Campervan Hire Alicante — 2027 Guide: Costa Blanca, Guadalest and Winter by the Sea

Alicante is the capital of the Costa Blanca and one of the sunniest places on the Spanish coast. From here a motorhome reaches the cliffs and coves of the northern coast, the mountain villages of the interior or the salt lagoons to the south, towards Murcia, within an hour. Most motorhomes here are on the road in winter, when guests from northern Europe come for mild days by the sea. This guide covers three directions with distances and drive times, plus our motorhomes with pickup near Alicante.

Pickup in Sax and Alicante itself

Both our motorhomes are picked up in Sax, a small town with a castle on a rock, about 45 km north-west of Alicante on the A-31 motorway (around 35 minutes' drive). From there the coast is less than an hour away, and Villena with its Atalaya castle is only about 10 km further.

In Alicante, Mount Benacantil with the Santa Bárbara castle rises above Postiguet beach; a lift, entered through a tunnel opposite the beach, goes up to the top. Below the castle lies the old Santa Cruz quarter with white houses and stairways, and by the port runs the Explanada de España promenade with its wave-patterned tile mosaic. In late June the city celebrates the Hogueras de San Juan, when large figures are burned in the squares on the night of 24 June.

North: the coast to Dénia (3–5 days)

• Altea (about 55 km from Alicante, 45 minutes): a white old town on a hill with the blue domes of its church; you enter it on foot.
• Calpe (Calp) (about 65 km, 50 minutes): the Peñón de Ifach rock rises straight out of the sea at the end of town, and flamingos are often seen in the Las Salinas salt lake just behind the beach.
• Jávea (Xàbia) (about 90 km, 1 hour 10 minutes): a bay below the Montgó massif, between the capes of Cap de la Nau and Cabo de San Antonio, with viewpoints over the sea.
• Dénia (about 95 km, 1 hour 15 minutes): a castle above the port, the rocky Les Rotes coast south of town and red prawns (gamba roja) as the local speciality.

The loop Sax – Alicante – Altea – Calpe – Jávea – Dénia and back to Sax is about 290 km; with stops and overnight stays allow three to five days.

Inland: Fuentes del Algar, Guadalest and Xàtiva (2–3 days)

• Fuentes del Algar (about 60 km from Alicante, 1 hour): waterfalls and pools of the Algar river near Callosa d'en Sarrià; there is an entrance fee.
• Guadalest (about 15 km further, 20 minutes): a village below the remains of a castle on a rock, above a turquoise reservoir. The road is winding, but tour coaches drive up to the village every day.
• Xàtiva (about 105 km from Alicante on the A-7 via Alcoy, 1 hour 15 minutes; about 70 km from Sax): the town the Borgia family came from, with a historic centre below its castle. It fits well on the first or last day, as it is closer to Sax than to Alicante.

South: Elche, Torrevieja, Murcia and Cartagena (3–5 days)

• Elche (Elx) (about 25 km from Alicante, 25 minutes): the Palmeral, a palm grove in the middle of the city, is on the UNESCO World Heritage list.
• Santa Pola (about 20 km): the salt pans of the natural park with flamingos; boats leave the port for the small island of Tabarca.
• Torrevieja (about 50 km, 40 minutes): two salt lagoons, one of them pink.
• Murcia (about 80 km, 1 hour): a cathedral with a baroque façade and an old town by the Segura river. See the motorhome page for Murcia.
• Cartagena (about 110 km, 1 hour 15 minutes): a Roman theatre uncovered beneath the old town, and east of the city the Calblanque park with undeveloped beaches.

The loop Sax – Elche – Santa Pola – Torrevieja – Cartagena – Murcia – Sax is about 330 km.

Winter: the main motorhome season

From November to March motorhomers from northern Europe come to the coast around Alicante and stay for weeks or months. The area is one of the driest on the Spanish coast, so rainy days are rare. In late January and February almond trees blossom in the Vall de Laguar and Vall de Gallinera valleys, behind Dénia and Jávea. Sax lies inland, higher above sea level than the coast, so winter nights there are colder than by the sea.

Where you may and may not spend the night in a motorhome, and how áreas de autocaravanas work, is explained in our guide Spain by motorhome — overnight parking and camping. If you are continuing north, routes around Valencia and the Albufera are in our Valencia campervan hire guide.

Motorhomes in Alicante through Crystalium Booker

• CI Horon 84M: a 7.40 m overcab motorhome for up to 5 people, with five sleeping places (at the rear two single beds or a 200 × 220 cm king-size bed), automatic gearbox, swivelling cab seats, shower, solar panels and air conditioning.
• CI 65XT: a 7.40 m profiled motorhome for up to 4 people, with a 150 cm island bed and a 135 cm drop-down bed, 165 hp diesel engine, automatic gearbox, awning and air conditioning.

Both have a two-burner kitchen, a fridge with freezer, 100 L fresh and 100 L grey water tanks, a large heated garage, a second lithium battery, a reversing camera, and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Hire costs from €100 a day in low season (minimum 3 days, 200 km per day included), €130 in mid season and €160 in July and August, with unlimited kilometres. Sheets and towels are €10 per person, pets are allowed, and the security deposit is €900 (€500 with a one-off payment of €100).

Booking works like this: you send us an enquiry with your dates and number of people, we check the dates with the owner, you pay us the reservation, and you pay the rest to the owner on the day you pick up the motorhome.

You will find all motorhomes in this area on the motorhomes in Alicante page. For questions about a route or dates, get in touch via our contact page. Do you rent out a motorhome on the Costa Blanca? List it with us.