Alicante Airport Car Hire Pickup

There are three common ways to collect a hire car at Alicante Airport: direct handover, a terminal desk, or a shuttle to an off-airport depot. They all work, but they are not equally quick.

The simplest option is online check-in followed by a professional handover. Your paperwork is completed before the flight, a representative meets you at the agreed point, and the car is prepared for you with a full tank. You take the keys and leave. There is no rental-desk queue and no counter conversation about extra insurance or a last-minute car upgrade.

Direct handover is the quickest option

Direct handover works because the slow part happens before you travel. During online check-in, you provide the driver and identity details that would otherwise be entered at a counter. The local team can then prepare the contract, car and collection around your arrival.

Done properly, this is faster than finding a desk inside the terminal. The representative already knows who you are and which car you booked. There is no list of insurance products or upgrades to work through while your luggage waits beside you.

For the documents and checks to complete before flying, use our Spain car hire pickup checklist.

Terminal desks are easy, not always quick

Traditional on-airport operators have desks in the arrivals hall on floor 0. They are clearly signed and easy to use. Aena keeps a current list of car hire operators at Alicante Airport.

Easy to find does not mean faster. At busy times, several flights can feed the same counter queue. When you reach the desk, there may still be document checks, card authorisation and offers for extra cover or a different car. You then continue to the supplier's area in the parking building to collect the keys or vehicle.

RentaCarBestPrice does not operate through these terminal desks. Our direct handover is separate, so do not join an airport rental queue if your confirmation tells you where to meet our representative.

Shuttle pickup is fine, but slower

Off-airport suppliers use courtesy minibuses to take customers to a nearby depot. This can be a perfectly reasonable option, especially when the price is strong, but it adds another stage after landing.

You need to reach the correct shuttle stop, wait for the bus, load the luggage, travel to the depot and then complete collection there. The transfer itself may be short; waiting for the next departure is the variable. Allow more time than you would for direct handover.

Use the meeting point and phone number in the supplier's current instructions. “Airport car hire” in a search result does not tell you whether the car is in the terminal car park or at a shuttle depot.

Compare the whole pickup, not one price

The collection method is only one part of the offer. Check what happens when you reach the car:

• Is the cover already included, or will the desk try to sell more?
• Is there a large credit-card deposit hold?
• Does the car arrive full under a fair full-to-full fuel policy?
• Is the booked price still the price after collection?

These differences are where a cheap headline rate can become an expensive pickup. Read more about insurance pressure and fuel-policy traps at Spanish airports and how car rental deposit holds work in Spain.

For the quickest route from baggage reclaim to the road, choose online check-in and direct handover. Compare current options for car hire at Alicante Airport.

Last checked: August 2026.