What to do in Gran Alacant: beaches, mountains, salt flats and trails

Machine translation made with AI: it may contain errors. Please check the details in the official sources.

Gran Alacant lies beside the southern coast of Santa Pola, with beaches, a mountain range with a lighthouse and a natural park all close by. This guide summarises what the official tourism websites publish. Access conditions, services and opening hours change by season: check the current information on the official websites linked in each section before you go.

Beaches and coves

Carabassí (near Gran Alacant)

Carabassí beach is in the municipality of Elche, next to Gran Alacant; the Vectalia bus has a stop with that name. According to the Valencian Community tourism portal, it is almost a kilometre long and about 80 m wide, with fine sand, dunes, pine trees and a large car park with walkways. It has toilets, showers, lifeguards and sunbeds, and there is a naturist area. This guide does not give the water quality or the flags for the season: check the current information on the official tourism page (https://www.comunitatvalenciana.com/es/alacant-alicante/elx-elche/playas/playa-el-carabassi) and with Elche Town Council.

Beaches in the municipality of Santa Pola

Gran Playa: accessible, about 1.4 km long, with lifeguards, toilets, children's play areas, water sports zones and an assisted bathing service with advance booking in summer (dates and bookings at https://santapola.es/areas-municipales/playas/).
Playa Lisa: shallow water, suitable for bathing with children and for windsurfing.
Tamarit, Santiago Bernabéu and Varadero: urban beaches.
Natural beaches (basic facilities): El Pinet and La Gola (reachable only on foot), the l'Aljub coves, the Cuartel coves (suitable for snorkelling) and the Ermita beach.

The Town Council's beaches webpage links to the real-time status of the sea flags and publishes summaries of water quality. This guide does not give the flags or water quality for the season: check the current information at https://santapola.es/areas-municipales/playas/.

Lighthouse and Sierra de Santa Pola

The sierra is a cliff-edged formation 144 m above the sea. According to the Town Council, the cape is a fossil coral reef from the Messinian era, unique in Europe. At the top is the lighthouse, installed in 1858 on a 16th-century watchtower; from the viewpoint you can see the bays of Santa Pola and Alicante and the island of Tabarca, and on clear days the Peñón de Ifach.

Salinas de Santa Pola Natural Park

This is a wetland of 2,470 hectares, protected as a Natural Park and of international importance (Ramsar), known for the constant presence of flamingos and black-winged stilts. The visitor centre is at Avenida de Zaragoza 45, in the same building as the Salt Museum; the Generalitat gives opening hours of 9:00 to 14:00 Monday to Sunday and on public holidays, and closure on 24, 25 and 31 December and on 1 and 6 January (telephone 965 93 85 90). Basic rules: small groups, silence, stay on the paths, no fires and no litter. Cycling is not allowed on the wooden walkway at the interpretation centre.

Hiking and cycling

Hiking routes suggested by the Town Council:

PR-CV 61 Sierra de Santa Pola: circular, 12.68 km, easy (about 2 h 50 min).
Ruta del Salt: circular, 9.5 km, easy. Ruta de las Fortalezas: 10.11 km, easy.
Playa del Pinet (3.87 km) and Playa Tamarit (3.27 km): flat routes; the Pinet one lets you watch birds.
GR 232 Vuelta al término: 44.12 km, high difficulty.

There is a hunting season in the sierra. The days and hours change every season: check the current information at https://santapola.es/ca/informacion-sobre-normativa-aplicable-a-cazadores-y-usuarios-del-monte-publico/ before setting out.

Cycling: mountain bike routes such as the Salt (21 km, easy) or the Faro (23 km, moderate), and the Santa Pola – Gran Alacant road route (25.85 km, moderate). The routes and maps are on the tourism website.

Dogs on beaches and in green spaces

Under Santa Pola's beach ordinance (Alicante BOP, 20 July 2023), dogs may not be on the beach or bathe, except in dog areas or dog beaches, and assistance or rescue dogs.

Dog beach: the Caleta dels Gossets (also called Cala III del Cuartel), on the cape, in a protected area with basic facilities. The Town Council may designate other areas and publishes them with signs and on its website. Dogs are not permitted at La Gola and El Pinet.
Rules on the dog beach: the dog must be microchipped, dewormed and have an up-to-date vaccination record; maximum two animals per person; always pick up droppings with a bag and put them in the bin; dogs with infectious diseases, bitches in heat, puppies without all their vaccinations and dogs with a history of aggression are not admitted. Dogs of potentially dangerous breeds must wear a collar, lead and muzzle. Professional training is not allowed without authorisation.
Penalties: the ordinance provides for fines of up to €750 for minor offences, €750.01 to €1,500 for serious ones and €1,500.01 to €3,000 for very serious ones. The ordinance does not set opening hours for the dog beach: check the current information at https://santapola.es/areas-municipales/playas/.
In the street and public spaces: the public coexistence ordinance requires animals to wear an identification tag and be kept under control on a lead. For parks and gardens, check the current rules at https://santapola.es/.
The Town Council lists parks and gardens suitable for walking with pets and paths in the sierra. Dogs are admitted at the Museo del Mar and the Aquarium on a lead of less than two metres, preferably carried in arms or in a pushchair, and not of potentially dangerous breeds.

Family leisure

The official tourism website lists parks with children's play areas (for example, El Palmeral and the Plaza de la Diputación, and play areas at Playa de Levante and at Varadero), a children's road-safety park at Calle Burgos 7, and the Museo del Mar and the Aquarium. It also mentions seasonal attractions. Their dates and hours change every year: check the current information at https://www.turismosantapola.es/stp/web_php/index.php?contenido=subapartados_coconut&id_boto=515&title=con-nios.

Disclaimer: general information; check the details with the official source.