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There's a fantastic variety of entertainment, which comes in every form
imaginable - and it's round the clock in high season. Whether you want
top class international cabaret acts or bar room karaoke, you'll find it
here. Down at the beach there are water sports, glass bottomed boats,
banana rides, activity rafts and ferry trips. And on the outskirts of
the town there are some major attractions for good value family days
out. There's Spain's biggest theme park, Terra Mitica, a huge water park
and a wildlife and sea world centre. Visitors flock to Benidorm all year
round. But its in July and August that the town really seems to be
bursting at the seams with tourists hell-bent on 24-hour fun! In August, when many Spaniards take the whole month off, the Spanish swell the
visitor numbers to their annual peak. But it's the Brits who dominate
here, with British pubs, British fish and chips and British bodies
sizzling on the beaches.
The
historical centre is located around the Canfali vantage point, which is
the most emblematic image of Benidorm with a white stone balcony and a
vantage point. The neoclassical church dedicated to St James the Apostle
is also located in this area. The Levante beach can be reached from the
Plaza del Castillo either by walking down through the narrow white
streets, or through the town's commercial district. The Aiguera Park,
designed by Ricardo Bofill, is Benidorm's largest park and divides the
town in two. Benidorm's attraction lies in the variety of its leisure
amenities, with a wide range of activities for foreign and national
tourists, children, teenagers and pensioners. The most popular time to
visit is between May and October when the climate is sunny and warm for
the vast majority of the time. The temperature can push 40C in August
with the sea at a very comfortable 25C. It's too hot for some and
Benidorm enjoys a steady stream of visitors throughout the winter months
which are ideal for those who like things a little cooler and a little
slower.
Things to do:
With more than three miles of wonderful sandy coastline to enjoy, you
may never get round to exploring the myriad of delights away from the
beach. But there's so much more to Benidorm and its surroundings than
beaches and bars. So give your peeling skin a break and check out some
of the local places of interest. Here we give you some great ideas for
family days out and interesting excursions.
 If
you're on a family holiday then a day out at Spain's biggest theme park,
Terra Mitica, on the outskirts of Benidorm is an absolute must. The
Paramount pleasure park recreates the lost civilisations of the
Mediterranean - ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, Iberia and the Islands.
There are heart stopping thrill rides, water chutes, great indoor shows
and some innovative street entertainment. Aqualandia, a huge water park
five minutes drive from Benidorm's town centre, is another major
attraction for adults and kids alike. There's an exciting array of water
chutes, daredevil "death" slides, diving displays, pools and play areas
- all set in beautifully tended gardens with a magnificent mountain
backdrop. Next door to Aqualandia you'll find Mundomar - a marine life
and exotic animal park with its marvelous menagerie of colourful
creatures including parrots, penguins, seals and dolphins.
Take
a boat ride from the port to Benidorm Island, a 30-minute trip which
includes the chance to see the local sea, life through a glass-bottomed
boat. There are also half-day excursions by boat to the Costa Blanca
resort of Calpe to the north. For a day's excursion inland, try a visit
to the extraordinary mountain fortress at Guadalest, now one of the top
tourist attractions in the whole of Spain. Regular coach tours are
organised from Benidorm to this former Moorish stronghold, built in 715.
The views are breathtaking and it's a great place for souvenir shopping.
Travel north up the coast 11 kilometres from Benidorm to explore the
town of Altea with its delightful medieval cobbled streets, excellent
restaurants and distinctive blue domed church in the plaza of the old
town. Tuesday's a good day to visit when the Costa Blanca's biggest
outdoor market is held here.
Take the Lemon Express from Benidorm and head north in this lovely
old style train which wends its way through the olive, lemon and olive
groves to the small town of Gata. This is the home of handcrafted wicker
goods - you've never seen so many wicker hats, baskets and chairs on
display in one street before! And you can visit Gata's guitar factory
where handmade guitars are lovingly fashioned from rosewood and
mahogany. For the more adventurous types, there are jeep safaris into
the mountains and horseback excursions.
Benidorm at night:
 Benidorm
has acquired a reputation as one of the Mediterranean's top nightspots
and rightly so. From the moment the sun goes down there's non stop
entertainment in every conceivable form and it keeps going till sun up!
There are more discos, cabarets, clubs and pubs packed into one area
here than in any other resort in Spain. If you come to Benidorm in high
season then brace yourself for one long party!
 One
of the top night-time attractions is the Benidorm Palace. Situated on
the northern edge of the town, it offers a lavish international cabaret
show with top variety acts from around the world. You'll also see some
first class flamenco dancing here. A ticket for dinner, drinks and the
show is incredibly good value considering the quality of the
entertainment. Smaller shows are staged nightly at clubs and pubs
throughout Benidorm. Many don't charge an entrance fee so an evening's
entertainment cam be enjoyed for the price of a few drinks. The majority
of the show bars are on the Levante beach side of Benidorm. There's
something for all tastes, from raves to
ballroom dancing and 70s revival nights.
The
number of centres offering live music and entertainment are too numerous
to mention but we'll offer you a sample of the most popular night time
haunts. One of the biggest and most popular nightclubs is KM Disco
Garden. It can accommodate 5,000 clubbers keeping their whistles wet
with no less than 12 bars! The disco is famous for its clever lighting
and stunning laser shows. Club lovers also flock to Top of the Pops in
Avenida Almeria and Gigolo's disco pub, in the same street, is another
favourite. There's no entrance fee at Gigolo's and you just pay normal
bar prices (whereas you pay over the odds at the top clubs).
The
free entrance and normal prices for drinks makes Rockerfella's Fun Club
in Calle Gerona a popular night out (although the raunchy shows here
could also have something to do with it!) Lennons in Calle Mallorca
offers off-beat theme nights and fun parties and stays busy throughout
the year. In the same street you'll find also find the Hippodrome
nightclub, one of Benidorm's top clubs, along with the popular Bahamas
Fun Pub. At Café Benidorm, also in Calle Mallorca, you'll find disco
music, comedians, competitions and everything you need for a top night
out. For a night out at the gambling tables, take a short trip down the
coast to Casino Costa Blanca in Villajoyosa, south of Benidorm. The
12,100 square foot casino is open from 8pm to 4am and features 38 slot
machines and 23 gaming tables.
Beaches and water sport:
Benidorm's beaches and range of leisure amenities explain why has it has
become Costa Blanca's main tourist area. Benidorm has some of the best
beaches in the world. The fine sand, cleaned daily, the quality of the
services and the transparency of the water are the main reasons given by
Benidorm's many visitors. There is a small cove between the Playa de
Poniente and the old town centre, known as the Playa del Mal Pas, which
can be reached from the port or from stairs that descend from the
castle. Benidorm
proudly boasts two of the biggest, cleanest and most popular beaches in
Spain. The two huge sweeping crescents stretch for a total of 6
kilometres and are known as "Levante" and "Poniente", Spanish for
sunrise and sunset. With consistently high quality Blue Flag bathing
water, lifeguard patrols, a wealth of water sports and beachfront cafes,
the beaches of Benidorm can rival the best in the world. For the young (or at least young at heart!) Levante beach is the place to be on those
long and not so lazy summer days. It's where the teenagers gather to see
and be seen, the families flock for all-day entertainment for the
kids and older people sit for hours and watch in fascination as Benidorm's beach life goes by.
The
beaches are sandy and slope gently into the water providing endless
hours of fun in the shallows for small children. Further out to sea are
the adventure rafts with slides, swinging bridges and diving boards.
Lifeguards are on hand throughout the summer season and the beaches are
pristine each morning thanks to a mammoth daily sweep-up by the local
council. For a slightly less hectic day out on the beach, head for
Poniente, it tends to be less crowded and is perfect for a lazy day of
swimming and sunbathing.
For
the benefit of families with very young children, the local council has
recently erected huge colourful picture board signs along the beaches to
be used as easy to spot meeting points. Perfect for children who stray
then can't remember which sunshade among the thousands is mum's! The
council has also made big efforts to provide ramps and other facilities
to make the beaches more accessible to disabled people.
Water sports abound during the peak months and include water sking, jet
sking, paragliding, scuba diving and boat trips around the bay and
along the coast. To book boat rides, including an interesting trip to
Benidorm Island with the chance to see the local marine life through a
glass-bottomed boat, go to the jetty in the port at Poniente beach. At
the port you'll also find the Costa Sub Aqua Club who can arrange a
fascinating underwater exploration of the local reefs, wrecks, islands
and other dive sites. The rich variety of Mediterranean marine life in
these waters includes barracuda, octopus, bream, moray eels, sunfish,
colourful corals and lobsters.
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The
town of Benidorm is located in the Spanish region of Alicante on the
Costa Blanca. In 1953 it was a tiny fishing village unheard of in the
UK. That's when local mayor Senor Pedro Zaragoza got on his Vespa
scooter and drove 8 hours to Madrid to see the dictator General Franco.
His mission: to persuade Franco to lift the ban on bikinis. Franco
agreed and the mayor went home to start building one of the most
successful tourist resorts the world has ever seen. Now Benidorm is
capable of lodging 5 million visitors a year. It's big, built-up and
brash attracting young British visitors in droves. Benidorm is literally
bursting with life. For energetic types who can beach bash all day and
party all night, there's no better place.