Alicante Airport Information

Alicante (L'Altet) Airport (ALC) is the gateway to the Costa Blanca holiday region of south eastern Spain. Each year millions of tourists pass through the airport terminal building en-route to Benidorm, Calpe, Denia, La Manga, Torrevieja and other popular holiday resorts.

Alicante Airport is located approximately 15 minute drive south of the city of Alicante next to the small coastal town of L'Altet.

Car Rental at Alicante Airport

 Car rental companies with onsite vehicle collection at Alicante Airport are:

• Avis/Budget
• Centauro
• Europcar
• Hertz (including subsidiaries Dollar, Firefly and Thrifty)
• Goldcar (InterRent/Rhodium)
• Record Go
• Sixt

If you have booked a car with one of the companies with onsite offices, proceed to the Arrivals Hall to sign the rental contract. In peak season there are often large queues at the rental desks inside the airport and some companies operate a "check-in" system.

Car collection times for most of the rental companies are 7AM-11PM, but arrangements can be made to collect your car when the office is closed (usually an "out of hours" fee will be applied).

At Alicante Airport the onsite companies operate from a large multi-storey car park accessible via a walkway accessed from the Arrivals hall. It is around a 2-minute walk from the Arrivals hall to the rental car collection area.

Many of the Spanish companies including Dickmans, OK Rent A Car, Solmar and Victoria Cars operate minibus shuttle transfers to their local offices a few minutes from Alicante Airport. The car rental shuttle buses pick up clients from the basement (level -2) from bus stops 1-3.

Rental vehicles are returned to the same rental car park or compound where the vehicle was collected.

The following table shows car rental companies at Alicante Airport including whether an airport transfer is required to the rental company premises:

Rental Company	Airport Office	Airport Collection
Avis / Budget	✔	✔
Centauro	✔	✔
Dickmans	✖	✖  Shuttle Bus
Europcar	✔	✔
Hertz / Dollar / Firefly / Thrifty	✔	✔
Goldcar / InterRent / Rhodium	✔	✔
OK Rent A Car	✖	✖  Shuttle Bus
Record Go	✔	✔
Sixt	✔	✔

CDW Insurance

  All the rental companies at Alicante Airport provide basic CDW insurance by law but there will be an insurance excess in the event of vehicle damage or theft. If you don't have a credit card (or have low credit on the card) paying for the extra insurance is the most viable option as no credit card security deposit is required.

Alternatively, customers may purchase the Third Party AXA insurance offered with the quote which will be cheaper than the high-tier products but require a security deposit with the rental company. Customers must pay in Spain for any damage then claim the cost back from AXA separately.

NOTE: It is worth checking if your credit card insurance covers car hire.

Credit Cards

 Normally a valid credit card must be presented when the car is collected.

If you do not have a credit card, you can rent a car with Goldcar, but only if you purchase their additional Super Relax insurance cover at the desk.

Fuel Stations near Alicante Airport

 There is a Galp fuel station on the N-338 just after Alicante Airport but this is only accessible from the coast side. This means you must drive past the airport, refuel, continue to L'Altet (approx 1.5 km) then turn back onto the N-338 back to the airport. There are fuel stations in L'Altet which is 5-minutes’ drive from the airport.

If you hire a car with a Collect Full/Return Full fuel policy ensure that you refuel close to the airport to avoid a possible Administration Fee. Most companies charge around €25 for vehicles which are returned with missing fuel and you may not discover this until you check your credit card bill.

Alicante Airport Terminal

Alicante Airport has a single terminal building. See a floor plan for Alicante Airport.

Arrivals

 The Arrivals (Llegadas in Spanish) hall at Alicante Airport is on Level 0. After collecting your baggage, you will find yourself in the large arrivals hall which is where the car rental desks are located. The arrivals hall also has a police station, first aid centre, bureau de change, tourist information desk, disability assistance office (sin barreras). There is also a food outlet (ARS) selling bocadillos (sandwiches) and hot and cold drinks and coffee/salad bar (Rodilla).

The onsite car rental companies have rental desks in the Arrivals Hall.

Departures

 The Departures (Salidas in Spanish) hall is located on Level 2. When departing from Alicante Airport, there is a passenger drop-off area located outside the Departures terminal at the entrance of the terminal.

The Departures Hall has a Burger King, Caffriccio's coffee bar and a Relay magazine shop. There is also a Costa Coffee located outside the Departures hall.

Also in the Departures hall is the AENA airport information desk where you will be able to get help with any question about facilities at Alicante Airport.

Duty Free

 Once you have checked in and cleared security, Alicante airport has a large duty-free area with a good range of shops, bars and restaurants.

The duty-free area also has a selection of convenient, albeit rather expensive food bars including a Burger King, Caffe di Fiore, Starbucks and a San Miguel bar. There is also an excellent tapas bar Canas y Tapas which serves excellent value tapas, where 1 person can eat well for around €10.

For a full list of shops and restaurants at Alicante Airport see the AENA website.

There is a Tabacaria on Level -2 near the entrance to the rental car park where prices are cheaper than inside the duty-free area.

Wi-Fi

 There is free wi-fi available for 15 minutes (you pay for longer than this), and there is also a VIP lounge which has food, drink and wi-fi for just over €30 per person.

Transport at Alicante Airport

Taxi

 Taxis are available outside arrivals on Level 0. There are usually plenty of taxis, so waiting should not be an issue. You should expect to pay somewhere around €20 to Alicante Train Station, somewhere between €70 and €85 to Benidorm, and anywhere from €55 to €70 to Torrevieja.

Coaches

If you are on a package holiday, tour operator and charter coaches leave from the basement (level -2).

Bus Services

 The C-6 bus runs every 20 minutes from outside the Arrival Terminal (Level 2) connecting the airport to Alicante centre. There are bus services run by ALSA from the airport to Benidorm, Benitachell, Calpe, Javea, Murcia, Valencia and other locations in the Costa Blanca. The ALSA buses leave from Level 2 outside the Departures Hall.

Train

 There are no train services at Alicante Airport, but you can take a bus or taxi to the Alicante Train station. At Alicante train station, make sure to take the 'Plaza de los Luceros' exit on the airport bus, you can then board a train into a more localized area of Alicante or out into the surrounding resort areas.

Airlines that operate from Alicante Airport

Some of the main airlines operating from the UK to Alicante include Jet2, EasyJet, Ryanair, Monarch, Thomsonfly, Aer Lingus, Flybe, and Air Berlin. Fares will vary in price depending on the time of year, with the highest prices in July and August.

Road Distances from Alicante Airport

 Driving from the airport is very easy and well sign-posted. It takes a couple of minutes to reach the major AP-7 motorway which connects to Alicante, Benidorm and Denia to the north, and Torrevieja and Murcia to the south.

• Alicante 16 km / 10 miles
• Almeria 282 km / 175 miles
• Barcelona 527 km / 327 miles
• Benicassim 260 km / 160 miles
• Benidorm 57 km / 36 miles
• Calpe 50 km / 33 miles
• Cartagena 95 km / 60 miles
• Denia 106 km/ 66 miles
• La Manga 120 km / 75 miles
• Madrid 430 km / 270 miles
• Malaga 470 km / 290 miles
• Mazarron 145 km / 93 miles
• Mojacar 228 km / 141 miles
• Murcia 75 km / 47 miles
• Murcia Airport (Corvera) 100 km / 62 miles
• Torrevieja 61 km / 38 miles
• Valencia (via AP-7) 193 km / 120 miles

Hotels Close to Alicante Airport

 If you arrive on a late-night flight or have to catch an early morning flight from Alicante Airport, the closest hotels are located around 5 minutes from the airport in the small town of L'Altet. There are buses from L'Altet to the airport for around €1.

Hostal Pensimar is basic but offers double rooms with a bathroom for around €40 per night, has underground parking, reasonable Wi-Fi coverage, and the staff are very friendly.

Around 10 minutes by taxi from Alicante airport on the way to Alicante city centre is a group of hotels including Hotel Ibis, Ibis Budget and Holiday Inn Express where you can generally get a room from around €35-50 per night depending on the time of year. Take the C6 bus from outside the arrivals building if you want any of this group of hotels.

If you don't have a car and would like to stay close to the airport, the beach resort of Santa Pola is a good option. Santa Pola is around 13 km from the airport and offers a range of budget hotels such as the reasonably priced Hotel Gran Playa.