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Golf guide • Spain • Valencian Community (Costa Blanca)

Golf in Alicante: Seve's course, the sea and the castle above

Alicante, on the Costa Blanca, brings together three eighteen-hole courses within half an hour of the centre: Alicante Golf, designed by Severiano Ballesteros at Playa de San Juan, then Alenda and Font del Llop, both at Monforte del Cid. Golfers come for a short, easy break, with the airport twenty minutes away, golf in the morning and the old town in the evening, ideally from February to May and in October and November.

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Alicante has the rare advantage of being a large seaside city where golf begins almost on the hotel doorstep. The Castle of Santa Bárbara, perched 167 metres up on Mount Benacantil, overlooks the port and the palm-lined Explanada promenade; from there, Playa de San Juan and Seve Ballesteros's course are only a quarter of an hour to the north. Hamilcar Barca's Carthaginians founded Akra Leuke here, "the white mountain" in Greek, which the Romans renamed Lucentum.

The golf has an unmistakably Mediterranean character: lakes, pines and palms, and always an ochre mountain or a sliver of sea on the horizon. The three courses complement one another well. Alicante Golf plays on the seaside and on an unusual design, Alenda on the dry, hilly hinterland, Font del Llop on a steep-sided valley where a stream links five lakes. Nothing is more than half an hour from the centre, which leaves the afternoons free.

Three to five nights are enough: one course a day, a morning at the castle, a return trip by catamaran to the island of Tabarca, and dinners that start late, as everywhere in Spain. With more than 3,000 hours of sunshine a year, Alicante is also one of the safest bets for playing in midwinter, when northern Europe is under the rain.

The courses

Green and white-sand bunkers among flowering almond trees and pines, arid mountains in the background

Alicante Golf

  • Architect: Severiano Ballesteros
  • Opened 1998
  • 18 holes
  • Par 72

Opened in 1998 at Playa de San Juan, a stone's throw from the beach, the course designed by Severiano Ballesteros lines up six par 3s, six par 4s and six par 5s: you never play two holes of the same par in a row, a formula unique in Spain and Portugal. Wide fairways, fast greens and five large lakes that come into play on a dozen holes, one of them shaped like an S, Seve's initial, beside the 9th green. It hosted the final of the Peugeot tour in 2004. A friendly course but never a dull one, ideal for opening the trip.

Signature hole. On the 14th, you play over the remains of a 1st-century Roman villa uncovered during construction: rather than move the hole, Ballesteros chose to work them into the course, where they remain visible.

Official website

Alenda Golf

  • Architect: Roland Favrat
  • Opened 1999
  • 18 holes
  • Par 72

Some twenty minutes to the west, on the Madrid road, Alenda occupies 49 hectares of hills at Monforte del Cid. Designed and built by the landscape architect Roland Favrat and opened in October 1999, it is a par 72 of 6,257 metres that has kept its original Mediterranean vegetation. The front nine is wide and welcoming; the back nine asks for precision more than length, and the last two holes often decide the card. A well-kept members' course, in a drier, more inland landscape than the coast.

Signature hole. The 17th, a 392-metre par 4, is reputed to be the hardest on the course: a blind uphill tee shot, water in play and a fairway that narrows towards the green.

Official website

Font del Llop Golf Resort

  • Architect: Blake Stirling, Marco Martín
  • Opened 2010
  • 18 holes
  • Par 72

In a steep-sided valley at Monforte del Cid, Font del Llop was designed by Blake Stirling and Marco Martín and opened in May 2010. The par 72 follows the lie of the land: a stream runs between five lakes, several tee shots carry ravines and every hole has five sets of tees. The front nine drops into the valley and climbs back out; from the 9th, play moves to the other side of the road. Fast, contoured greens and a technical layout that calls on every club in the bag: a course for golfers of all levels, and fit walkers can play it on foot.

Signature hole. The 9th, a long, gently uphill par 5, closes the front nine: water runs the length of the fairway up to the green, and you choose whether to play it down the right or the left.

Official website

Where to stay

Hospes Amérigo

Housed in a former Dominican convent extended by a 19th-century townhouse passage, the Hospes Amérigo is the five-star address in the centre, on Calle Rafael Altamira, a stone's throw from the Explanada. Ask for a Premium room, high-ceilinged with two French balconies. Take the last drink on the roof, facing the Castle of Santa Bárbara, where the Bodyna spa and the pool put your legs right after eighteen holes.

Hotel Boutique Alicante Palacete S.XVII

A restored 17th-century palacete on Calle Miguel Soler, at the foot of the castle and 300 metres from Postiguet beach: seventeen adults-only rooms, stone vaults and understated décor. Breakfast is taken on the terrace, facing the co-cathedral of San Nicolás and the castle walls. The old town has restricted access: a valet takes the car at the door and brings it back in time for your tee time.

Where to dine

Nou Manolín

Opened in 1971 in the city centre, Nou Manolín is an Alicante institution. The ground-floor bar, which takes no bookings, is one of the most celebrated counters in Spain: seafood, rice dishes and small plates over a glass of wine. Upstairs, the dining room serves the same market cooking at a gentler pace. Selected by the Michelin Guide.

El Portal Taberna & Wines

On Calle Bilbao, right in the centre, El Portal Taberna & Wines combines an elegant brasserie setting, modern cooking and a cellar of more than 500 references; the house is also a Krug embassy. The secret is at the bar: Monday to Friday, from 1pm to 4pm, the Gastromercat menu serves dishes, rice and tapas that change daily, on booking, ideal after a morning round. Featured in the Michelin Guide.

Baeza & Rufete

Holding a Michelin star, the restaurant of chef Joaquín Baeza, trained under Martín Berasategui, is at Playa de San Juan, very close to Alicante Golf. Two tasting menus of modern Mediterranean cooking, built around hand-picked aromatic herbs and olive oils. The dinner for your last night.

Pan of seafood rice and a glass of white wine on a terrace facing the sea at dusk

Beyond golf

The Castle of Santa Bárbara

Its origins go back to the end of the 9th century, under Muslim rule; it bears the name of the saint whose feast day it was when Castilian troops took it, 4 December 1248. You ride up in a lift cut into the rock from Postiguet beach, then walk back down through the Santa Cruz quarter, with its stepped alleys and flower-decked façades.

The island of Tabarca

Some twenty kilometres offshore, Tabarca is reached by catamaran from the port of Alicante or from Santa Pola. The small fortified village was built from 1768 under Charles III to house Genoese families ransomed from Tabarka, in Tunisia. Since 1986 its waters have formed Spain's first marine reserve: an ideal rest day, mask and snorkel included.

The Hogueras de San Juan

From 19 to 24 June, Alicante celebrates Midsummer with its fogueres, great monuments of wood and cork built by nearly ninety neighbourhoods, along with parades and mascletàs. Everything burns on the night of the 24th, the Cremà. The festival, born in 1928, has been declared of international tourist interest since 1983.

Stepped alley with pale façades and flower-filled balconies, a fortress on a rock above

When to go

Alicante has more than 3,000 hours of sunshine a year and very mild winters. Spring, from February to May, and autumn, from October to November, are the best seasons: courses in good shape and ideal temperatures for walking. Winter remains very playable, cool in the mornings. Summer is hot and humid: play the first tee time and keep the afternoon for the sea.

Getting there

Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández airport (ALC), nine kilometres south-west of the city, is one of the busiest in Spain. Allow around twenty minutes to the centre and twenty to thirty minutes to each of the three courses. From Madrid, the AVE high-speed train has served Alicante station directly since 2013.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best golf course in Alicante?

Alicante Golf, designed by Severiano Ballesteros and opened in 1998 at Playa de San Juan, is the most distinctive: six par 3s, six par 4s and six par 5s, and Roman remains on the 14th hole.

How many golf courses are there near Alicante?

Three eighteen-hole courses lie within half an hour of the centre: Alicante Golf at Playa de San Juan, and Alenda and Font del Llop at Monforte del Cid.

When is the best time to play golf in Alicante?

From February to May and in October and November. Winter is mild and playable; summer, hot and humid, is best played at first light.

How many days do I need for a golf trip to Alicante?

Three to five nights: the three courses, a morning at the Castle of Santa Bárbara and a day on the island of Tabarca.

Which airport is best for a golf trip to Alicante?

Alicante-Elche airport (ALC), some twenty minutes from the city centre and less than half an hour from all three courses.

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