Opening times
| Day | Opening |
|---|
Address
Address & Contact Details
Aeropuerto De Alicante, Alicante, 03071. Tel: +3490210980824-hour drop-off
Opening Times
| Tuesday | 07:00 - 23:59 |
| Wednesday | 07:00 - 23:59 |
| Thursday | 07:00 - 23:59 |
| Friday | 07:00 - 23:59 |
| Saturday | 07:00 - 23:59 |
| Sunday | 07:00 - 23:59 |
| Monday | 07:00 - 23:59 |
Car hire in Alicante airport
Our Alicante Airport car hire service greets visitors in the arrivals hall, direct from their flight. Our efficient team offers a speedy check-in and drop-off service, ensuring you can get on and enjoy your trip.A springboard to the Costa Blanca’s coastal towns, dazzling beaches and craggy clifftops, as well as the region’s charming inland villages and rural bodegas, Alicante-Elche Airport is one of Europe’s 50 busiest, with just under 14 million passengers a year passing through its terminals.
Our Alicante car hire service offers flexible one-way options, so you can pick up your vehicle at the airport and drop it off at a different location at the end of your trip.
Popular car hire locations in Alicante
Where to from Alicante Airport?
From the Picassos and Dalís adorning the interiors of Museo de Arte Contemporáneo to the fragrant paella simmering in the Mercado Central, Spain’s harbour-side City of Light has an impressive array of cultural offerings and a compelling cuisine based around fresh seafood.Settled by Carthaginians over 7,000 years ago and the last Republican stronghold to fall during the Spanish Civil War, many remnants of Alicante’s rich heritage remain apparent. The Old Town’s foundations were excavated to reveal the Roman town Lucentum—Alicante’s ancestor containing crumbling bathhouses and courtyards—while the medieval Santa Bárbara Castle rises up from Mount Benacantil, all a 10-minute drive from the airport.
With temperatures reaching heights of 30°C in the summer months, many come to Alicante for the sunshine and sandy beaches of the Costa Blanca’s Playa de San Juan, one of Spain’s most attractive coastal stretches spanning a third of the city’s 15km coastline. Spring and autumn are also favourable times to visit. The crowds dissipate and the climate remains pleasantly balmy, making these great seasons to enjoy Alicante’s many lively al-fresco cafés and tapas bars.
Beyond Alicante
With 200km of the Costa Blanca to explore, there’s plenty to fill your time beyond Alicante, and a hire car will grant precious access to the best bits. Glide along coastal roads to boundless sandy bays such as the golden Cape of Santa Pola—perfect for paddling and swimming—or head inland to experience rural Spain with its rolling countryside, terracotta-roofed villas and charming hilltop churches.Follow the scenic highway N-332 south of Alicante to historic Torrevieja, with its unusual pink and green salt lakes, or head north to reach the beautiful old city of Altea; a labyrinth of white-washed and blue-domed buildings. If you keep driving north past the resorts in Benidorm, you’ll arrive in the sleepy town of Calpe. Here, 15th-century architecture, quiet beaches and a gigantic rock formation thrusting from the sea make for plenty to explore during your stay.
There are also three lesser-known wine regions in the vicinity, should you decide to traverse the province’s undulating vineyards, olive trees and almond groves further inland.
Make the most of everything the area surrounding the Costa Blanca has to offer when your hire a car with Avis at Alicante Airport.
The Hidden Beaches of Alicante
Eschew the crowded beaches of Benidorm and drive your hire car straight to one of these hidden beaches in Alicante.
The Costa Blanca province of Alicante draws in tourists by the bucket (and spade) load, and understandably so. Charming towns, sandy coves, palm groves and important archaeological sites—including 9th-century hilltop castle, Santa Bárbara—can all be discovered, tucked around its mountainous terrain.But there’s no need to accept the crowds, and there’s definitely no need to cram onto the sand like one of so many sardines. After picking up your hire car at Alicante airport, swerve the tourist hotspots and drive to one of these hidden beaches instead.
Cala Jugadora
Tucked below the white lighthouse of Cap de Creus, this hidden Alicante beach comes highly recommended by Salvador Dalí and Catalan author, Josep Pla. If that’s not enough to persuade you, how about the fact that this gorgeous curl of sand comes flanked by craggy cliffs and lapped by limpid waters, perfect for snorkelling? It’s a half-hour, downhill hike from the nearest car park, following a dry riverbed dotted with fragrant plants.Cala del Moraig
A seasonal cafe bar perches over this enchanting cove in the town of Benitatxell, though that and a few beach umbrellas are just about it in the way of modern facilities. But then, all the better for keeping its “unspoilt” charms intact. Tucked between sheer, shrub-capped cliffs and fringed by palm trees, it’s rocky underfoot but that hardly matters when you have views of natural rock arches and a seemingly endless blue sea. Its network of underwater caves and tunnels draws divers and serious snorkelers, though not many other people seem to know about it.Playa de la Albufereta
In a largely residential area northwest of Alicante City, this stretch of sand comes with a wave of fascinating history: the name comes from the small coastal lake that occupied this spot, ringed by a harbour that served the Ancient Roman village of Lucentum. These may be long gone but, essentially, to sunbathe here is to lie on the origins of the Alicante province. This locals’ favourite is also rather lovely, with soft, pale sand, rocks jutting into the water, and a chiringuitos (al fresco bar).Playa del Coco
The twin curves of this relatively small and quiet beach curl towards a rocky breakwater, while local fisherman land their catch nearby, completing the idyllic scene. The harbour, whose waterside tapas restaurants overlook rows of sleek yachts, is a lovely, peaceful spot to sit and stare out to sea—despite the central location.Playa de Marianeta Cassiana
This sandy smudge is one of five small, secluded bays tucked just below Parc Natural del Montgó, a mountainous nature reserve and idyllic picnic spot. Further along, a string of endless coves dots the gin-clear water like a necklace of yellow diamonds and aquamarine. Do as the locals do and stay for sunset, perching on the end of one of the stone jetties. Afterwards, you might want to walk into Dénia, a picturesque port city with top-rated seafood restaurants.Playa del Saladar-Urbanova
An easy, 5km drive from Alicante City centre, this flawless stretch of burnished gold sand is pinch-yourself perfect. There are a few hotels and residential blocks nearby, but the seemingly endless beach never feels crowded. Pad barefoot by the waves or explore the rolling, natural sand dunes. Next door (or next cove) is dog-friendly Playa Agua Amarga, which also has pedal boats for rent—so you can pootle about the waters, perhaps seeking out the next secluded bay.Cabo de las Huertas
Sometimes, you have to earn your beach time. This rugged slice of coastline conceals three tucked-away coves that are well worth a rocky hike down the cliffside. Just think how much more rewarding and lovely it will be when you finally feel the champagne-hued sand under your soles. Don’t be shocked if the few people around are starkers, though—two of the coves are popular nudist beaches.Playa de la Almadraba
All feels quiet and still at this small beach, whose fine, shimmery sand is dotted with shaggy palm trees and blonde rocks. With fewer crowds and gentle waves, the most prevalent sounds are fishing boats bobbing in the water and palm fronds ruffled by a soft breeze. A little off the tourist path, this is a favourite with locals who gather with drinks and snacks to watch the sun begin its evening dip, casting a soft pink glow on Santa Bárbara Castle across the bay.A Culinary Road Trip in Alicante
Get a true taste of Iberia at these delicious foodie stops on a culinary road trip in Alicante.
Food might not be the first thing you’d associate with Alicante and the Costa Blanca. That would be beaches, perhaps, its mountainous landscape, or the grand Moorish castle, Santa Bárbara.Dig a little deeper into dish of paella, though, and you’ll discover one of Spain’s most delicious destinations. The region’s history is as evident on the plate as it is on the landscape; its gastronomy seasoned by millennia of diverse inhabitants. Early Iberian tribes, Ancient Greek and Roman settlements, and Moorish rulers all contributed to an intoxicating edible legacy.
The climate and location help, too, with fertile, salt-sprayed farmland and abundant seafood from the Mediterranean Sea. Grab your hire car at Alicante airport and hit the road for a culinary tour from flavour-packed rice dishes to date palm groves sheltering tomatoes and citrus trees.
Meet the producers
A stroll around the stalls at Mercado Central (Av. Alfonso X El Sabio 10), housed in a 1920s art deco building in Alicante’s centre, will whet the appetite, and probably get you drooling a little, too. Hundreds of vendors sell nutty jamón ibérico, fat red prawns from Dénia, and sharp goat cheese. Tiny tapas bars and cafes are dotted around the halls, so you can watch the hustle and bustle while nibbling on salted almonds and slithers of charcuterie.In the shadow of palms
With around 11,000 trees, Palmeral of Elche (Passeig l'Estació 2) is the largest date palm grove in Europe and a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, planted during Moorish rule. Crops of heirloom tomatoes and bitter desert greens grow beneath the fronds and among orange and lemon trees. Irrigation channels fed by the Vinalopó River keep the ground moist, while compost from tree prunings enriches the soil. In autumn, the palms yield sticky, caramel-sweet dates.Hit the paella trail
In Alicante, they take their rice very seriously. Bomba rice, grown in the wetlands, is the mainstay of every dish, while ingredients change depending on the location. By the coast, expect mussels, Dénia red prawns and tender strips of fresh, grilled squid. Inland, saffron-laced rice comes with rabbit, chicken or snails. Look for arroz a banda, an indigenous Alicante rice dish that’s a little less fancy than paella but just as delicious. Literally “rice on the side”, it’s simmered with fish stock and served as a second course. Whatever the rice dish, be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan; in truly authentic restaurants, you’ll reap the best bit—the socarrat, or caramelised crust.Standing room only
The most authentic tapas bars are the nondescript, perch-at-the-counter joints tucked along back streets and in tiny squares. Tapas began in Alicante as montaditos—morsels placed on rounds of crusty bread, offered free with a glass of wine or beer. The tradition survives on the narrow streets around Alicante’s Town Hall Square, with tiny Meson de Labradores (Calle Labradores 19) dishing out complimentary snacks with drinks. Nearby, Lizarrán Taberna (Rambla Méndez Núñez 18) has a counter with cold montaditos, while hot morsels like salted fish croquettes appear regularly from the kitchen. If you’d prefer to dine at a table, head to Taberna del Gourmet (Calle San Fernando 10) for battered, fried chunks of bacalao (salted cod). Or crunch into toasts topped with house-smoked tuna, duck or broad beans at lively El Palé (Calle Tomás López Torregrosa 13).The wine route
Alicante’s semi-sweet, aged Fondillón was once the wine of kings, and it’s still pretty special. In the city, head to wine shop Vinart (Plaza Gabriel Miró 22), where the expert staff will happily give you an introduction to the variety, made with the native Monastrell (or Mourvèdre) grape, which also produces meaty reds and elegant rosés. Many of the region’s 40-something wineries and vineyards, dotted about the Vinalopó River or to the Marina Alta, are open for tastings and tours, though you often need to call ahead and make an appointment. Alternatively, head to one of the area’s many bodegas to sip wines like Marina Alta, a zesty white, or Tesoro de Villena, a red dessert wine with notes of fig.Sweet stuff
Round off your culinary road trip in Alicante like the most memorable meals—with something sweet. Blossoming almond trees draw photographers and artists to Jijona, a town on the eastern coast, each spring. They also yield the main ingredient of turron, a traditional nougat made with almonds, honey and egg white. Try it in ice cream from Alicante Esplanade’s artisan stalls, or take home a delicious souvenir; La Granadina (Carrer Girona 7) sells turron, renowned Valor chocolates from Villajoyosa, and other, equally unforgettable, tastes of Alicante.Driving rules in Spain
Which side of the road?In Spain, please drive on the right side of the road.
Country driving laws
- Mobile phones may not be used at all whilst driving
- Do not use headphones when driving (except hearing aids)
- Dipped headlights must be used in poor daylight visibility
- Always use indicators, you will be fined for not using indicators when needed
- Cyclists have right of way, at all times
Speed limits
All speed signs will be in km/h.
For a standard Avis rental vehicle with no trailers:
- Urban areas: 50 km/h (31 mph)
- Rural areas: 90 km/h (55 mph)
- Motorways: 120km/h (74mph)
Child safety / Seatbelt laws
- It is compulsory for the driver and all passengers to wear a seatbelt
- Children aged under 12 and less than 135cm tall must be seated in an appropriate child restraint for their size
- Children aged under 12 are not allowed to sit in the front seat
Please note - It is the child’s parent / guardian or vehicle renter’s responsibility to fit the child seat.
This road rules information is for provided for general guidance only. We endeavour to keep the information up to date and accurate, but any reliance you place on this information is at your own risk.