Alcossebre

Alcossebre (Spanish: Alcocébre or Alcocéber) is a seaside village on the Costa del Azahar of Castellón province, south of Peñiscola. For visitors it is best known for its excellent beaches. It is surrounded by natural parks: Sierra de Irta on the north, Islas Columbretes on the east and Prat de Cabanes on the south. In Serra de Irta there are many small beaches.

Understand
The village of Alcossebre is administratively part of the municipality of the neighbouring inland town of Alcalà de Xivert. Traditionally sons would inherit fertile lands around Alcala, while daughters inherited less valuable property on the seafront. Today however the daughters are the winners of this arrangement, as beginning in the 1980s the tranquil fishing village began to develop into a seaside resort.

The village has largely kept its Spanish identity, however, by maintaining its charming historic centre with narrow alleys and romantic shops and cafés, and by avoiding the worst of the over-development and mass tourism common in other areas of the Spanish coastline. In the summer, its winter population of 5,000 doubles, with mostly Spanish and French visitors as well as a few Germans and Dutch.



By bus
Autos Mediterraneo runs a daily bus connecting Castellón directly with Alcossebre; a bus route and schedule can be downloaded here.

The same company also runs multiple daily buses between Castellón and Alcalà de Xivert, stopping at the train station and at a near the football pitch on Carrer del General Cucala. As an alternate option, and provided you do not have too much luggage, you can then transfer at either of these stops to the local bus service, detailed below in 'get around'. A bus route and schedule can be downloaded here.

By bus
Autos Mediterráneo operates a route connecting Alcossebre with Alcalà de Xivert and points in between. On weekdays, buses run every 15 min from 07:15-22:00, and on weekends and holidays every couple of hours; a schedule is available at the tourist office or can be downloaded here.

Beaches
With the exception of Tres Platges, the following are designated as blue-flag beaches.



Natural pebble beaches stretch further south of this point with water clear enough to see fish, and caravans are permitted to camp here. Noteworthy is the kilometre-long nudist beach of (Playa Serradal); dogs are permitted on the beach near the dry mouth of the. The next beach, (Playa Cap y Corp), terminates near the Disco Tunel nightclub (described below under 'drink'), where there is a footpath to the  (Playa de Terrenostra, in the neighbouring village of Terrenostra), with good surfing and few people.

Buy
Most shops, with a few exceptions, close for the midday siesta, which lasts from 14:00/15:00 until 16:00/17:00.



Eat
There are many restaurants and cafés, both for sit-down meals and takeaway, which run the gamut of Turkish to Chinese to pizzerias. Especially along the beach promenade of Platja del Carregador there are a number of cafés and tapas bars.



Drink
There are just a few nightclubs in Alcossebre. The most well-known include (Les Fonts) and  (Capicorb), a bit further away from the village centre.

Holiday rentals
There are many private holiday villas, townhouses, and apartments available for rent, most with private pool and garden. The most upscale and popular neighbourhoods are the areas around Marcolina, Les Fonts (Las Fuentes), and the Puerto (port).

Burglary rings are active in more upscale neighbourhoods, including Marcolina and especially Les Fonts. Don't leave valuables on the terrace or balcony table for even a short time. Most houses have alarm systems and security systems, but break-ins are still a frequent occurrence, and on checking in to your villa do not be surprised to see evidence of recent attempted break-ins even at the front door.