Alicante's El Altet airport is situated 9 km from the city centre on the main A7 motorway that runs along the Costa Blanca coast. It serves mainly domestic flights, as well as a large number of charter flights from the rest of Europe. The centre of Alicante can be reached by taxi, which would cost around 20 euros, or a regular bus service, the C6, which costs 1.20 euros.

Aeropuerto Internacional de Alicante

03071 Elche

Alicante

Tel: 96 691 9000

www.aena.es/csee/Satellite?pagename=Aeropuerto_ALC

Domestic flights are operated by Iberia and Spanair. Some scheduled services from other European cities are operated by carriers such as British Airways, KLM and Lufthansa and most of the major charter airlines and holiday companies have regular charter flights to the city, especially during the busier summer season.

The only direct transatlantic service is to Bogota in Colombia, revealing the high number of Colombians living in the area. Other international flights from outside of Europe connect through Madrid or Barcelona. Flights take around 2 1/2 hours from northern Europe, 8-9 hours from the US east coast and around 24 hours from Sydney (not including lay-overs).

The main roads passing through Alicante are the A-7 motorway, which links Cadiz in western Andalusia to Tarragona in the northern community of Catalunia. There is also a toll motorway, the AP-7, that runs along the entire mediterranean coast from the French border to Andalusia, passing through cities such as Barcelona, Valencia and Malaga. The toll roads are usually quiet as many locals refuse to pay for their use. The price of the 180km drive from Valencia to Alicante, for example, will cost 13 euros in toll charges. The AP-7 also has the most expensive petrol stations in Spain, averaging 3 cents more expensive per litre. The A-31 links Alicante with the capital Madrid 254km away.

Train services are regular and relatively cheap. The national train service is operated by Renfe, www.renfe.es, which links Alicante with all the major towns and cities in the country, with trains arriving at the city's Avda de Salamanca, 03005 Alicante, telephone 902 240202. Travelling from Madrid takes around 4 hours, and almost 5 hours from Barcelona and costs between 40 and 50 euros.

Of course the port of Alicante is the city's lifeblood, and the port is linked to the nearby Spanish Balearic Islands, as well as being a regular stop off for many cruise liners. Daily ferries run from the port to Ibiza and Majorca in the Balearics, and Oran in the northern African country of Morocco.