Why hire a car in Benidorm
Benidorm's own seafront — Levante and Poniente beaches, the old town headland, the promenade lined with high-rises — is entirely walkable, and the local bus network covers the town well. A car makes little difference if you're planning to just stay put by the pool. But Benidorm's real advantage as a base is the Costa Blanca around it, and that's where a hire car earns its keep. The mountain village of Guadalest, with its castle perched over a turquoise reservoir, is about 25 km inland and has no practical public transport connection. Altea's whitewashed old town and Calpe's Peñón de Ifach rock are both under 20 minutes up the coast, and inland towns like Polop and Finestrat give a completely different, quieter side of the province.
Because Benidorm has no airport of its own, every visitor arrives via Alicante-Elche (ALC), about 60 km south. That drive along the AP-7 toll motorway takes under an hour and sets the tone for the rest of the stay: renting from the airport means you can detour to Villajoyosa's colourful fishing harbour or Alicante's Santa Bárbara castle on the way in, rather than treating the transfer as dead time. For a weeklong Costa Blanca trip, having the car from day one beats booking day trips separately once you've already checked into a hotel.
