Car hire at 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.
 

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.