A Day Trip to Altea by Tram

Take the Tram - It's Worth It

Most people drive to Altea. You should take the tram instead. Not because parking is a nightmare (though it is), but because the journey along the coast is genuinely beautiful - the tracks run right along the shoreline north of Alicante, and you get views of the sea that you'd completely miss from the motorway. Plus you can have a beer with lunch without thinking about it.

The full trip takes about 90 minutes from central Alicante. It's two trains with one transfer at Benidorm - slightly inconvenient, but not difficult, and the timetables are reliable enough that you can plan around them.

Getting There: Step by Step

Step 1 - Board Line 1 at Luceros

The tram departs from Luceros station, right in the middle of Alicante city centre. You'll know you're in the right place - it's the big circular square near the old town. The Line 1 tram runs north along the coast toward Benidorm, stopping at El Campello, Villajoyosa, and a string of smaller coastal towns along the way. Trains run every 30 minutes throughout the day, from around 5:40am until about 10pm.

The journey to Benidorm takes around 70-75 minutes. It genuinely doesn't feel that long - the stretch between El Campello and Villajoyosa in particular is spectacular, with the tracks elevated above rocky coves and the open sea to your right.

Step 2 - Transfer at Benidorm to Line 9

At Benidorm, you change to Line 9, which heads north toward Dénia. Altea is the first major stop after Benidorm - about 15-20 minutes further on. Line 9 runs roughly every 60 minutes, so it's worth checking the timetable before you leave Alicante so you don't end up sitting in Benidorm station for 45 minutes. The official app or the tramalacant.es website shows live timings.

There are two tram stops in Altea - one at the south end of town, one at the north end near Garganes. Get off at the first one (Altea) for the old town.

Ticket Prices

A single ticket from Alicante to Altea costs €3.90 - it spans three fare zones. If you're planning to do this more than once, or you're travelling as a couple, the Bono 10 (10-trip card) works out considerably cheaper. The return journey is the same price, so budget around €8 for the round trip on single tickets. As of mid-2026 there are temporary discounts on travel cards that bring the per-trip cost down significantly - check the current fares at tramalacant.es before you go.

Buy your ticket at the machine on the platform before boarding. There are inspectors, and they do check.

The Walk Up to the Old Town

When you step off the tram, you're at sea level - and the old town of Altea is up on a hill. That's the whole point. You can see it from the stop if you look inland: the cluster of white houses stacked up the hillside, and above everything, the two blue-tiled domes of the church catching the light.

Turn left out of the station and follow the main road for about 650 metres - roughly a 10-minute walk along flat ground. Then you start climbing. The ascent through the old town is steep in places but it's short, and the streets are pretty enough that you won't mind stopping to catch your breath. The main route up follows Calle San Miguel, which takes you past small galleries, ceramic shops, and the occasional cat asleep in a doorway. Most people do it in 15-20 minutes from the tram stop, including the flat section.

Wear proper shoes. The cobblestones are uneven and some of the steeper lanes are slippery when wet. This is not the walk for flip-flops.

What You're Walking Into

Altea's old town looks like someone imagined what a Greek island village would look like and then built it on the Spanish coast - which is basically what happened. The whole hilltop is white. Whitewashed walls, white-painted steps, white plaster on buildings that are several hundred years old. Against a clear blue sky and the blue of the domes on the church, it's almost absurdly photogenic.

The church - the Parroquia Nuestra Señora del Consuelo - sits at the top of the hill in the Plaza de la Iglesia. The blue and white ceramic tile domes are the thing everyone comes to see, and they're genuinely impressive up close. The square in front of it is surrounded by small bars and restaurants with outdoor terraces, and the views from the edge of the square down over the bay and out to sea are excellent.

What makes the old town actually good rather than just photogenic is that it still functions as a real place. People live here. There are locals shopping, kids on bikes, an old guy reading a newspaper outside a bar. It hasn't been entirely converted into tourist infrastructure, and you can feel the difference. The art galleries and craft shops are genuine - Altea has been a working artists' colony since the 1970s, and there are still painters and sculptors with studios in the old town. Some of the galleries are worth spending time in.

The Viewpoints

The Mirador de los Cronistas de España is a couple of minutes' walk from the church and is the viewpoint you want. On a clear day you can see the full arc of the bay below, the white tower blocks of Benidorm rising improbably out of the water to the south, and to the north, the distinctive pointed silhouette of the Peñón de Ifach - the 300-metre rock that juts out into the sea near Calpe. Behind you, the mountains of the Sierra Bernia. It's a proper panorama, and it's free.

If you want the best light, come in the late afternoon. The whole hillside faces south-west, so the whitewashed walls go golden in the last couple of hours before sunset. At that point Altea looks like the most beautiful place on the Costa Blanca, which for those few hours it probably is.

Where to Eat and Drink

The bars and restaurants around Plaza de la Iglesia are the obvious option - they're well-placed and the views are good, but they're also priced for tourists. You'll pay €5-6 for a glass of wine, €12-15 for a main course. That's not outrageous, but it's noticeably more than Alicante city centre prices.

For something more relaxed and less expensive, the lower part of the old town and the port area below has more local-facing options. The seafront below the hill has a string of restaurants doing fresh fish and rice dishes - the arroz caldoso (soupy rice with seafood) is good here. This part of Altea is less photographed and more lived-in, which usually means better value.

If you're there for lunch, the menú del día runs until about 3:30pm at most places - two courses plus a drink for €12-15. It's the best-value way to eat in Spain and Altea is no exception.

Practical Notes

• Best time to go: Late April through June, or September through October. July and August are hot, crowded, and the tram will be packed. The off-season light in autumn is particularly good for the old town.
• How long to allow: A comfortable day trip is 5-6 hours from Alicante, including travel time. Two hours in the old town is enough to see everything; add an hour for lunch.
• Return trams: Check the last Line 9 departure from Altea back to Benidorm before you go. The evening trams are less frequent, and missing the last connection means a taxi back - not the end of the world, but not cheap either.
• The market: Altea has a weekly street market on Tuesday mornings at the port area. If your visit happens to fall on a Tuesday, it's worth including.
• Combining with Benidorm: The same tram ticket and the same route gives you the option to stop in Benidorm on the way back. Some people do Altea in the afternoon and then have dinner in Benidorm before the last train back to Alicante. The rhythms work well together if you don't mind a long day.

Getting Back

The return is the same in reverse - Line 9 south to Benidorm, transfer to Line 1, back to Luceros in Alicante. The last Line 1 departure from Benidorm runs at around 10pm, which gives you plenty of time for dinner before heading home. On weekends the trams can be busy on the return leg in the evening, particularly in summer - don't leave it too late if you're travelling in a group.

The whole thing - getting there, a few hours in the old town, lunch, the journey back - is one of the better day trips you can do from Alicante. The tram makes it easy, and Altea is just unusual enough to feel like you've genuinely gone somewhere different rather than just relocated along the same strip of coast.

Photo Credits

All photos are used under Creative Commons licences via Wikimedia Commons. The blue domes of the church by MarixaGil (CC BY-SA 4.0); the old town hillside and the viewpoint over the bay by Superchilum (CC BY-SA 4.0); the white houses above the sea by Brett Hodnett (CC BY-SA 2.0); the TRAM at San Juan beach by Werner Wilmes (CC BY 2.0).