If you will be visiting Alicante and looking for the best place to exchange your foreign currency in the city of Spain, your best bet would be finding a money changer in the city center as exchange rates at the airport and train station are not good. What money changers operate in Alicante and how good currency exchange rates are they offering?
Money Changers in Alicante
Alicante Train Station known as Alacant Terminal is centrally located and has a money changer operating there. However, currency exchange rates offered by Exact Change at Alicante Railway Station are far from being competitive as you are losing about 20% of your money when exchanging your foreign currency here. For a detailed report check Currency Exchange at Alicante Train Station.
Luckily, you don't need to go far from Alacant Terminal to get a decent exchange rate for your foreign currency. Right after leaving the train station terminal building via the main entrance, you can easily spot a big sign "Change" on another side of the street.
While the office of the money changer representing SuperQuick looks more like a small supermarket with various goods such as ice-cream, cold drinks and other stuff on display, currency exchange rates offered here are much more competitive than at the station. Crossing the street is so much worth it!
They were advertising exchange rates of USD, GBP, NOK, SEK, CHF, MAD and PLN but some other currencies might be accepted here too, make sure to ask for them at the place. This money changer is not even mapped on Google yet, but the address of the office is Av. Salamanca 12, Alicante.
Another money changer that we've found on the way from Alicante Train Station to Luceros Tram Station was Quick Service Diputación currency exchange office, located on Av. de la Estación 5. Once again the office seems more like a usual convenience store with drinks and snacks being the main focus except of the board at the front displaying exchange rates offered at the place.
While only exchange rates of US Dollars and British Pounds are being advertised, they also claim to be exchanging CHF, SEK, NOK, DKK, CAD currencies and giving a better offer for USD and GBP when more than 500 is exchanged but you need to request for details at the place.
Currency Exchange Rates in Alicante
Both Alicante money changers mentioned above seem to be offering more or less similar currency exchange rates as the difference between their rates were just minor with SuperQuick giving a better value for GBP with Quick Service offering more for USD. How good are currency exchange rates in Alicante City Center?
USD exchange rate in Alicante
The mid-market USD exchange rate on the day of our visit was 0.9423 EUR for 1 US Dollar, so the rate offered by the money changer in Alicante (0.907 EUR/USD) was by 0.0353 EUR or about 3.7% lower than the exchange rate at the market.
The exchange rate offered here was much better than at Alicante Train Station as you could get about 16 EUR more for every 100 USD exchanged.
GBP exchange rate in Alicante
The mid-market GBP exchange rate on the day of our visit was 1.1453 EUR for 1 Pound Sterling, so the rate offered in Alicante City Center (1.12 EUR/GBP) was by 0.0253 EUR or about 2.2% lower than the market rate. That's a really competitive rate beaten mainly only by online solutions like Wise.
The exchange rate offered in Alicante City Center was much better than at Alacant Terminal as you could get about 21 EUR more for every 100 GBP exchanged.
CHF exchange rate in Alicante
The mid-market CHF exchange rate at the time was 1.0146 EUR for 1 Swiss Franc, so the rate offered in Alicante (0.959 EUR/CHF) was by 0.0556 EUR or about 5.5% lower than the market rate.
While CHF exchange rate in Alicante isn't as good as you can get for GBP or USD, it is still much better than you can get at Alicante Train Station or airport. If you have a choice, bringing GBP or USD instead might be a better option.
SEK exchange rate in Alicante
The mid-market SEK exchange rate at the time was 0.0907 EUR for 1 Swedish Krona, so the rate offered here (0.085 EUR/SEK) was by 0.0057 EUR or 6.3% lower than the market rate. That's much better than you can get at train station in Alicante.
NOK exchange rate in Alicante
The mid-market NOK exchange rate at the time was 0.0952 EUR for 1 Norwegian Krone, so the rate offered in Alicante (0.084 EUR/CHF) was by 0.0112 EUR or about 11.8% lower than the market rate.
It's understandable that the less popular currency is, the worse currency exchange deal you can expect. It can be said not only about money changers in Alicante, but also anywhere else. Therefore, if you insist on bringing cash and exchanging it to Euro in Spain, choose one of the leading currencies such as GBP and USD to mitigate your loses on currency exchange.
Is currency exchange in Alicante worth it?
In Alicante City Center you can get much better currency exchange rates than at Alicante Train Station or Airport. If you are choosing between exchange at the airport or train station and exchange in the city, you should stick to exchanging your money in the center of Alicante as there are money changers offering competitive rates for the leading foreign currencies.
However, exchange margin charged by money changers in Alicante for less popular currencies is quite significant so might prefer to look for other options such as exchanging money to Euro at your home country or withdrawing money from ATM.
Tips
If your home bank is offering good exchange rates and doesn't charge commission, it might be better to withdraw money from ATM instead of exchanging currency but chances are slim, unless you are using the card from Wise that is offering the best exchange rate on your withdrawals.
You can easily reach the city center from Alicante Airport (ALC) by taking a Alicante Airport bus.