Benidorm is very accustomed to Brits abroad and our love for a bargain, with plenty of cheap flights, food and drink deals to make the most of your Euros.
Return flights: £50-100, with loads of budget connections between the UK and Alicante airport.
Taxi: €10 max around town (Benidorm isn’t huge) or €70 for the airport.
Pint: As little as €1 for a local lager around English Square, more at beach bars.
All-day fry up: €3. Hangover cure sorted.
Tapas: €2 per plate on Tapas Alley.
Aqualandia: €34 for a splash at the water park.
Benidorm's Law
Legal
Minor personal possession of cannabis (but public consumption and other drugs are penalised)
Illegal
Drinking alcohol on the beach (€750 fine), challenging a police officer (‘disobedience’ is a criminal offence), segways going faster than 12mph along footpaths (€450 fine), swimming in the sea between 11pm and 7am (for your own safety).
When to Visit Benidorm
The Costa Blanca enjoys 330 days of sunshine a year, making Benidorm a red-hot destination year-round.
Summer
Benidorm is heaving between June and September, when the mercury hovers around 30°C and the Mediterranean is a balmy 23°C. July and August are the hottest — and busiest — months, when families fly in during school holidays and party people arrive for the Low music festival in late July then Pride in late August.
Shoulder Season
April and May then October and November are good times to visit Benidorm — warm enough (20°C plus) to sit on the beach minus the summer crowds. November’s legendary Fiesta kicks off on the Friday before the second Sunday of the month — a week-long binge that ends with the British fancy dress day on the Thursday.
Winter
December to March is the quietest time of year, but the temperature still tops 15°C and the sun still beats down an average seven hours a day — not bad when everyone else is shivering back home. Although it gets chilly at night, you’ll save a stack on high-season prices.
Benidorm by Night
Benidorm is one of the party capitals of Europe, home to more than one thousand beach bars, sports pubs, karaoke joints, nightclubs and other watering holes that do not stop around the clock. The fiesta starts during the day at the beach bars like Tiki Town on the sand of Levante and keeps going until the sun rises the next morning, so don’t expect much sleep!
A few blocks back from the beach, English Square is the epicentre of Benidorm nightlife, surrounded by British and Irish pubs where you can watch the football over €1 pints before hitting up infamous karaoke bars like Black Chicken and show venues like Morgan Tavern, with tribute acts to everyone from Meatloaf to Michael Jackson. There’s no shortage of gents-only clubs, too.
Big-name DJs play discos and dance clubs like KM Playa, Penelope and the massive KU Discoteca — fancier places have a dress code (no shorts and no stag costumes), a modest cover charge and don’t open until 10pm or so. And for a more Spanish atmosphere, eat and drink your way down Tapas Alley in the Old Town.
Getting around Benidorm
Benidorm is a compact city easily tackled on foot, but there are a few other ways of getting around if a drunken stumble home from the club doesn’t take your fancy.
Flying In
First things first, Benidorm doesn’t actually have an airport — you’ll fly into Alicante, about 50km and 45 minutes’ drive down the coast. Buses to Benidorm cost €10 a pop so a private transfer to and from the airport is a smart option for your group. Cabs cost €70-plus.
Bus
Benidorm itself is connected by about 30 bus lines — a single journey costs €1.50 — but maps and timetables are tricky to figure out, plus services dry up at night. There’s also an out-of-the-way tram service crawling up and down the Costa Blanca, but the reality is that stag dos don’t really need to hop on public transport at all. Most nightspots are walking distance from Levante beach, which is also a hub of high-rise hotels.
Taxis
When walking’s too hard, taxis are cheap and easy. Metered cabs cost a little over €1 per kilometre so no trip will be more than about €10 all up. Uber is also available for a similar price.
Staying Safe in Benidorm
Like anywhere, pickpockets are a problem, especially if you leave your valuables lying around on the beach. And although the water is fairly calm, currents are still strong — even stronger when swimming under the influence. Party animals can get away with a lot in Benidorm but don’t do anything too silly around police, and keep your wits about you after a long session sampling the local lagers. Grab a registered taxi or an Uber to get home safe at the end of the night.
Hot Tips
¿Que?
If the local language sounds a little different to Spanish, that’s because it is. Benidorm residents speak Valencian — a similar but distinct dialect to the Catalan spoken up the coast in Barcelona. For instance, Levante beach is ‘Platja de Llevant’ in Valencian, but ‘Playa de Levante’ in Spanish.
Visit Neptune’s Bar
You might recognise the pirate-themed Morgan Tavern from the TV show Benidorm, because it transformed into Neptune’s Bar for filming. The real-life Neptune’s is a famous cabaret club that puts on up to seven shows a night — music, comedy, dancing, you name it.
