Getting Around Alicante
Alicante's hotels recorded about 2.27 million overnight stays in 2025, 69% of them by guests from abroad, according to INE's hotel survey. Its fairground is outside the city: IFA stands on the N-340 between Alicante and Elche, next to the airport, reached from exit 22 of the A-7. A hotel in town and a stand at IFA are about 13 km apart, on the airport side of the city.
Alicante Terminal, the main station, is in the city centre. AVE trains from Madrid take about 2 hours 20 minutes, calling at Cuenca, Albacete and Villena on the way, according to the University of Alicante. Include your train details and arrival time when booking so we can arrange your pickup at the station.
For a fair day, hourly service can replace several separate bookings: one chauffeur and one vehicle stay with you for the hours you reserve, from the start address to the end address you name, and the plan for the day goes with the booking. It suits exhibitors and visitors with a full day of meetings at IFA and in Alicante.
Under Alicante's low-emission ordinance, only the Casco Antiguo, the old quarter below the Santa Bárbara castle, has permanent restrictions: cameras watch the entrances, and only residents and people with a home or garage there may drive in. Send us the full address at booking, and we will say how close to it the car can get.
Airport Transfers in Alicante
Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández Airport is about 10 km south-west of the city, between El Altet and Torrellano; allow 15 to 25 minutes for the drive. It is also the fair's airport: IFA is a few minutes from the terminal, so an exhibitor flying in can go straight from arrivals to the halls.
The road out of the centre joins the A-70 ring and the N-338 airport link. With a distance this short, the hour of the day sets where your journey falls within that range. Journey times vary with traffic and weather.
Book with your flight number: your chauffeur monitors your flight and adjusts the pickup if your arrival time changes. Your booking confirmation shows where to meet the chauffeur. Leaving Alicante, allow for the drive to the airport when choosing your pickup time: 15 to 25 minutes from central Alicante, longer at peak hours. You set the pickup time yourself, and the confirmation shows it.
Long-Distance & Multi-City Travel from Alicante
Alicante can be the start or the end of a Costa Blanca trip. Valencia, about 180 km north on the A-31 and A-7, is a city visit of its own or the next leg of a coastal tour. Murcia, about 80 km south-west on the A-7, and Cartagena, about 125 km, can each be done in a day with a return in the evening. One booking covers each run, from your Alicante hotel to the address you name at the other end, with the same chauffeur throughout.
Madrid is about 420 km inland by the A-31 and A-3, a journey of several hours by road. It is booked in the same way, from address to address, with the time of your appointment in Madrid as the fixed point.
Shorter moves can also be part of a holiday. Elche is about 30 km away and Villajoyosa about 35 km along the coast, close enough for a change of hotel halfway through a stay without losing a day to it.
Groups & Congress Travel in Alicante
Some groups arrive in Alicante by sea. The city council expected about 250,000 cruise passengers on 104 calls in 2025, and some ships start and finish their cruises here. When, for example, a ship begins its voyage in Alicante, its passengers come to the port with full luggage from the airport or a hotel, and they leave the same way at the end.
An organiser can keep the whole arrangement in one account, and every transfer within it is booked and confirmed separately from the others: exhibitors from the airport to IFA, a cruise party from the terminal to the airport, and hotel guests heading into town for an evening event. Where a group moves together, a Sprinter van carries up to 12 people with their bags, and bigger groups go by coach, with up to 56 seats.
The dates to book early are the Hogueras de San Juan in June, the city's official fiestas and a Fiesta of International Tourist Interest, the international fairs at IFA in March and October, and the summer months. Local vehicles and drivers are booked up early for those dates. If your plans go beyond a standard booking, write to support with the dates, addresses, number of passengers, flights and luggage, and the team will arrange it.
