Isla de Tabarca

Isla Tabarca is an island which is found in the autonomous region of Valencia, in the province of Alicante and it's located opposite the main city and Santa Pola. It's a very small island; it's barely 2 kilometres in length and 400 metres in width, with little more than 200 inhabitants.

The island was converted into familial place for the fishermen who were placed here by King Carlos III. He ordered the island to be fortified and prepared. The walls which surround the island we declared an artistic and historic site and of cultural interest.

Nowadays, the locals live off of fishing and in the last few years, tourism too, especially in the summer months, although there are a lot of visitors throughout the rest of the year.

What to see on the island

Because it's so small, there aren't really many monuments or museums, but it's noted that they are carrying out various reconstructions on things such as the wall and the church. We went there more for the views and to get to know the famous island.

• The wall: The wall spans almost around the whole island and you can see almost all of it from the boat. This includes three main gates: the San Rafael (de Levante) gate, the San Gabriel (de la Trancada) gate and the San Miguel (de Tierra) gate.
• San Pedro and San Pablo church: unfortunately, we couldn't go in because it was under construction.
• The lighthouse: The lighthouse is found at the end of the island. You can get there by taking a short walk from the beach. From the lighthouse, you can almost see the whole island: the coves, the beach, and if it's good weather, all the way to the city of Alicante, but above all, the never-ending Mediterranean Sea.
• The San José tower: It used to be used as a state prison. It's situated next to the lighthouse.
• Nueva Tarbaca Museum: We had been told that there was a museum on the island when we got back to Alicante, which was also situated in a warehouse. When you're on the island you don't find out much information, so we didn't know that there was a museum...

The Island

So, when we got to the island, we decided to walk around a little bit (because it's so small, you can see the whole island in 20 minutes - half an hour). The area with the beach and the restaurants was full of tourists which was the complete opposite to the more inland area, which seemed like it had been abandoned. Leaving from the port and going towards the right, you come to a gorgeous cove. To get there, you have to go past one of the gates which make up part of the wall. You definitely can't swim there, but it's worth it to sit on the rocks for a bit and enjoy the views. But be careful of the rocks because they are slippery! It's best to take off your flip-flops and walk in the water, so at least you won't fall over.

Then, we passed by the part of the wall where you could see all the private boats and people diving or simply tanning in the sun. We were actually quite jealous, we were imagining ourselves on one of those boats... We passed by the church that as I have already mentioned, is closed, so we didn't get to go in.

From there, we went to the other end of the island where the lighthouse, the tower and more coves are found. We didn't spend much time in this part because we already wanted to go ans sit on the beach and go swimming. So, I don't know if you can go up the lighthouse and the tower or not... We took some photos and we went to the beach.

The beach and some advice

Honestly, the beach disappointed us a little bit... it's not a typical beach with sand which you can see in Alicante, nor is it a rocky beach. Furthermore, it was very small and full of people. When we finally found somewhere to sit, we started getting attacked by seagulls which were looking for food. If you want to and come early enough, you can rent one of the deckchairs which cost 10 euros for the whole day, so you'll be more comfortable and the seagulls won't come near you. The good thing about the beach was the views of the boats which were tied up just opposite.

Some advice, be careful with the restaurants! They are very expensive. A simple ham and cheese sandwich costs 5€ and more... It's better to bring your own food, a sandwich or crisps in your bag if you don't want to be hungry. I'm sure that the food is really good, but seeing the prices made us not want to eat.

I also saw that they organise trips to go scuba diving. However, I don't remember which company it was, or the price... Of course, there are posters just to the side of where the "Kontiki boats" leave from, I suppose you'll be able to get more information there.

How to get there

We took a "Kontiki" boat from Alicante port, but you can also take one from the Santa Pola port. A return trip costs 19 euros and on the webpage, they say that the journey lasts around 50 minutes. Nevertheless, you have to prepare yourselves to spend an hour and a bit on the boat.

The boats leave everyday from Monday to Sunday, from Alicante at 11:00 and at 13:30 and from Tabarca at 17:00 (they operate more often in summer). You can find everything out on the webpage or by going to the port. It's a very nice journey, you can see the city of Alicante, the castle, then the Arenales del Sol (a beach), Santa Pola... but take a sweatshirt or something that you can cover yourself with because on the upper part, it's quite windy.

Have a good trip and I hope that the boat doesn't make you too dizzy.