, Altea is on a hill and is full of whitewashed buildings. Both are absolutely stunning, but in very different ways! Altea has a total area of just over 13 square miles, with a population of about 22,000. Once we arrived in Altea, our guide gave us a quick overview of the Old Town area and then we had plenty of free time to explore on our own.

Click through the slideshow below to see some of the amazing sights in Altea, from the stunning views of the bay to the gorgeous architecture along the narrow and crooked cobbled streets:

The focal point of the main square in the Old Town area is the church of La Mare de Déu del Consol (“Our Lady of Consolation”). On the highest point of the land, the picturesque blue and white glazed ceramic domes of the church are easily viewed from all parts of the Old Town area and are stunning in the sunshine.

Click through the slideshow below to see some more pictures of the inside of the beautiful church:

Spending the afternoon wandering around this gorgeous town was so much fun! There were beautiful views around every corner. Several overlook spots in Old Town also provided breathtaking views of the area. I did a bit of shopping and enjoyed a delicious and refreshing scoop of pistachio gelato along the way, but the majority of my time was spent simply soaking up the splendor.

More pictures of Altea are in the slideshow below:

Sail Away

After a beautiful and relaxing day exploring the coastal towns of Villajoyosa and Altea we headed back to the ship. Our afternoon sail-away from Alicante was pretty, but it was definitely a bit windy up on the upper deck! So, I snapped a few pics and headed back to my suite to enjoy the afternoon snacks that my butler left for me. This is another wonderful perk of the suite life: delicious snacks are delivered to your suite every afternoon.

Dinner at Aqualina

My fabulous dinner tonight was at one of the two specialty restaurants on the ship, the Italian-themed Aqualina. As a suite guest, I got unlimited, complimentary dining in both of the onboard specialty restaurants. A private breakfast in Aqualina is also available every day for suite guests, but I only ate breakfast there a couple of times as most of my excursions left early in the morning and that didn’t allow enough time to enjoy a full sit-down breakfast in Aqualina.

My dinner selections tonight included:

• Amuse buche: bruschetta and cheese
• Starter: lobster ravioli, grilled shrimp, creamy lobster sauce
• Salad: watermelon, tomato, basil, herbed ricotta, balsamic glaze
• Main Course: lobster tail with squid ink pasta, shrimp, calamari, scallops, garlic-lemon jus
• Dessert: pistachio macarons, followed by hazelnut chocolate souffle with espresso sauce

After dinner I enjoyed a lovely sunset from the veranda on Deck 5, as we sailed from Alicante to Melilla. It was a gorgeous end to a gorgeous day!

Conclusion

I was completely captivated by both Villajoyosa and Altea. Although I would have liked to have spent more time in Alicante itself, I was very happy with my choice of excursions today. The entire Costa Blanca (“White Coast”) area is simply stunning. Having perfect weather, bright sunshine and warm temperatures, definitely helped to make the day fabulous.

Links

Check the main page for this cruise to read more about my adventures:

Click the button below for more information about Azamara:

Note: I fully funded this trip on my own and received no compensation or any other benefits from any service providers I used along the way. The opinions expressed here are my own and I am not being compensated by any service providers.