GUADALEST

GUADALEST TOURIST INFORMATION

Tourist Information Centre for Guadalest is located on the Car Park at Guadalest village.

Our Guadalest map below pinpoints the Tourist Info Office.

Telephone 965 885 298 : E Mail guadalest@touristinfo.net.

INFO : On our last visit to Guadalest we were asked to pay for Parking the car - and thought this was strange, as we had never (twice) previously payed for using the Guadalest Car Park.
The girl asking for payment (1,70€) had "official looking" tickets, but as far as we could see there were no info or signs on the Guadalest car park stating that payment was required.
So we E Mailed the Guadalest Tourist Information and asked the question ...
The reply from the Guadalest Tourist Info : There is a tax of 1,70 euro for the Guadalest car park - which, when all is said and done .. is not bad.

There are cafe bars all the way up to through to the Guadalest square but depending on how busy it is you may not get a seat ... we ended up going to an English Cafe called the "Sunny Side Up" (the food was good & the price OK) which is up some steps on the Guadalest Car Park on the Tourist Information side.

As you go through the tunnel on the way to the Guadalest Castle square ... you will have your photo taken .. and on the way back you may buy a key ring with your photograph for 4€ ... or not ... But if you have remembered the camera, there should be plenty of photographs to remember your Guadalest visit.

ORGANISED TRIPS TO GUADALEST

There are regular coach trips organised from all over Spain visiting Guadalest ..
These are often called blanket trips, as they include a visit to a blanket factory.
So if you cannot reach Guadalest by car, check the local newspapers for information ...
If this is the only way - get yourself booked ...
grab the camera ... and enjoy Guadalest.

The photo below is of the square at the top of the Guadalest village - the highest level of the Guadalest Castle, unless one pays to get to the upper level of Guadalest Castle San José (through the Orduna House), but the spectacular views are only marginally better than from this level ... we paid - and I cannot remember the cost, maybe 4 euro per person and not really worth it in my opinion.
See our Guadalest plan map below - it shows how the reach the castle top level.

Probably due to the numbers who visit Guadalest every year, lots of small museums have opened up on the walkway to the top of Guadalest. In my opinion, simply attempts at cashing in on the numbers, I have never been in any of them.
The fact is; that Guadalest even with these petty flaws .. is the best part of Spain I have seen and I doubt very much whether it will be topped in the years to come and places on the list still left to visit.

HISTORY & PAST INFORMATION GUADALEST

Guadalest really is a MUST VISIT if holidaying anywhere in the Spain's Alicante Costa Blanca region. Information about the history & past of this unique and iconic Spanish attraction is available at the Tourist information Centre, or on entering the upper tier of the Castell de Guadalest through the Orduña House (entry fee applicable), or the numerous museums on the walk up to the summit ...
but whether the history is of interest or not, is quite irrelevant to Guadalest's unrivalled Spanish scenery.

GUADALEST INFORMATION - RESERVOIR (EMBALSE) DE GUADALEST.

One of the main reasons that Guadalest is so pleasing to the eye, is the reservoir (Spanish embalse) which lies in the valley below the Castell de Guadalest. The Guadalest reservoir exists to provide water to the rich market gardening farm area which stretches all along the valley to the coast.
Info : the Guadalest reservoir dam can be reached by car and is worth taking the time to drive down to ... our map below shows how to get there and the position of the Guadalest tourist information centre.

Down at the reservoir dam is where the new Guadalest solar powered boat trips run.

Boat trips are now operating in the Guadalest reservoir - the boats have been specially modified so as not to cause any pollution to the waters. The thirteen metre boats will have capacity for around 50 persons and will tour people around to places previously unreachable on the Guadalest embalse ...
If you have the time ... this a must do.

At the time we took the Guadalest boat trip ... only one boat was in operation ... I don't know whether in the high season they will operate more than a single boat ... if not ... a lot of people would be left disappointed ... as Guadalest is the most popular tourist destination in this part of Spain.

Here is the website of the Guadalest Solar "Barco" Boats ... with boat trip times.


The map below shows where to get the Guadalest boat. Car parking is available close to the reservoir dam ... which cost nothing when we took the Guadalest boat trip.

Dependant on the weather (and how much time you have) when you visit Guadalest ... some great views of the village from the other side of the reservoir (embalse) are to be witnessed .. if you were to carry on along the (narrow & single track) road which leads over the reservoir dam into the hills at the other side of Guadalest valley ... also there is a footpath which runs on the other side of the reservoir ... (the side where the Guadalest boat runs from).

Guadalest is the ultimate day trip out ... from any part of Spain's Alicante or Costa Blanca region - and one experience that everybody visiting these parts of Spain should endeavor to take part in. The scenery around Guadalest is spectacular and one could imagine Golden Eagles or Ospreys flying around in this habitat .. but not so (in fact the severe lack of wildlife - especially birds - is quite alarming) ... the locals do fish in the reservoir ... so there is life out there apart from the daily troops of sightseers who descend on the Guadalest village (which maybe a contributory factor to the scarceness of birds).
Nonetheless .. for a day trip to remember on a Spain holiday ... without hesitation ...
put Guadalest right to the top of the list.

When the sun goes down on Guadalest at Christmas, the whole town - tucked away in the hills - lights up and it looks like something out of a fairytale ...
Very apt .. Very fitting .. Very Guadalest.