Santa Pola to Elche by bus
The short version: line 255A, about 35 minutes, 18 departures a day. And one thing no ticket comparison site will tell you — in summer there are two night buses.
It lives here, on the operator's own page — all three day types, both directions, always current.
And avoid the PDFs. Search for this route and one of the first things you get is a scanned timetable from the winter of 2015-16. Everything below comes from the operator, checked in October 2026.
The line, the operator, the time it takes
It is not an express. The route calls at around twenty stops through Elche's rural districts — Atzavares, Perleta, Vallverda, El Carro, La Manola — which is why it takes longer than the map suggests. The same 24 km is twenty minutes by car.
How often it actually runs
Averages out at roughly every 45-50 minutes, but it is not clockwork: there are gaps of over an hour mid-morning and mid-afternoon.
Starts later than a weekday, but the last one out of Elche runs past midnight.
The thin day — though the last bus from Santa Pola is actually later than on a weekday.
The full winter timetable (2026-2027)
| Day | Elche → Santa Polafrom Elx-Carrús station | Santa Pola → Elchefrom Santa Pola bus station |
|---|---|---|
| Monday to Friday18 departures each way | 06:45, 07:15, 08:20, 08:55, 10:05, 10:45, 11:35, 12:25, 13:10, 14:00, 14:50, 15:45, 17:15, 18:10, 19:15, 20:00, 20:45 and 21:30 | 06:10, 06:40, 07:40, 08:15, 09:15, 09:55, 11:00, 11:50, 12:30, 13:20, 14:05, 14:55, 15:45, 16:40, 18:15, 19:05, 20:10 and 20:55 |
| Saturdays12 departures each way | 09:15, 10:15, 11:15, 13:15, 14:15, 15:45, 17:15, 18:25, 20:25, 21:25, 22:25 and 23:25 | 07:30, 08:30, 10:30, 11:30, 12:30, 15:10, 16:40, 17:40, 18:40, 19:40, 21:40 and 22:40 |
| Sundays and public holidays12 departures each way | 07:45, 09:25, 10:15, 11:05, 12:40, 13:30, 14:10, 16:05, 17:45, 19:25, 21:05 and 22:45 | 07:10, 08:00, 08:50, 10:30, 11:15, 12:05, 13:35, 15:30, 17:10, 18:50, 20:30 and 22:10 |
What about the 255B? That is the Gran Alacant branch: same corridor out of Elche and Santa Pola bus station, but instead of carrying on to the marina it ends at C.C. Gran Alacant and Gran Alacant (Sueño Azul). Far fewer departures, and it does not reach Gran Platja. For Santa Pola town or the marina, take the 255A; for Gran Alacant, the 255B.
| Day | Towards Gran Alacantfrom Elx-Carrús station | Back to Elchefrom Gran Alacant (Sueño Azul) |
|---|---|---|
| Monday to Friday4 departures each way | 07:40, 09:30, 15:20 and 16:25 | 06:50, 08:35, 14:18 and 17:20 |
| Saturdays3 departures each way | 08:15, 12:15 and 19:25 | 09:15, 13:15 and 20:25 |
| Sundays and public holidays3 departures each way | 08:35, 11:50 and 16:55 | 09:25, 12:40 and 16:05 |
If you pick it up in Santa Pola, it leaves the bus station towards Gran Alacant at 08:18, 10:08, 15:58 and 17:03 (weekdays), 08:53, 12:53 and 20:03 (Saturdays) and 09:13, 12:28 and 17:33 (Sundays); and towards Elche at 07:02, 08:47, 14:30 and 17:32 (weekdays), 09:27, 13:27 and 20:37 (Saturdays) and 09:37, 12:52 and 16:17 (Sundays).
These are the departures from the two stations, not the twenty rural stops in between. Stop-by-stop times are on the official page. Vectalia switches season twice a year, in June and September. If you compare this with the Santa Pola bus station's own finder, note two things: there, departures from Elche are given from Elche bus station (about 10 minutes after Elx-Carrús), and the list mixes the 255A and the 255B together.
The two night buses
Fridays, Saturdays and the eves of public holidays only, and only in summer. There are none at all in winter: the real last bus from Santa Pola is at 20:55 on weekdays, 22:40 on Saturdays and 22:10 on Sundays. Confirm on the official timetable before you rely on it to get back.
Where it drops you in Santa Pola
- Estació de Santa Pola — the bus station. The reference stop, and the one the timetables use.
- Gran Platja (Puerto Deportivo) — end of the line, five minutes past the station, at the marina.
- Càmping Santa Pola — just before you arrive, useful if that is where you are staying.
Coming for the Tabarca boat? Read this bit. The Gran Platja stop is at the marina. The Tabarca boat leaves from the fishing port, at Avenida de los Baños 1. Two different harbours, and not the same place. Both stops are within walking distance, but head for the right one. Ferry times and prices.
And the fare?
You will not find it here, and that is on purpose. The operator does not publish the fare on the line's own page, and the figures floating around ticket comparison sites have no source behind them. A specific price with no verifiable origin is not a fact, it is a number. You pay the driver, and there are travel passes — ask at the station, which is where the truth is.
Is the bus enough, or do you want a car?
For this particular trip the bus is genuinely fine — 18 departures a day is plenty, and in Santa Pola parking is free everywhere but full in August. A car starts to earn its keep when you want to leave this one axis — the coves under the cape, Torrevieja, the inland villages — or if you are travelling with children and luggage.
Line, operator, stops, journey times, the full winter 2026-2027 timetable from the two stations, the 255B branch to Gran Alacant and the night buses all come from Vectalia Elx Rodalia, line 255, checked on 22 August 2026 and re-checked on 1 October 2026 (winter season notice). The fare is not published here because the operator does not give it on that page. That the marina and the fishing port are two different places comes from living here. Some links on this page are affiliate links: if you book through them we earn a commission at no extra cost to you, and it changes nothing above — including the part where we tell you the bus is fine.