Atalaya Castle Tours and Activities

When your cruise calls at Alicante, make the most of your time in the region with a private excursion to Villena. Journey to this historical city by private, air-conditioned vehicle and on arrival, visit its 12th-century Atalaya Castle (own expense), once a defensive point between Castile and Aragon. Then, take a guided tour of a local winery and olive grove, and enjoy an optional wine, oil, and Iberian ham tasting (own expense) before your return.

Spend your time in port in Alicante exploring the delights of Villena on this private 5-hour tour. Explore Atalaya Castle — widely considered to be Villena’s most important attraction — with a private guide and gain insight into the region’s rich history. Head onward to a local winery and olive grove, and tour the bottling rooms, cellars and vineyards as a guide sheds light on the grape varietals thriving in the region’s fertile soils. Sample delicious local wines accompanied by Iberian ham during a tasting session (own expense), then return in comfort to Alicante.

In this region there is a great diversity of settings, history, experiences, towns, villages, hamlets and landscapes to be encountered. This diversity is what you’ll experience on a route which weaves together the rugged, mountainous terrain of the interior with that of the contrasting Mediterranean coastal plain. A considerable part of this route takes in the famous and tranquil, green pathway that winds its way to the sea. You’ll pedal your way past fields, groves of fruit trees, vineyards and natural enclaves of exceptional beauty. In the first part of the route you’ll discover small villages of mediaeval and Arab origin because ownership of this territory was in dispute by warring Christian monarchs and Islamic caliphs for many years. The last day you make your way to the Parque Natural de la Albufera, which is of enormous ecological value. You finish your ever-changing journey in the city of Valencia and explore the impressive old quarter with its cathedral and central market.