Learning to like Benidorm

Benidorm beach

I had never been to Benidorm, and I have to admit it would never have featured in my list of top 100 places to visit. When I saw that the town was a prominent stop in the itinerary of the F1 Blog Trip I had mixed opinions. On the one hand, its reputation as a tacky, seedy resort full of drunken British tourists did nothing to excite me, while on the other hand that same awful perception intrigued me enough to want to see for myself what Benidorm is really about.

I have to admit to feeling quite indifferent to the town while driving through its centre. It was bright and modern, and the forest of tall skyscrapers that form a Manhattan-like skyline turned out to be well spaced enough to avoid engulfing the streets in permanent shadow. I would describe the town centre as nice, with all the ambiguous connotations that this description suggests. Any place can look pleasant in the sunshine, especially when it boasts a white sandy beach and an attractive coastline.

Benidorm from the hilltop

I have always preferred wide open spaces devoid of human habitation to sprawling cities, so Benidorm was always going to have a tough job in appealing to my tastes. If I’m in a city it needs to have some impressive architecture to hold my attention, and in a place that was barely on the map 50 years ago I was never going to find that here. So it was a relief when we took to the hills above the town in a Jeep and left the fast food joints and Olde Worlde Real English Pubs in our dusty wake. I was eyeing up the ragged surrounding peaks with some impatience as we sat on a boat and viewed the town against its mountainous backdrop, so it was a relief to soon be staring down at the skyline from those hilltops.

Jeeps heading off-road

The Jeep trip is a quick and fun way to explore the surrounding areas and even allowed us to visit a nearby waterfall, busy with mainly Spanish tourists. We travelled with Marco Polo Expeditions, and they showed us some surprisingly hidden natural spots not far from town. I would give the area a nod of approval as an avid hiker, and imagine that there are many good trails to be covered in this part of Spain. A return visit would certainly include extensive walking in these hills.

On our way out of Benidorm the next day, we took a sea kayaking trip; something again that I would happily do again, and which I hadn’t associated with this region before. I paddled solo at first and later in a two-man boat, while the water changed from lily-pond calm to very choppy in a matter of minutes. The return journey was exciting with the waves controlling our motion far more than my feeble efforts with the oar could do.

Benidorm by night

So my verdict on Benidorm? As a town itself it has good restaurants and cafes and in the daytime at least, does not live up to its grim associations with the worst of British holidaymakers. While I would never consider staying there for a week, I am not a beach resort person and would be no more keen to stay in the Maldives. At least here there are many ways for the active person to spend their time. I did warm to Benidorm in the end, but it would be for its rural surroundings and the range of activities on offer outside of the town that I would return.

I was a guest of Land of Valencia, the Valencia Region Tourist Board, as part of their #blogtripf1 event, with flights organised by the Spanish Tourist Office in London.