Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández Airport to Calpe (Calp)

Heading for the Peñón

From the motorway north of Altea you see it before you see the town: the Peñón de Ifach, a 332-metre limestone rock standing out of the sea at the end of Calpe's two beaches. Calpe (Calp in Valencian) is about 80 km from the airport, past Benidorm and Altea on the AP-7/N-332. By car it takes roughly an hour. By bus it is a long, slow trip with a scenic final stretch, and there are only four departures a day, so the timetable matters more here than on the busier routes.

The four daily Alsa coaches

Alsa line L527, Calp–Altea–Alicante–Aeropuerto, is the only direct public bus. Its timetable is the same every day of the week, including holidays. Coaches leave the airport at 09:00, 12:00, 15:00 and 17:00. They are not express services: each one goes into Alicante first, calling at the bus station (about 20 minutes after leaving the airport) and the ADIF-AVE railway station, then heads north to L'Alfàs del Pi and Altea's TRAM station before reaching Calpe bus station. Arrival is at 10:55, 13:55, 16:55 and 18:55, so just under two hours door to door.

The fare in Alsa's Comunitat Valenciana price list is €11.11 from the airport to Calpe. One standard suitcase travels free in the hold. Buy in the Alsa app or at the airport sales point. Like every long-distance bus here, the L527 boards at the bays on Level 2, the departures floor, so go upstairs from arrivals. If your flight is delayed and you miss the coach on your ticket, Alsa will move you onto its next service without charge within 12 hours. With these gaps, that can still mean a wait of three hours or more.

Shared shuttles

Between the bus and a private car there is the shared minibus. Booking sites sell seats on shuttles that run up the coast and drop at hotels. hoppa lists Calpe from about £29 per person (roughly €32). That is around three times the bus fare, but it takes you to your accommodation and fits around your flight time instead of a fixed timetable. The minibus will usually stop in Benidorm or Altea first, so allow for a longer ride than the motorway time.

Taxis: the honest numbers

Calpe is far enough away that a metered taxi costs serious money. On the meter, Welcome Pickups' summer fare check came out at about €112 by day and €129 at night. Radio Taxi Elche, which holds most of the airport licences, advertises pre-booked fares to Calpe from €110. On the meter, the regional interurban tariff for 2026 is €2.25 plus €1.46 per km on the ordinary rate and €2.80 plus €1.68 on the special rate, with the airport supplement and any AP-7 tolls added. The official cars are white with a green stripe and the Elche crest, and they queue outside arrivals on Level 0.

The case for booking

For a family or two couples, a pre-booked car is easy to justify on this route. The bus timetable leaves long gaps, the shuttle makes stops along the way, and a taxi on the night rate costs more than a fixed fare agreed weeks ahead. On hoppa, a private car to Calpe starts at about £107, call it €122. You know the price, the vehicle size and the child seats before you leave home. Shared four ways, it is about €30 each.

Arriving after five

The 17:00 coach is the last of the day. A flight that lands at 16:30 is cutting it fine once you allow for baggage reclaim. After that time, the options are:

• take the hourly Alsa coach to Benidorm (last departures 23:00 weekdays, 21:00 weekends, €7.99), then a taxi for the remaining 20 km or so;
• take a taxi from the rank straight to Calpe;
• arrange a private car or late shuttle in advance.

From Benidorm, TRAM line 9 continues up the coast through Altea to Calpe. Check the TRAM d'Alacant timetable for late services, as frequencies fall in the evening.

Once you are there

Calpe bus station is a short taxi ride from the Arenal-Bol and La Fossa beaches below the rock. If you are staying in the villa areas on the hills behind town, you will want a taxi or a car for the last part either way. In summer, the climb up the Peñón needs a free permit from the natural park, so book it early if it is part of your plan.