Benidorm

Benidorm:

Benidorm has great beaches, the Mediterranean Sea to swim in, a busy resort packed with bars, restaurants and clubs - no wonder it is so popular.

With the fifth largest population in the Alicante province, Benidorm is located 45 kilometres northeast of the city of Alicante and just south of Altea.

It is the central destination on the Costa Blanca with it’s dominant skyline sometimes being called the “Manhattan of Spain” due to the high-rise tower blocks. The backdrop to Benidorm is the magnificent mountain range known as Sierra Helada.

There is a superb amount of attractions, of course there are nightclubs, bars and restaurants galore but Benidorm also a number of unique attractions not found elsewhere namely the five Benidorm theme parks.

Terra Mitica is the biggest and best with many rollercoaster rides but also plenty of rides and shows for the little ones too.

Terra Natura and Aqua Natura are a zoo and water park next door to each other near Terra Mitica.

Aqualandia and Mundomar are sister parks within walking distance of the Levante area of Benidorm. Aqualandia is the water park with slides and pools and Mundomar is an aquatic sea-life marine style attraction.

The reason Benidorm has become so large and so popular is the beautiful setting with three miles of fine sandy beaches and crystal clear waters with  wonderful all-year round climate and hot sunny weather in the summer.

There are two wonderful long sandy beaches, Playa Poniente (sunset beach) and Playa Levante (sunrise beach), separated by a rocky promontory, the Canfali vantage point that offers great views in each direction. At the foot of this lookout point is the Mal Pas cove.   

Benidorm also has a lovely old town area in between the Levante and Poniente beaches. This area is very traditional, very Spanish and quite peaceful. This area is centred around the Canfali vantage point (Balcony of the Mediterranean) and the Parque de Elche.

The old town district has all the major shops of Benidorm as well as some good bars. The streets are narrow and winding. Be sure to see the San Jaime church with it’s landmark blue dome.   

From the Benidorm beaches you can see a rock known as Peacock Island (Isla de Benidorm) because of the birds that inhabit the island.

You can catch a boat there from the port or even better catch the boat along the coast to Calpe. The waters are very clear and filled with schools of fish making it an ideal location for a scuba-diving trip.

You can also catch boat trips south to Tabarca island which is near the town of Santa Pola.

Visitors to Benidorm can enjoy a great variety of shopping from the markets, the cheap Chinese bazaars to the designer shops such as Zara at the La Marina Mall in Benidorm.

The Carrefour supermarket in Benidorm is a huge hypermarket with many types of food from Spanish to English (British) and also popular is the Iceland supermarket.