Tabarca Island

Tabarca is a flat island, 1,800 m long, off the Alicante coast and reached only by boat. It suits travellers who want a walled 18th-century village, a marine reserve and one sandy beach rather than hotels and nightlife. Most people come for the day from Santa Pola, Alicante or Torrevieja, and a few stay the night in the village. It is part of our Costa Blanca guide.

Quick facts

• Where: 3 nautical miles south-east of Cabo de Santa Pola, in the municipality of Alicante, not Santa Pola (Alicante city council).
• Names: Isla de Tabarca in Spanish, Illa de Tabarca in Valencian, also Nueva Tabarca or Isla Plana. The islets of La Cantera, La Galera and La Nao belong to the same group.
• Size: 1,800 m long, up to 400 m wide, about 30 ha, and never more than 15 m above the sea.
• Residents: about 50 people live here permanently in winter, according to the city council's island page, which gives no year for the figure.
• Beach: yes, one sandy beach on the narrow isthmus; the rest of the shore is rock with pebble beaches below.
• Airport and roads: there is no airport on the island, and you cannot drive to it. You sail from a mainland port, and the island belongs to Alicante.
• Protection: the walled town was declared a Historic-Artistic Site in 1964 and the waters a marine reserve in 1986.

Where to base yourself

For a place this small the real decision is whether to sleep on the island or on the mainland and cross by boat. The tourist board describes the typical visit as a day trip, so most travellers choose a mainland base, and the crossing time is what separates the options.

In the village on Tabarca

The Alicante tourist board says visitors can stay overnight on the island and lists hotels and hostales in the village, including Hotel Isla Plana and Hostal Nueva Tabarca (Alicante tourist board). This suits anyone who wants to walk the walls and the island's eastern end without watching the clock for the last boat. Tourism here is concentrated between April and October, so the island is quieter outside those months. The trade-off is that you are on an island if the sea turns rough and boats are cancelled.

Santa Pola

Santa Pola has the shortest crossing, about 25 minutes by catamaran, and its tourist office describes Tabarca as just 3 miles from Cabo de Santa Pola. It is the natural base for a flexible day trip and for combining the island with the cape. See our Santa Pola town guide.

Alicante

Alicante suits you if you want a city around you and the island as one outing among several. The crossing takes about an hour from the port, and the island is administratively part of the city. See our Alicante town guide.

Torrevieja

Torrevieja is the southern alternative, with boats that take about an hour each way. Choose it if you are already staying there and want one long outing; it is the least convenient base for repeated visits. See our Torrevieja town guide.

Things to do

The walled village

The village sits at the western end of the island. King Charles III commissioned the fortified town from the military engineer Fernando Méndez Ras, who built it between 1766 and 1775. It housed 69 families of Genoese origin who had been taken prisoner when the ruler of Algiers captured the Tunisian island of Tabarka; they were freed in 1768 and settled here in 1770, which is where the name Nueva Tabarca comes from. Three gates lead in: San Miguel on the land side to the north, San Rafael to the east and San Gabriel to the west. Inside are the church of San Pedro y San Pablo and the Governor's House (Alicante city council). The tourist board recommends a walk through the town centre and a visit to the island's museum, the Nueva Tabarca Museum; the council ties its opening days to the boat timetables, so check its page before you go.

Walk to the eastern end

The tourist board's El Campo trail is 2.8 km, takes about 2 hours and is rated easy. Along it you pass the Torre de San José, a defensive tower built around 1791, and the lighthouse, which dates from 1854, and the walk ends at La Mina, a tiny beach. With almost no relief, the walk is about distance and sun rather than climbing.

Snorkelling in the marine reserve

The reserve was created by an order of 4 April 1986 and covers 1,754 ha, with seabed between 0 and 40 m deep (Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food). Alicante city council says Posidonia seagrass surrounds the island at depths of 0 to 30 m, that sworn fish rangers patrol the reserve, and that recreational fishing is prohibited in all its waters. That page was last updated in November 2016, so confirm current rules with the council (marine reserve page). The tourist board's snorkelling advice is to carry a buoy, stay out of the water when it is murky, rough or has strong currents, watch for boats in summer, and not feed the fish or remove any living creature from the seabed.

Beaches and places nearby

The only sandy beach is Playa de Tabarca, on the isthmus where the island narrows towards the west (Alicante city council). The council lists it among the municipality's Blue Flag beaches for 2026 (Blue Flag list). Everywhere else the coast is low rock with pebble beaches below, so bring water shoes if you plan to swim away from the isthmus. Skip the island if a long stretch of sand is the point of your day: it has one beach on about 30 ha of land.

On the mainland, the nearest place is the headland of Cabo de Santa Pola, 3 nautical miles away, with Santa Pola behind it.

Other town guides nearby: Guardamar del Segura (about 18 km in a straight line), Elche (Elx) (about 22 km in a straight line), San Vicente del Raspeig (about 26 km in a straight line).

On CostaMap near Tabarca: Caleta dels Gossets (Santa Pola) (5.8 km).

Food and drink

The tourist board names caldero as the island's traditional dish and lists restaurants in the village (Alicante tourist board). We do not name individual restaurants because no source we read ranks them, and we found no market listed for the island. Plan the meal around your return boat.

Where to stay

Choose between a small hotel or hostal in the walled village and a mainland base in Santa Pola, Alicante or Torrevieja. The island accommodation named by the tourist board includes Hotel Isla Plana and Hostal Nueva Tabarca. We found no published rates we can cite, so check prices and availability directly with the property. On the mainland, the three town guides above explain which type of area each one suits.

Getting there and around

Tabarca is reached by boat. We do not print timetables or ticket prices, because operators change both with the season and the sea. These are the operators named in the sources, with the crossing time that they or the tourist board give:

• From Santa Pola: Tabarkeras sails from the Muelle de Ribera and puts the crossing at about 25 minutes. Transtabarca advertises fast boats that make it in 15 minutes. The tourist board also lists Barcos-Taxi, Aquabus Tabarca and Tabarca Water Taxi.
• From Alicante: Cruceros Kon Tiki sails from the port of Alicante, and the tourist board puts the journey at approximately one hour.
• From Torrevieja: Marítimas Torrevieja describes about 1 hour of sailing each way.
• From Benidorm: the tourist board lists Excursiones Marítimas Benidorm but gives no crossing time.

Check the operator's own page on the day: Kon Tiki warns that times can change without notice, and Marítimas Torrevieja reserves the right to suspend or modify sailings. We found no official information on parking at the Santa Pola or Alicante quays, so ask your operator. On the island you walk: it is 1,800 m long and never more than 15 m above the sea, so everything is within reach on foot.

Best time to visit

Alicante city council says tourism on the island runs mainly from April to October. The same page gives an average annual temperature of 17 °C and August maximums of 35 °C, so July and August mean heat on a flat island. For the village and the El Campo trail, the cooler edges of the April to October season are the sensible choice; for swimming, expect the busiest summer months. Rough sea can disrupt crossings in any month, so keep the return leg flexible. We list no festivals because none of our sources gives a dated event.

FAQ

How do I get to Tabarca Island?

By boat only. The shortest crossing is from Santa Pola, about 25 minutes by catamaran or 15 minutes by fast boat according to the operators. From Alicante and Torrevieja the crossing takes about an hour. Check the operator's page for the day's sailings.

Can you stay overnight on Tabarca?

Yes. The Alicante tourist board says visitors can stay on the island and lists accommodation in the village, including Hotel Isla Plana and Hostal Nueva Tabarca.

Is there a sandy beach on Tabarca?

One. Playa de Tabarca is on the isthmus, and the rest of the coast is rock with pebble beaches. It is on Alicante's Blue Flag list for 2026.

Can you fish or dive at Tabarca?

Alicante city council says recreational fishing is prohibited in all the waters of the marine reserve (page last updated in 2016), and the tourist board asks visitors not to remove living creatures from the seabed. Confirm current fishing and diving rules with the council or the ministry before you go.

Is Tabarca better as a day trip or an overnight stay?

The tourist board calls a day trip the typical visit, and the island is 1,800 m long, so a day covers the village and the 2.8 km El Campo trail. Stay overnight if you want to see the island outside day-trip hours.

Sources and freshness

Last checked: October 2026. Official sources: Alicante tourist board, Tabarca Island and El Campo trail; Alicante city council on Tabarca Island, the marine reserve, the Nueva Tabarca Museum and Blue Flag beaches 2026; Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Isla de Tabarca marine reserve; Santa Pola tourist office, Tabarca. Boat operators, for crossing times only: Tabarkeras, Transtabarca, Cruceros Kon Tiki and Marítimas Torrevieja. Location: OpenStreetMap contributors.

Main photo: chisloup, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.