Hiring a car gives you freedom on holiday. But it also means visiting a car hire company, paying a deposit, finding a place to park, and finding someone to drive during your trips.

Fortunately, there are places where you can get by perfectly well without a car.

I’ve picked out 7 European destinations where you can get from the airport to the beaches and on day trips using public transport. These aren’t just towns with a single beach and a bus that runs twice a day. I’ve visited all these places myself and tried out the transport options.

A quick comparison

Destination	Why choose it	Biggest drawback
Málaga	Best overall	Longer journeys between more distant resorts
Tenerife	Best for a year-round holiday	It’s harder to explore the interior without a car
Alicante	coastline connected by tram	the tram doesn’t run directly to the airport
Barcelona	The best city with its own beaches	extreme crowds in summer
Nice	coastal train trips	higher prices and pebble beaches
Naples	islands, the city and the coast	long journeys
Rhodes	the easiest Greek island to get around without a car	poor connections to remote areas
Corfu	plenty of beaches accessible by bus	buses run to some beaches only 1–2 times a day

💬 Do you have a tip for a destination where you managed to spend your entire holiday without a car? Share it in the comments below the article.

1. Málaga – the clear winner

If I had to pick just one place from the whole list, it would be Málaga and the Costa del Sol.

A train stops right outside the airport terminal, taking you to the centre of Málaga and the main resorts of Torremolinos, Benalmádena and Fuengirola.

The train is connected to frequent bus services to other destinations along the coast. You can also reach Marbella, Estepona, Nerja and many smaller resorts without a car.

👉 Transport from the airport: How to get from Málaga Airport to the city and the resorts

The biggest advantage is the huge choice of different types of holiday:

• Málaga – a historic city, restaurants and city beaches
• Torremolinos – long beaches close to the airport
• Benalmádena – beaches, a harbour and plenty of options for day trips
• Fuengirola – a classic seaside resort with a long promenade
• Nerja – a smaller town with a more rugged coastline

From Málaga or the seaside resorts, you can also take public transport to Ronda, Granada and other towns in Andalusia.

A car is useful for trips to smaller mountain villages or secluded beaches. However, you won’t need one for the typical combination of swimming, visiting towns and a few day trips.

You’ll find more tips in the guide to Málaga and in the section ‘Where to stay in Málaga’.

2. Tenerife – the best year-round holiday without a car

Tenerife is a good choice, especially at a time of year when it’s too cold on most European beaches.

Buses run from the southern airport to Los Cristianos, Playa de las Américas and Costa Adeje. These three resorts are practically on top of one another, and you can easily get between them on foot or by local bus during your stay.

👉 Transport from the airport: How to get from Tenerife TFS Airport to the resorts

For a car-free holiday, I’d mainly choose between these places:

• Los Cristianos – a harbour, beaches and good bus links
• Playa de las Américas – a bustling resort with a long promenade
• Costa Adeje – well-maintained beaches and a wide choice of hotels

You can also take the bus to Santa Cruz, Puerto de la Cruz or some of the starting points for day trips. 

However, Tenerife has two very different sides to it. You don’t need a car for a beach holiday or a few standard day trips.

If you want to drive into the mountains, to viewpoints and to remote parts of the island every day, it makes sense to hire a car for at least part of your stay.

You can find further information in the Tenerife guide and in the section ‘Where to stay in Tenerife’.

3. Alicante – the entire coastline accessible by tram

Alicante isn’t as well known as Barcelona or Málaga, but it’s ideal for a self-guided holiday without a car.

There is a bus from the airport to the centre of Alicante, as well as direct buses to some of the larger resorts. From the city, trams then run along the Costa Blanca.

👉 Transport from the airport: How to get from Alicante Airport to the city and the resorts

You can take the tram to places such as the long San Juan beach, El Campello, Villajoyosa or Benidorm.

You can therefore stay right in Alicante and head to a different beach every day, or choose one of the seaside resorts along the route.

Where should I stay?

• Alicante city centre – restaurants, city life and Postiguet Beach
• Playa de San Juan – a long beach and quick links to the city centre
• El Campello – a quieter seaside base
• Benidorm – a large resort with all the amenities
• Find a hotel on the Costa Blanca by location

4. Barcelona – the best purely urban beach destination

Barcelona is the best choice if you don’t want to have to choose between exploring the city and swimming in the sea.

You can get from the airport to the city by train, underground or bus.

👉 Transport from the airport: How to get from Barcelona Airport to the city centre

To get to Barceloneta, the most famous beach, take the R2 train directly from the airport to France station, from where it’s a 10-minute walk to the sea.

Barcelona has one major drawback: it gets extremely crowded during the peak summer season. Expect crowds in the city centre, on public transport and at the most famous beaches.

I would therefore recommend it mainly for a shorter holiday, during which you want to mix sightseeing and restaurant visits with a few hours by the sea. For a quiet week on the beach, Málaga, Alicante or one of the Greek islands are better options.

Before you go, read the guide to Barcelona and the section on where to stay in Barcelona.

5. Nice – The French Riviera by train

Nice is one of the best places in Europe for a car-free holiday.

A tram will take you from the airport to the city centre, and regional trains run along the entire length of the French Riviera.

👉 Transport from the airport: How to get from Nice Airport to the city centre and along the coast

In one direction, you can head to Antibes, Juan-les-Pins or Cannes. In the opposite direction lie Villefranche-sur-Mer, Monaco, Menton and Ventimiglia in Italy.

This means you can visit a different town or beach practically every day and return to the same hotel in the evening.

6. Naples – the city, the islands and the coast

Naples itself isn’t a classic beach destination. However, it’s a great base for exploring the islands, Sorrento and the coast of the Gulf of Naples.

There is a bus service from the airport to the main railway station and the harbour.

👉 Transport from the airport: How to get from Naples Airport to the city centre and the port

From the port, you can continue by boat to:

• Ischia
• Capri
• Procida

All three islands have a fairly good bus service.

A local train runs from Naples Central Station via Pompeii to Sorrento. From there, buses and boats continue further along the coast.

You can find more tips in the guide to Naples and in the section ‘Where to stay in Naples’.

7. Rhodes – the easiest Greek island to explore without a car

On many Greek islands, travelling without a car limits you to a single resort. Rhodes is much easier in this respect.

Buses run from the airport to Rhodes Town and directly to the resort of Faliraki.

From there, you can take buses to all the main resorts.

👉 Transport from the airport: How to get from Rhodes Airport to the city and the resorts

For a car-free holiday, I’d mainly choose:

• Rhodes Town – sights, town beaches and the main transport hub,
• Faliraki – beaches, hotels and good connections across the island,
• Lindos – a beautiful historic town and several beaches,
• Ialyssos or Ixia – easy transport to the airport and the capital.

The best bus connections are between Rhodes Town and the tourist resorts on the east coast. Public transport may be significantly more limited for hotels in the remote south of the island.

Before you set off, have a look at the Rhodes guide and the section on ‘Where to stay in Rhodes’.

8. Corfu – a wide selection of beaches accessible by bus

Corfu also has a bus network that is surprisingly well-organised by Greek standards.

A city bus runs from the airport to the centre of Kerkyra and to the main intercity bus station.

From there, services continue to resorts and beaches all over the island.

👉 Transport from the airport: How to get from Corfu Airport to the town and resorts

Without a car, you can get to places such as:

• Paleokastritsa
• Sidari
• Kassiopi
• Acharavi
• Benitses

The best base for day trips is Corfu Town, from where most bus routes depart. For a classic beach holiday, however, it is more practical to choose one of the larger resorts with a direct connection to the town.

You can find more information in the Corfu guide and in the section ‘Where to stay in Corfu’.

Which destination should I choose?

For the widest choice of beaches, resorts and day trips, I’d choose Málaga.

In winter or early spring, I’d go to Tenerife.

For a combination of city life and swimming, I’d choose Barcelona, ideally outside the peak summer season.

For a car-free holiday in Greece, Rhodes is the easier option. Corfu offers a more varied landscape and a wide selection of beautiful beaches, but requires more careful planning.

For day trips by train, Nice is the best choice, whilst Naples is ideal for combining a city break with visits to the islands.

What about Rome, Rimini or Pescara?

These cities can also be explored without a car, but I haven’t included them in my top eight.

From Rome, you can easily reach the coast at Ostia by train. However, I wouldn’t choose Rome as a classic beach destination, but rather as a combination of a few days sightseeing and a shorter stay by the sea.

Rimini and Pescara have easy connections from the airport and long beaches right in the city centre. Compared to Málaga, Alicante or Nice, however, they offer fewer varied day trips and their beaches tend to be very crowded in summer.

Perhaps you’ve had a different experience. Which destination would you add to the list? And where, on the other hand, did the promise of a car-free holiday not actually work out? Let us know in the comments below the article. Your first-hand experiences with local transport will help other travellers too.