Renting a van in Alicante: a practical guide

To rent a van in Alicante, a valid category B licence is enough: the removal and delivery vans rented out to private individuals stay below the maximum mass above which a category C licence would be required. What really decides whether the rental goes well is not the licence but three details: the size you choose, the deposit they hold, and the small print of the insurance.

Renting from a local agency, or directly from a private owner, usually costs considerably less than hiring a removal firm with staff, and it lets you set your own timings. In exchange, you do the lifting. This guide covers what is worth settling before you book: requirements, size and height clearance, access to the city centre, deposit and insurance.

What they will ask for at the counter

The legal requirement is simple: a category B driving licence, valid and in force in Spain. Beyond that, each agency adds its own conditions, and that is where nearly all the scope for surprises sits. If the driver is not the person paying, say so when you book: it is a classic cause of an argument at the counter and of a rental collapsing at the last minute at Alicante-Elche airport.

• A valid category B licence; if it was issued outside the European Union, ask whether an international permit is also required.
• A minimum licence age and a minimum driver age: these vary from agency to agency and may bring a young-driver surcharge.
• A bank card in the main driver's name for the deposit; many agencies will not take cash or prepaid cards for that hold.
• A second driver named in writing on the contract: if the name is not there, the insurance may not respond.
• Check that the vehicle has a valid ITV, the Spanish roadworthiness test, and that the reflective jacket is reachable from the cab, not buried under the load.

What size of van you actually need

The temptation is to take the biggest one just in case. In Alicante that is almost always a mistake, because the problem is rarely that the move does not fit: the problem is that you do not fit down a car park ramp or along a street in the old town. Do the sum backwards. Think about the two or three largest items you have to move, think about where you will load and where you will unload, and pick the smallest size step that satisfies both. If you are torn and you need an underground car park, take the smaller one and make two trips.

Height clearance, the old town and low-emission zones

Before booking, note the overall height of the van you are offered — the agency has it on the vehicle record — and compare it with the headroom sign at the car park you intend to use. In Alicante, the underground car parks in the centre and around the Explanada have height limits that are comfortable for a car and flatly impossible for a high-roof van. The same goes for the Casco Antiguo and Santa Cruz, where width, gradients and bollards matter more than metres of load space. If you are loading in the centre, find a loading bay and respect its hours; in the paid blue zone there is a maximum stay.

The other thing that changes often is low-emission zones. Several Spanish cities restrict vehicles from entering according to the DGT environmental sticker (0, ECO, C, B, or no sticker), and the rules, the list of municipalities and the penalty regime are amended frequently. The mechanism is always the same: the sticker determines whether the vehicle may enter, drive or park inside a defined perimeter, and in some municipalities the number plate has to be registered in advance. Check which sticker the van carries, and consult the DGT website and that of the town hall where you are heading. Do not assume what you read last year still holds.

Driving the van along the Costa Blanca

A loaded van brakes worse, sways on slip roads and feels the coastal wind far more than a car does. Leave more distance, enter roundabouts slowly — on a roundabout, traffic already on the ring has priority — and remember that at junctions priority is whatever the signs establish. To get up to Benidorm, down to Elche or across to the Marina Alta you have tolled motorways, the ones prefixed AP-, and free high-capacity roads, the ones prefixed A-; tolls are paid by card or with a VIA-T electronic toll device, so ask whether the van has one fitted.

• General limits for cars: 120 km/h on motorways and dual carriageways, and 90 km/h on ordinary roads outside built-up areas.
• In towns: 50 km/h on roads with two or more lanes per direction, 30 km/h on roads with a single lane per direction, and 20 km/h on single-surface streets shared with pedestrians.
• Some categories of goods vehicle have their own limits: check with the DGT which one applies to the van you are renting.
• Alcohol limit: 0.5 g/L in blood; 0.3 g/L for novice drivers with less than two years of licence and for professional drivers.
• A reflective jacket reachable from the cab. The emergency warning system is in transition in Spain: check with the DGT what the vehicle must carry.

Local agency, private owner or removal firm

The three options solve different problems. A removal firm with staff takes the physical work and much of the responsibility off your hands, and it is the sensible choice if you are moving a whole house with heavy furniture and no lift. Renting and driving yourself works out considerably cheaper and gives you freedom over timings, which in summer, with the Costa Blanca full and low-cost flights unloading people at all hours, is worth a great deal. Between the two ways of renting, an independent Alicante agency tends to give you direct contact and local knowledge; a private owner may have exactly the van you need for one weekend.

This is where a marketplace like DRIVO helps. It brings together local, independent rental agencies and private owners across Europe and North Africa. The price is shown in full before you pay, with the DRIVO service fee on its own line; you see the security deposit and what the rental includes before you book; confirmation is instant; and cancellation is free up to 48 hours before pick-up, with the service fee refunded both when you cancel free of charge and when the agency cancels. If you want to bring the excess down, there is an optional full-protection add-on at checkout. Listings and support are in five languages — English, French, Spanish, Italian and Arabic — and you can write in over WhatsApp or from the app. Beyond cars, the catalogue covers vans and utility vehicles, motorhomes and campervans where local supply exists.

Questions worth asking before you book

1. 1What is the van's overall height, and which DGT environmental sticker does it carry?
2. 2How much deposit is held, on which card, and when is it released?
3. 3What is the insurance excess, and which parts are excluded (roof, underside, tyres, glass)?
4. 4Is the mileage capped, and what happens if I go over?
5. 5How is the fuel tank handled on return, and who pays for refuelling?
6. 6Can I leave the province or the country, and can I add a second driver?