Located on Spain’s eastern coast near Alicante, Benidorm is one of the few places in the Mediterranean that has an actual skyline of tall skyscrapers lined up along the sparkling beaches of Costa Blanca. With affordable prices and ample accommodation options, Benidorm attracts a non-pretentious crowd of families, retirees, and young people looking for a laid-back holiday. Despite its notoriety as a rowdy holiday destination, Benidorm offers everything you could ever want for a beach vacation: stunning and pristine beaches, accessible prices, and lots of things to do!

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Jetset Times (@jetsettimes)

Wherever you go in Benidorm, you’ll see awesome views of the sea next to tall skyscrapers. But there’s one viewpoint that will make your jaw drop every time, and that’s from Balcón del Mediterraneo (Balcony of the Mediterranean).

Balcón del Mediterraneo is a hexagonal terrace floating above on the sea that you can walk down to from Plaza del Castell. From the balcony, you’ll get panoramic views of the sea and Benidorm from every direction, including both sides of Poniente and Levante Beach. The views from Plaza del Castell are stellar as well, with a beautiful gazebo framed by white railings and ruins of the old castle that people can check out in the middle.

Playa del Poniente is the main city beach of Benidorm. It’s the largest and most extensive beach, stretching from the entrance of the historic old town all the way to the most western end of the city. You can walk down the entire length of the beach along the gorgeous undulating boardwalk on Avenida de la Armada Española. Playa del Poniente is a glorious beach featuring soft sand and glittering aquamarine water that stretches as far as the eye can see. There’s room for every size of group here, which makes it perfect for hitting up with friends and family.

In Benidorm, you’ll see blue sunbeds, which you can rent for 6 euros, as well as umbrellas that you can rent for another 6 euros at all the city beaches. The ticket that you receive from the first beach will then be valid for sunbed and umbrella rentals at any of the other beaches in the city for the day, which makes it an amazing deal.

Playa del Levante is the scenic beach that’s located on the eastern half of Benidorm. It’s not as big as Playa del Poniente, so the vibe is a bit chiller. However, there’s still plenty of space at Levante, which also has a straight boardwalk that extends along the entire length of the beach.

Levante’s boardwalk, Avenida de Madrid, has lots of restaurants and pubs with plenty of tables facing the water, like Restaurante Los Ranchos, which is the best spot for grabbing a beach brekkie. Surrounded by views of the more retro apartment and hotel buildings, Playa de Levante gives off a more vintage 80’s-type vibe, especially at the far eastern end of the beach. It’s lovely for swimming, lounging, and hanging out at sunset hour.

Cala Mal Pas is a beautiful cove that’s found between the two main beaches of Playa del Levante and Playa del Poniente, right next to the entrance of the historic center. It’s also visible from Balcon de Europa, and as soon as you lay eyes on Cala Mal Pas, you’ll immediately want to head down and jump into its sparkling aqua waters.

It’s the only beach in town that’s not surrounded by tall buildings. But if you look up, you’ll see a lovely view of Iglesia de San Jaime y Santa Ana perched on the cliff. Being a cove, Cala Mal Pas is a much smaller beach than the others. However, it’s the best place for a swim, as the water is crisp and clear, and there’s nothing but soft sand for your feet to land on when you’re out in the water.

If you feel like escaping the crowds and immersing yourself in more natural surroundings, head towards the most eastern end of Playa Levante, then keep going. At the point where Calle Alcalde Manual Catalan Chana starts to curve, you’ll find the entrance to Sierra Helada Nature Park, a glorious nature reserve of rugged cliffs, protected coastline, and intimate beaches. The hiking routes are easy, and you can walk along the path to take in the rich nature that’s located right next to the city.

Cala Almadraba is the closest beach towards the beginning of the path. It’s a small, beautiful cove with tranquil waters that are perfect for snorkeling and swimming. If you continue further down, there’s also Cala Tio Ximo which is even quieter and just as intimate. It’s normal for the calas on this coastline to be rockier, so expect small rocks and pebbles instead of fine sand.

Whenever you’re craving a bite after spending a few hours on the beach, there’s nothing better than going into the historic center of Benidorm and grabbing some tasty pintxos. Pintxos are small bites made of different toppings stacked on a piece of bread. There are loads of different options and combos of jamon, chorizo, crab, shrimp, croquetas, veggies, fish, and more, depending on the creativity of the bar.

Benidorm’s historic center is full of bars displaying rows of pintxos that you can pick and point to, which makes ordering very easy. A good pintxo bar to start at is Pintxos Aurrera, which has one of the most extensive selections of pintxos to choose from and is almost always bustling with people throughout the day. Within the same complex, you’ll find La Cava Aragonesa, which also has a wide variety of pintxos to choose from inside a larger, more traditional taberna space. And next door you’ll also find Taberna del Sur, which is a smaller, more hole-in-the-wall-type space that features more seafood options.

If you’re looking to stay somewhere that brings the party straight to your hotel room, there’s no better place to stay than Marina Resort Benidorm. It’s a stylish and trendy hotel located just a few blocks from Playa Levante. It’s similar to a Las Vegas hotel in that you can enjoy multiple party and entertainment venues without leaving the hotel. The main attraction of the hotel is the day club, where DJs host pool parties and people swim, lounge, and party every day of the week. You can also find a rooftop bar, buffet restaurant, poolside restaurant, and disco pub, all inside the hotel complex. Not to mention, all the flashy disco bars of La Zona Ingelsa in their neon glory can be easily accessed, just steps away from the hotel as well.

Benidorm is an infamous party destination in Spain for a reason. The city gets a bad rap for being trashy, but the upside is that you don’t have to deal with snooty or pretentious crowds.

There are different areas of the city to go out in depending on the crowd and vibe you’re looking for. The most notorious area, known as Zona Inglesa, or the English Zone, caters to the numerous British tourists who come to Benidorm for a good time. The streets of Calle Girona, Calle Lepanto, and Avenida de Mallorca light up with neon signs of big disco pubs like The Red Lion, Western Saloon, and Gold Dollar Saloon. The imported Americana theme and mostly throwback music can feel quite tacky, but it’s an essential part of the Benidorm experience that you must see.