The surprising charm of Benidorm

Where would you never go on holiday? This question is a popular topic of small talk among travel professionals and enthusiasts. It might include Caracas, Charleroi or a cruise on a 6,300-passenger ship—or Benidorm.

Indeed, the city on Spain’s Costa Blanca, known for its 150 skyscrapers, is often viewed as an unattractive, concrete sprawl — at least by tourists passing by on the AP-7 highway from Valencia to Alicante, who catch a quick glimpse to the left and dismiss it as an ‘eyesore.’

But is this perception really true?

Master plan instead of uncontrolled growth

Of course, anyone who rolls their eyes at destinations like Dubai, Las Vegas, New York, Miami Beach or Surfers Paradise should probably not visit Benidorm. But anyone with an appreciation of urban charm will be quite impressed after just a few hours here.

The former fishing village, which decided in the late 1950s to focus entirely on tourism, managed to avoid the unchecked growth seen elsewhere in Spain, adhering instead to a structured master plan that persists to this day. The guiding principle has been to build upward rather than covering vast tracts of land and hills with concrete. Streets and avenues are spaciously laid out, with ample greenery between them, and even skyscrapers in the third row are afforded at least a partial view of the sea.

Laura Garcia, a promoter and marketing expert at Visit Benidorm, is guiding a group of journalists from Finland, Denmark, and Switzerland around her hometown for a four-day tour. Their itinerary includes e-mountain biking through the hills of Parque Natural Sierra Helada, strolling along the wide Paseo Marítimo to explore the old town’s tapa bars, dining at the Marisquería Posada del Mar seafood restaurant, enjoying a sunset drink on the 17th floor of Hotel Primavera, visiting the golf driving range, and stand-up paddling in the warm, 23-degree Mediterranean. Throughout, Laura eagerly answers the journalists’ many questions, providing them with insights into Benidorm’s unique attractions.

‘Thanks to the hills around the city, we have a pleasant microclimate with 320 days of sunshine a year,’ she says, naming one of the city’s trump cards— which becomes apparent after just a few hours—before going on to emphasise the versatility of the tourist city. At Levante Beach, you’ll see more British party tourists, especially on Calle Ibiza behind it. Families with children also cavort on the very wide beach, and many pensioners can be seen, both locals and those from northern Europe who have settled here.

The local population stands at 75,000, but in peak summer season, this number swells to 400,000 with the influx of tourists. In an era of overtourism, such figures suggest potential challenges. However, while in Barcelona locals are targeting tourists with water pistols and in Tenerife and Mallorca people are protesting with banners against the flood of tourists, Benidorm is not affected by overtourism or tourist fatigue whatsoever. Nobody seems to be disturbed by the other. The city is designed for tourism, and the groups of guests are distributed extremely well in the airy city. At least now in the well-visited month of October, bottlenecks are nowhere to be seen; at most there is a scuffle for prime positions at the sunset snapshots spot at the Mirador del Castell.

Live and let live

Anyone who would compare Benidorm to the Ballermann in Mallorca is wrong. Excesses on the beach and a rowdy, unruly nightlife were not evident during our visit last weekend due to the city’s large scale. There are 63 discos here alone, open 365 days a year until the early hours of the morning. There is plenty of space for shopping on the wide avenues, as well as for jogging or strolling along the three-kilometre-long beach promenade.

Incidentally, the promenade, like the rest of the streets, is free of curbs. Accessibility is a top priority here, and there are also several step-free access points to the beach. Senior citizens with their electric scooters enjoy free rein.

Live and let live seems to be the motto here. Party-goers, families, active travellers or pensioners – everyone finds their place here, and the LGBTQ+ community also feels at home here, for example on Calle de la Santa Faz. After all, the first gay bars in Spain were opened here as early as 1962.

While the skyscrapers here have shot up just as much as the number of tourists over the last 50 years, the city and Visit Benidorm want to focus more on quality tourism in the future. They don’t want more tourists, but they do want those who spend more money. In line with this, the range of hotels in the four- and four-star superior range has recently expanded.

A stay at the Hotel Mercure Benidorm highlights the new direction. The Malaspina restaurant offers top-class gastronomy. During a yoga session by the pool, under giant trees, and a smoothie tasting, it is easy to forget how vibrant Benidorm is outside the hotel grounds. Benidorm also has three five-star hotels, such as the Asia Gardens, a Thai-style resort with lush, tropical gardens and seven pools.

Visitors to Benidorm will never find themselves bored. With options like golf, tennis, hiking, cycling, Segway and jeep tours, countless water sports, a zoo, and five nearby theme parks, a stay in Benidorm offers much more than just lounging under a beach umbrella.

Benidorm – the conclusion

After my dismissive drive along the Autopista A-7 25 years ago, accompanied by a muttered ‘what an eyesore,’ I’ve now revised my opinion. Benidorm is indeed worth a visit—if you can appreciate the unique skyline dominated by skyscrapers and avoid Calle Ibiza past midnight if you’re not a fan of loud parties.

The feeling of being trapped under a surreal dome, like Truman Burbank in The Truman Show, proved unfounded after four days here: Benidorm is a truly authentic Spanish experience. The Spanish feeling can be experienced here almost as well as in the alleys of Valencia or Barcelona.

The city is certainly facing enormous challenges with regard to the water supply – as is the case throughout the Costa Blanca. In recent years, savings have been made thanks to improved management, the addition of two reservoirs and plans to meet half of the water demand with a new desalination plant by 2035. Thanks to its many green spaces and barrier-free access, Benidorm has made it onto the shortlist of the European Commission’s ‘Green Pioneer of Smart Tourism 2025’ this year – the final decision will be made in Brussels on 27 November 2024.

What particularly stands out to me, especially in these days when tourist protests are flaring up again in Tenerife and people are protesting against overtourism with banners, is that Benidorm seems to be completely spared from this. The tourists are not taking away apartments from the locals, they are not getting in the way of their daily lives – because the city fully committed itself to tourism early on and is not being gradually taken over by visitors as in other places.