Getting around Alicante
The airport is about 25 minutes from the Explanada, and the centre is walkable
- From the airport
- C-6 bus, 24 h, about €4.70
- City transport
- TRAM and bus €1.50 a ride
- To Madrid
- AVE 2 h 23–2 h 35
Alicante needs one bus and a pair of feet: the C-6 from the airport, then walking, and everything else is optional. The airport bus drops you beside the Explanada, the centre is compact enough to cross on foot, and the TRAM and the trains are for the beach and the day trips. Here are the stops, the lines and the way up to the castle.
The C-6 bus
The C-6 leaves from the ground floor of the terminal, at the stop marked Bus Alicante C-6, and the ride takes about 25 minutes, a little more in traffic. It runs 24 hours a day, often by day and less often at night, and since 1 June 2026 it has made 92 trips a day, up from 80. You pay the driver in cash or by card, and the fare is about €4.70. Stops in the city are Puerta del Mar by the Explanada, MARQ–Castillo, Mercado–El Sabio, Luceros and Estación–Salamanca, which is the bus station. Get off at Puerta del Mar for the old town and the castle, and at Luceros for the TRAM. City bus vouchers are not accepted on this line. A taxi rank stands outside the arrivals hall and the meter runs, but the bus is the plainer choice for one or two people with a rucksack.
Check the same room on both sites: price and cancellation terms can differ.
The TRAM and city buses
The city runs a joint fare for the TRAM and the bus, €1.50 a ride, and children under 14 travel free. Line 1 starts at Luceros and heads north to Benidorm, with 20 stops, Villajoyosa as the 14th and Terra Mítica next to last, and the whole trip takes about an hour. Treat the TRAM as a machine for the beach and the coast, because the centre needs none. Line 3 serves the beach of San Juan at the Costa Blanca stop, while lines 4 and 5 meet at Plaza la Coruña. The MARQ–Castillo stop, served by lines 1 to 4, is a five to ten minute walk from Postiguet beach. From Luceros the TRAM reaches La Almadraba in about 15 minutes. A ticket for the longer rides is multi-zone, and the machine shows the price.
Lift, path or shuttle
Three ways go up. The lift starts on Avenida Juan Bautista Lafora, directly across from Postiguet beach, and costs €2.70. It was out of service from 12 to 16 January 2026 while the machinery was modernised. Do not build the whole afternoon around it. The alternatives are two paths of about half an hour on foot, one starting at the Town Hall and winding through the old quarter, the other from Postiguet beach, and a minibus that runs every 40 minutes from Puerta del Mar, the Postiguet footbridge and Plaza Gómez Ulla. A car is no help here. There is no parking at the castle, only a drop-off point on Calle Vázquez de Mella, and the nearest lots are at La Ereta and at the MARQ. If you go up in the last hours of light, take the lift up and the path down, because the wind that closes the castle closes the path with it.
Elche and Madrid
The C-1 Cercanías train leaves Alicante-Terminal for Elche and takes about 30 minutes for the 19 to 21 km, with 20 or 21 trains a day. It calls at two stations in Elche, Elche-Parc and Elche/Elx Carrús. The same station sends the AVE to Madrid in 2 h 23 to 2 h 35, with 15 to 17 direct trains a day run by Renfe, Iryo and Ouigo, which makes Madrid an easy morning departure and not a day of travel. In Madrid, Renfe uses Atocha, and Ouigo and Iryo use Chamartín.
Where to next
Nomadinho scores out of 100, the same ones behind “Where to go”.
If you like Alicante
Three places with the closest scores, from any country.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
Do you need a taxi from Alicante airport?
Not usually. The C-6 bus runs round the clock and reaches the centre in about 25 minutes, so a taxi only pays off with heavy luggage or at an hour when waiting is a burden. The rank is outside the arrivals hall, and the meter runs.
Does the C-6 bus run at night?
Yes, 24 hours a day, though less often than by day. Since 1 June 2026 it makes 92 trips a day, and the fare goes to the driver.
How do you get to San Juan beach without a car?
By TRAM line 3 to the Costa Blanca stop, or by bus. The beach lies about 10 km from the centre, so count on a proper ride and not on a stroll. The beach is long, about three kilometres, and the tram stop is the easiest way to reach it with no car.
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