Alicante Airport to Benidorm: bus, tram or book ahead?

Alicante Airport sees more package holiday traffic than almost any other in Spain, and a huge share of it is headed straight for Benidorm. The two are about 45 km apart, which on the AP-7 motorway is a 35 to 45 minute drive — longer if you land during the Saturday changeover rush, when half the plane seems to be going to the same hotel.

There are two public transport routes worth knowing, and they're genuinely different trips. ALSA runs a handful of direct coaches a day straight from the terminal to Benidorm — cheap and simple, but the timetable won't line up with every flight. The other option is the airport bus into Alicante city, followed by the TRAM, the coastal light rail that runs right along the Costa Blanca through Benidorm to Dénia. It's slower and involves a change, but it's frequent, runs late, and the stretch along the coast is honestly one of the better views you'll get on any airport transfer in Spain.

Taxis are easy to find outside arrivals, metered, and fine for the trip — just expect a queue in peak summer weeks, when flights land in clusters and everyone's heading the same direction at once.

For families or groups with cases, a pre-booked transfer removes the guesswork: fixed price agreed before you land, driver waiting with a board, no connection to make at Alicante's bus station with four suitcases in tow. Shared shuttles work out cheaper per head if there are a few of you going to hotels on a similar stretch of the Benidorm seafront.

Rule of thumb: travelling light with a flexible afternoon, the TRAM is a genuinely nice way to arrive. Landing late, travelling as a family, or just done with connections after a flight, book a transfer and skip the station altogether.