Getting there & Getting around

Getting there

Flocks of charters, scheduled and budget airline flights swoop daily into El Altet International Airport, around 10km (6mi) from Alicante's city centre, from most major European cities as well as domestic destinations like Madrid, Barcelona and Ibiza. A bus service shuttles passengers from the airport to the Plaza del Mar, southwest of the city centre, or you can catch a taxi. Departure tax is factored into ticket prices.

Trains run from Barcelona, Valencia City and Madrid to Alicante's main Renfe Estación de Madrid, while the tram and trenet, a narrow gauge railway connect to smaller towns along the coast, including Denia, Benidorm and Altea. From the bus station there are more than ten motorway buses to Valencia daily, services to smaller towns and long-haul routes to Granada, Madrid, Barcelona and Almería. You can get to Alicante by car, on the A-7 motorway from the French border via Barcelona and Valencia City; the N340 is a very crowded alternative. Passenger ships also run to Algeria.

Getting around

The heart of Alicante is so small you don't need much more than feet. As well as the buses that run from Plaza del Mar to the airport via the west side of the bus station, trams run from the Plaza del Mar past the Estación de la Marina and on to La Albufereta. Most of the big international rent-a-car services have outlets at the airport, but keep an eye out for the smaller and much less expensive local car rental companies.