Travel with Katie Butler: A city break in beautiful Alicante in Spain

“As a family we love getting away – whenever and wherever we can.

"Until I started working at Total Travel, I always saw Alicante as somewhere you just fly to, before moving on to another resort. I had never thought about staying in Alicante itself.

"So, we decided to change that and take a visit.

"We always use Jet2, because everything about them just works for us. We usually fly from Leeds Bradford Airport and find it a pleasant experience. The Jet2 staff are friendly and helpful – onboard the plane as well as in the airport.

"We stayed in the gorgeous Melia Hotel, just 20 minutes from the airport.

"Its central location was perfect for us – we had the beach at one side, the marina at the other, the promenade (Esplanada) straight ahead and Santa Barbara Castle just above us.

"A huge plus point for me were the full-size complimentary Rituals toiletries the hotel provided!

“The hotel had a heated outdoor pool overlooking the beach and the sea. There was also a number of areas with sunbeds for when a break was needed from city life.

“The breakfast area was spacious and very civilised, I really don’t like a chaotic canteen-like breakfast experience and this was far from that. The breakfast room had huge windows so we had a stunning view of the sea every morning

“Alicante is a beautiful city with, surprisingly, a very Spanish culture with Spanish people! Sometimes, when I go to Spain or the Canaries, I find it difficult to find traditional Spanish dishes, but just about everywhere in Alicante does tapas, paella and sangria – perfect!

"However, if this isn’t your taste, there were also Italian restaurants and even the odd Indian restaurant too.

“We didn’t find it expensive either, again, quite surprising for a city. Just for context – 3.50 euros for a large glass of wine – bargain!

"We visited Santa Barbara Castle which is free entry, you just need to pay for the lift up, if that's the route you choose, as opposed to the stairs. The castle poses amazing panoramic 360° views all across the city. There is also a shop and a cafe for refreshments.

"One morning, we took a stroll down the Esplanada to the Museo de las Ilusiones (Illusions Museum). This was a pretty cool and impressive place, which my husband enjoyed as much as my nine-year-old!

"There is a lovely funfair half way down the marina on an evening, which is lots of fun for children (and adults alike).

"Alicante is a fabulous place for couples and families and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it or go back.”

May 2025 was our top selling month to depart last week with a nine per cent share of the total new bookings, followed closely with December departures.

A huge 28 per cent of our bookings last week were long haul with cruise also on the up and accounting for 21 per cent of the bookings.