Costa Blanca: Getting there & around

Alicante's El Altet Airport (tel: 96 691 91 00), gateway to the Costa Blanca, is served by budget airlines, charters and scheduled flights from all over Europe.

Two cut-price operators, both with offices at Alicante airport, are Servitour (tel: 96 568 26 42; www.servitour.es) and V. Travel 2000 (tel: 96 691 94 60), which also calls itself Goflightline.

Over 10 motorway buses run daily between Alicante's bus station (tel: 96 513 07 00) and Valencia (2.75hr). There are also regular bus services to Madrid (4.25hr).

From the main Renfe Estación de Madrid (Avenida de Salamanca) there are services to Murcia (1.5hr) via Orihuela and Elche, Valencia (2hr) via Villena and Xàtiva, Madrid (3.75hr) and Barcelona (5hr).

Several buses departing from Alicante's main bus station pass through Costa Blanca coastal towns such as Benidorm (1hr).

Rail is another convenient way to get around the region, with popular towns like Alicante, Benidorm, Gandia and Denia all on RENFE or FGV routes.

Ferrocarriles de la Generalitat Valenciana (FGV) (tel: 900 720472) has a tram and narrow-gauge train service, the trenet (little train), which follows a stunning coastal route. A tram (every half-hour) runs northwards as far El Campello, where the trenet takes over. It runs to Denia via Playa de San Juan, Benidorm and Calpe.

Hiring a car is probably best done from one of the larger cities, such as Alicante, where there are some reliable and economical local car-hire companies operating from the airport.