Ideas for nice towns within an hour of Alicante Airport?

 We usually go to the Costa Del Sol on holiday but have just booked flights to Alicante. We have never been to that area before and so are wondering what towns we would like to stay in (we will be booking a private self catering place).

Can you suggest any nice towns within an hours drive from Alicante Airport? To give you an idea we are a 35 year old couple and we are looking for a nice, relaxing town with decent restaurants and bars, near the sea would be preferable and a place that has a spanish feel to it - we are not looking for a englishafied place that has a 'belly busters' on every corner!!! (i.e. Benidorm!). When we go to the Costa Del Sol we usually stay in Nerja, Benahavis or Estepona and so are looking for a similar style place.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated as so far I have come up with Denia, Javea and Torrevieja, what are these places like?

Thanks!

I would certainly recommend Denia and Javea. Denia is a working town with a port but also has a smart marina and a great choice of restaurants along the seafront facing the port. Denia is also good for shopping. Javea has nice beaches and is a good choice too. Moraira is well worth a visit, it is small but very attractive and has an upmarket feel to it, we always make a point of going there for a leisurely lunch. Torrevieja has a large British population so may not be what you are looking for. Calpe is nice but feels more of a holiday resort. I would suggest going North of Alicante .

A few more places to visit, the fishing villa of Villajoyosa, beautifu painted houses around the port, good beaches and lots of excellent sea food restaurants

Visit Guadalest the town in the mountains and combine the visit with the nearby waterfall of L' Algar 

Going South visit the City if Elche, the palm City, park in the park and take the tourist train and you will find some good shopping and restaurants

 about 50 mins from Alicante airport you have the beautiful inland lagoon of the Mar Menor with the towns of San Pedro and Santiago de Riberia they certainly are by the sea and have a spanish flavour and are not too englishfied!!!!! There are plenty of hotels and selfcatering apartments and plenty of places to visit and eat out.  This is actually the Costa Calida 

from alicante to uk ?

Definitely Guardamar del Segura.

 I can't reccomend a town but if your used to the costa del sol be prepared for a different Spain around Alicante.Last week we drove from the osta del sol/costa tropical area to the etap hotel near Alicante airport.Approaching through Murcia we saw things change in the area of Elche.Busier and faster paced is how I'd sum it up but nothing prepared me for the little Britain of the costa brava.We were going to look at Sucina in Murcia but decided against it on the strength of what we observed in the area.Each to their own so this may be for you but just thought I'd mention the difference that 300,000 Brits living in a selected area make.Best of luck.

 Honestly, I'd suggest Alicante city. Nicest town on that stretch of coast, IMHO. Otherwise, Elche is nearby and a pleasent inland town.

 El campello is a very nice place.

 As you're obviously going on holiday, don't dismiss Benidorm out of hand.  The old town is still very Spanish with lots of hideaway type restaurants and you wouldn't believe you were in the same town.  On the other hand, you do have the beaches and the tourist spots close to hand.  Still a load of old, cobbled streets with plazas and very pleasant Spanish bars and eating places.  Just avoid the big tower blocks to the East and West and you could be a thousand miles away from the egg and chips with a pint type of establishment.  Some lovely churches and the Moorish influences are still obvious.  A stroll down Tapas Alley is a great way to spend an evening.  Also lots of older type Spanish shops selling lace, tablecloths, pottery etc which makes a change from the Chinese bazaars so predominant elsewhere.  It's also very shady due to the layout of the building so it stays cool even on hot days.  There are also some nice, inexpensive boutique style hotels in the centre and the old town.

Sandbagger, I'm confused. You drove to the Etap at Alicante, and then talk about the Costa Brava. Do you mean Costa Blanca, or did you then drive on to the Costa Brava?

It would be a shame if you based your opinion on the Costa Blanca by the traffic on the road near Elche (A7?). It is a very busy part of the motorway, which I hate myself, but it is close to the junction of the road to Madrid. Once past Alicante, the road is normally empty onwards to Northern Costa Blanca. Personally, I always use the N332 from Guardamar to reach the airport, as I dislike that bit of motorway so much. But I happily drive the motorway down to San Javier airport (after I've cut out the tolls!).

I am in the lovely little village of Algorfa, which is about 10 miles from Torrevieja, but a world away really. Algorfa itself may be a little quiet as a holiday base, but it's nice to wander around. The next place is Benijofar, which has lots of lovely restaurants and tapas bars - some English, a lot of Spanish places, and also Italian and other European restaurants. Benijofar runs into Rojales, which is very Spanish and unspoilt, and has lots of little shops and restaurants, and a nice market on Thursdays.

Torrevieja is also nice, but it can be busy and butling, and there are a lot of English there. That said, the Old Town is pure Spanish. I'd suggest you stay in the Algorfa-Benijofar-Rojales area. It's about 35 minutes from the Airport, close to Guardamar and Torrevieja, and there's lots to do. Rental accommodation is cheaper than in the resorts as well. La Finca Urbanisation is a couple of miles from Algorfa, and there's always plenty of rentals available. It's on a golf  course, and it's more of a residential community than a holiday place, so it's nice and quiet most of the time, yet close to the livelier places.

How about Los  Alcazares which is on the Mar Menor or one of the villages around it. We live in a places called Las Lomas Del Rame which is just outside of Los Alcazares. You have the fantastic Mar Menor on your doorstep and then the med a short distance away. Lots of really nice places to eat and drink and fantastic walks along the beach. One of our favorite beaches here is Calblanque, look it up on google, it's quite nice. We also have some friends who rent out their own villa too if you are interested. Three bedrooms, three bathrooms, own pool private terrance, mountain views etc...... PM me for details if you are interested, but no we are not agents or property managers or anything to do with that. My wifes mum has lived here for 30 years and one by one most of the familly have moved out too so we have lots of friends and familly, some of who rent their places out as they dont live here full time

If you are travelling to Alicante region for the first time then I would say that heading North is the best bet. Ignore the outskirts of Alicante (although the city itself is well worth a look) and head North of Benidorm. From there the scenary is beautiful and there are many lovely places to visit. Altea is a peach, particularly the Old Town which is probably one of the most lovely spots on the Costa Blanca. Then there is Moraira, Javea and Denia and the most stunning inland mountainous scenary with orange groves, almond groves and grape vines. If you like walking and some easy climbing it's a paradise. Restaurants in the Altea region are improving all the time and there are some really excellent ones now. The local wines are very very good and incredibly resonable too.

Our first experience of the area was in 1980, but what gillian says still applies today, we used to stay beach front in Calpe and levitate to the old town in the evenings, but sadly Calpe has become very busy and very British, however the prom walk south of Ifach is still worth the effort   When we visit these days we stay in La Fustera, just off the Benissa coast road, try the El Chamizo sea front restaurant, situated just before you hit Moriara, it's really great.  

Hang on, I've just noticed, we are both answering a very old thread. 

Elche is a nice town. I have a friend there and visited it a couple of times. The weather is quite good and they serve nice tapas.

Los Alcazares is a nice relaxed seaside town on the Mar Menor, but depending on how fast you drive Cartagena is, apart from Alicante city itself, the most interesting and attractive place in the area. It's a real mix of late 19th grandeur, fairly non descript 70/80's development, imperial, post imperial, industrial, post industrial. Bit like Alicante but rougher around the edges .

you are responding to a VERY OLD thread