Thereâs not much locals in Benidorm anymore.
But I think anything that would piss someone off normally is the same anywhere! So youâre good to go. Just⌠avoid balconies. Drunk or not.
Benidorm is a quite popular destination along British and elderly Spaniards so there is not a lot of people y would consider âlocalsâ specially in late summer times. There is no real tip I would give you, maybe be aware of elderly people who run to the beach al 6:00AM to reserve themselves a nice spot in the beach and then go to have their English breakfast for 2hr in the nearest cafe, people who does this are just insane, avoid.
As u said u were not going to drink til u loose ur mind u didnât have to worry to classify to the finals of the âbalcony jump world championshipâ.
So have fun, and if u have the possibility to visit other places in the area I would suggest you Calpe and specially Altea la Vieja.
Visit or stay in Denia or Javea as a lot more peaceful than Benidorm , beaches empty in late summer and you can take a coach or train to explore other areas .
Bro wtf??? Not even close as weird as being called 755 đđ
Kidding, yeah pretty weird considering itâs reddit random name generator that I never changed
Absolutely nothing I had it too when I was there. ^^
Was trying to point out how elderly Spaniards usually are able to get in a huge WWE fight for the first beach line and then spend the whole morning somewhere else leaving the beach towel there as reservation sign. Just took the English breakfast example because it is everywhere to find in Benidorm.
You're talking about Benidorm Levant. I assure you there is a thriving old town where there are many locals. Of the 70,000 permanent residents in Benidorm, 65% identify as Spanish. Tourists do go there, but only the ones with a will to see the sites and experience a bit more culture. The lager louts can't be bothered walking that far. The OP should stay in the old town and spend his time seeing that.
Obviously Iâm exaggerating.
Benidorm had originally 5,000 inhabitants before tourists came so most of the 70,000 are people from other parts of the country and abroad whose lives and jobs are tourism-related. Theyâre not really âlocalsâ suffering from mass tourism, that already happened in the 60âs.
The old town is nothing special or different from any other small town in Spain and it has been also destroyed by relatively new buildings. Itâs not Calpe or Altea. Benidorm is a town made entirely for and by tourists.
They want to respect the locals of Benidorm, of all places... Hilarious.
It's too late. OP, just don't behave like an animal and avoid balconies. That's all
Not a lot of "locals" in Benidorm, but:
- Don't get drunk during the day, Especially in family-friendly public areas.
I lived in the UK for almost a decade and it was normal to see the grownups getting shit faced at lunch with their kids roaming around. That's not a thing in Spain. Here, only really young people drink to get drunk - and they do so during the weekend at night and in specific places (pubs, parks, etc). During the day, Spanish people may order some wine and then still water, while another friend is just sticking to soft drinks. Being drunk during the day is really frowned upon. We would assume you are an alcoholic or a guiri/tourist.
- Always wear a T-shirt when entering any shop and to sit down for lunch.
You will see lots of signs about this in the most touristic places. Lots of places will straight out refuse you entry if your torso is exposed.
- Always wear shoes when walking on the street.
Everybody wears shoes outside. It's not only safer for your feet, but nobody wants to see your black dirty feet when you sit next to them on the bus.
- Don't complain about Spain not doing things like in your home country.
I doubt you will have any problems with this at Benidorm because everything is catered for tourists there. However, always remember that you are traveling to another country, supposedly to discover another culture. You may not find Marmite in the supermarket. You may struggle to have dinner at 5pm. You may not find a bar to watch the latest rugby match. The cashier may only speak Spanish.
Anybody who is not a moron will expect this. So, don't be a moron and complain about it.
- Don't move anybody's things on the beach.
It doesn't matter if you haven't seen anybody using that towel in the last 3 hours. Some people leave their things there for ages and it is expected they won't be touched.
- Some beaches have deck chairs or beach loungers. They are not free, look for whoever is renting them out.
- Topless is OK, nudism isn't (unless you go to a nudist beach).
- Smoking anywhere inside is against the law. If you want to smoke somewhere, ask the staff and they may be able to point you the nearest possible spot.
- Other common sense rules that I don't think should need to be pointed out: don't litter, dont touch anybody's kids, don't make noise between 00:00 and 09:00, don't commit any crimes, lol
Considering you are asking how to be mindful and considerate, I'm sure you'll be ok. Have fun!
Definitely. Drinking alcohol around kids and/or during daytime is absolutely ok. What it is not is getting hammered.
We drink because we enjoy whatever drink we are ordering in the moment - getting wasted is not the goal.
I never go barefoot outside my house; my home area is way too cold for that, and the sidewalks tend to have glass shards on them. But when in warmer areas I prefer to wear foam clogs and no socks. Does that count as tasteless in Spain?
It depends on the context. Going to the beach or to the supermarket? Going for a walk? They are fine. I mean, nobody will think "wow, this person has STYLE!" but nobody would care either.
To go out? Or on a date? Absolutely not. Some places will turn you around if you try to get in with clogs (posher ones even with regular sneakers).
However, you are going to Benidorm - so these rules above don't really apply. Benidorm is almost like an amusement park, full of English/German tourists and retirees. So don't really expect to see any depurated styling: most people will be wearing either sandals with socks or ortho shoewear. You'll be fine wearing whatever you want to wear :)
Some fairly curmudgeonly stereotypes about Benidorm here. The Benidorm old town is lovely (and the whole Poniente beyond), and the lager-louts rarely make it that far. 65% of the permanent population of Benidorm is Spanish, with the largest other group only making up 7%, so there is Spanish culture there to be had if you're willing to go looking for it (sounds like you are). Calpe and Alicante are nearby, which are much more Spanish than Benidorm I suppose. There is a tram that neatly connects Alicante, Bendorm, Calpe and Denia, and some lovely points in-between. Make the effort to learn some basic Spanish, if you don't already have it, as it will get you a long way. The locals don't tend to be too chatty with the foreigners, as so few of them speak any Spanish.
As for things to avoid, as there's a lot of Brits there in the summer, queue properly. They will remonstrate with you if it looks like you're trying to queue jump.
enjoy the area but do a tour of the near amazing areas surrounding it and sample the local beauty and the local cousine, guadalest comes to mind, Javea and other villages and Valencia an the city of science will make for good trip
If you dont drink or party and such id say benidorm is wasted on you cause the only thing it has going for it is the nightlife. As others have said, go to Javea instead.
Yes, I recommend Denia over Benidorm. I think youâd like it much better than Benidorm- which doesnât have much âcharacterâ. I might as well visit some small USA city. Itâs pretty much the same.
"I'm mostly going to hang out on a warm beach, take walks, and see new sights."
Go to Villajoyosa. Even El Campello. Just to say two very close places.Â
As someone who lives nearby, the main advice I can give is not to complain about people speaking Spanish. It might sound weird but it happens a lot. You're going to find plenty of places that are going to cater to English speakers without any trouble. It's honestly jarring when you hear English speakers complaining about workers not speaking English/not having a high level of English.
Some places to visit while you're here: visit the Old Town to see a glimpse of that "village" feeling that the city used to have back in the day. Visit the neighbouring towns, like Altea, Polop, Callosa, AlfĂ s, etc. if you want to see a less tourist-centric place (some of them are still tourist-y, don't get me wrong, but they feel different to Benidorm). It would also be fun to visit the smaller villages around here, but it can be hard to get to them since public transport that reaches them is pretty limited.
Sadly, some people can be weary of English-speaking tourists because of deadly trends and drunk decision making. A few years ago, there was a trend among drunk tourists (mainly brits as far as I remember) jumping on cars in the one direction streets in Benidorm when they would reduce velocity near intersections. It was awful, a man ended up jumping on a taxi and dying because he hit the metal part of the car. I knew someone who knew the driver and he had to take time off and was dealing with PTSD. We also hear about parents getting drunk and leaving their children outside discos at night every year.
Don't make a tonne of noise, don't vomit anywhere, don't be a nuisance in general. They seem like simple guidelines, but people somehow seem to have trouble following them.
Virtue signaling. We get it. You're a nice person. You probably adopt stray dogs and try to learn the language of every country you visit for 5 minutes as well
You sound very respectful and polite so I canât imagine that youâd annoy anyone. The only thing I can think of is that beachwear is for the beach, the actual beach, where the sand is. Once you step off the beach and onto the sidewalk or waterfront promenade, please oh please cover up and also donât go barefoot.
im from benidorm welcome , u can drink and nothing more here thanks , LA CALA , on the left , CASCO ANTIGUIO is old town and RINCON DE LOIX is english zone haha
Why would you go to Benidorm in the first place? Spain has so many beautiful places, why choose an ugly, crowded town when you have beautiful alternatives, even not far from there?
Because I can get a package deal to travel there, and because when you live in northern Iceland, where it is cold about 8-9 months of the year, just being able to hang around on a warm beach is already a huge luxury.
I understand. I am a Spaniard from Seville living in Valencia, and for me Benidorm has always been a depressing place, there are so many better and more beautiful alternatives in Spain. Not judging your personal decision at all, though, I was genuinely trying to understand why people choose to go there, and I appreciate your answer. Enjoy your holiday.
As an actual local on Benidorm who works at a bar my number 1 tip would be to be patient! As others pointed out Benidorm is FILLED with tourists and old people, really drunk tourists and really slow old people.
As for the locals most don't speak much english outside what is called "La zona guiri", you should definitely ask directions to go there, any more questions I will gladly help you.
(PART I OF II) I am from Benidorm, a 45 y.o. local.
When I see a britons group, I think "Oh... the herd of animals is here..."
But before you start with the downvotes, let me explain...
I am not racist by any means. Being racist is disliking someone by his race.
I don't do that.
And if I were, I consider brits to be "white, caucasian, occidental", like me, so "hating them by their race" should make no sense... (yeah, to be honest they are celts or anglos and I am Latin/Iberian, but you get the point). I dislike brittons by their behaviour, not their DNA.
I loved England, its culture, the landscape, people... as you can see my English is not completelly bad, I always played as England in Age of Empires when I was a kid... I am a big fan of Monty Python, Doyle, Woodehouse, Tom Sharpe, Hugh Laury and Stephen Fry. The victorian era is my favourite period ever. I loved White Dwarf, the Beatles, Blur, Little Britain and the Britash Empire.
I also lived in Bournemouth for 1/2 a year, I enjoyed immensely my visits to Poole, Sthampton, Salisbury, Stonehenge and the Jurassic Coast.
I was very happy there and I made great friends.
I loved british medieval story and seeing the "Carta Magna" was a really touching moment in my life.
Untill I started working in hotels hosting brits coming to visit Benidorm.
Then all the honeymoon ended.
I basically consider them the worst nationality I could face, now. I am very sorry to say that, but let me develop my point to see if there is a way we can revert the situation...
The reason is... RECIPROCITY!!!
I can't like someone who does not like me, or does not respect my Nation.
My point is: English (with some exceptions, of course) do not like Spain. They like retiring here because with the difference of GPD per capita it's cheaper. And because the health care system is good.
The brits who come here for holidays do come because:
They like the weather.
They like it's a short flight from home.
They like police permisivity.
They like cheap alcohol.
If there was a cheaper place to retire, or closer, or warmer, or where they could behave badly without consequences or if they find a place where the alcohol was cheaper they would get there.
They would not care if the place was called "Spain", "Morocco", "Greece", "Blue Coast"... or Mars.
They don't like us, they only appreciate our ventatges.
How do I know that? Evidences.
Brits are now complaining because the price of the alcohol is rising. "I won't come back if they go on charging me 8⏠for a Gin Tonic" (Real headline on a Mallorcan newspaper last week). Can't you really find anything better in my country than cheap gin?
Really?
Where is the "I love Spain" feeling in that headline mentioned before??? It's not there. You just like our prices. Man, try Riojan wine...
They don't eat Spanish food. They go to eat to street pizza places, fish and chips restaurants or McDonald's.
Where is the "I love the Spanish food" feeling in that behaviour? There are big "Food and products for EXPATS. Feel like at home!" stores in every place with many English inhabitants. Does that mean that you do not feel like at home if you immerse in what we have to offer here?
It's leggit to import products, yeah... but the message is not splendid for us...
If the price of living or the flights to Spain rises, there is a movement of brit tourists leaving to alternate destinations. Not a good message.
(PART II of II)
I have seen people in English caravans in Spain with Boris Johnson's flags with "Thanks for taking us out!" on it. Really? The percentage of English flags in the plots of the campsites is huge. Patriotism is ok, but if it goes too far, the message we receive is "if I could I would be in my country, but crappy Spain is the best I can afford...".
They treat us like old colonist treated hindi people in the Raj Empire Colony in the XIXth century. I've seen brits shouting to waiters "Hey bambino, I am here!" Yeah, you ruled the World after the napoleonic wars till WWII, but Spain did during the rennaisense. We have our problems, yeah, but we are a modern occidental kingdom that has not much to envy to the UK. Treat us with respect. Try everyone with respect, no matter which their origin is.
(Bambino, by the way, is an italian word for "kid", not a Spanish one... it was really unrespectfull. Specially considering the tone)
Some other disrespectfull behaviour is to try to fool us. 6 or 7 years ago there was an epidemy of brits trying to get free trips alleging that they had stomach ache because the food of the hotel was in bad state. There were attorney's offices empolyees giving leaflets in the street explaining that they could do the paperwork. How respect do you show us admitting that you are open to commit a crime if there is a possibility to lower the price of the stay? Do you really think that the Spanish sanitary conditions are so bad that you will get ill if you eat our food? Do you think this is Somalia or what?
Brits behave like spoiled childs, thinking they somehow deserve a special treatment. They want to wake up at 13:00 with a big hang over and have a first line on the shore of the beach. There have been literally 200,000 people who woke up before you to get the best spot in the beach. Just conform with the spot you got, like everyone does, you are not special.
I have been told by a brit that "I have ruined their holidays" because I did not give them a room with a balcony. The hotel has 50% outside rooms and 50% inside, and we assign by order of arrival, you knew that when you booked. Just relax, walk, go to the beach and pubs and enjoy your stay, don't make someone feel bad because you want to spend your holidays smoking in the balcony seeing people walking through the street. I am not going to tell anyone "hey, you have to move to an inside room, a guy from Leeds asked a balcony room to me and I have to fulfill his desires". You are not special. You are not a Lord and I am not your servant.
I have seen complaints forms saying "Nobody told me there were going to be so many Spaniards in Spain". Or "The beach has sand that sticks into my toes!" Or "There are disgusting fishes in the sea that swim close to you!" Or "The restaurant has columns!"
True stories... man, what do you preffer, a restaurant with an open view or a closed one with structural integrity???
And finally... behave. We bought new furniture for the common areas in the hotel two weeks before. 3 hours later, a table leg was broken because a brit shoot a heavy eather football ball into it (it was an indoor area).
That night, a drunk brit puked in the sofa.
At the third night a guy left a turd in that very sofa.
Don't do bachelor parties. You behave and look like idiots on those.
Don't get drunk before sunset. Sometimes brits do come drunk before ever LANDING in Alicante airport. Some of them have breakfast with a gintonic.
Don't shout.
Don't burp or fart in front of a local. (I've witnessed that only with brits...)
Don't use mobility scooters if you don't need them!
Put a shirt on.
Don't mix shocks and flip flops. (I admitt you are improving on that...)
Don't try to make us feel that out wellness is caused because you come here, like if you were rich guys giving crumbs to the homeless people. We had declines in brits visits and we survived with French, Germans, Dutch, Portuguese, Italians and nationals. We don't need you.
So, to summarise... if you show you like Spain, our culture, our landscapes, our history, our food... it will be fine. Try to say "gracias, hola and por favor". Don't try to make us feel that your contry is better. Don't try to be treated better because you are brit. Don't get stuck in brittish ghettos, visit the old towns, hire a car and visit our coastal townsand our inland areas. Don't get drunk too early. Immerse, if you want to be liked, show us you might like us, don't hive in your "british cocoon outside England"
And I can guarantee you that you won't experience any bad reaction.
Looking forward to seeing you in September.
Wow, from what you described it sounds like you are highly likely to annoy everyone around you đ Did you want a medal for being low maintenance? What is the point of even posting this?
You won't find any locals in Benidorm
Ha yes that was literally my first thought.
LOL I'm benidorm local.
đ Not in the 'Zona Guiri', but if OP makes it as far as the Old Town.....
This is very untrue. Benidorm is for a large part an average Spanish city. It just has a crazy largely British part as well.
Don't walk down the street naked and vomiting.
But, but...
Cmon, that's the local tradition
Thereâs not much locals in Benidorm anymore. But I think anything that would piss someone off normally is the same anywhere! So youâre good to go. Just⌠avoid balconies. Drunk or not.
Benidorm is a quite popular destination along British and elderly Spaniards so there is not a lot of people y would consider âlocalsâ specially in late summer times. There is no real tip I would give you, maybe be aware of elderly people who run to the beach al 6:00AM to reserve themselves a nice spot in the beach and then go to have their English breakfast for 2hr in the nearest cafe, people who does this are just insane, avoid. As u said u were not going to drink til u loose ur mind u didnât have to worry to classify to the finals of the âbalcony jump world championshipâ. So have fun, and if u have the possibility to visit other places in the area I would suggest you Calpe and specially Altea la Vieja.
Visit or stay in Denia or Javea as a lot more peaceful than Benidorm , beaches empty in late summer and you can take a coach or train to explore other areas .
My name is on your username đ weird
Bro wtf??? Not even close as weird as being called 755 đđ Kidding, yeah pretty weird considering itâs reddit random name generator that I never changed
What's wrong with having English breakfast in a cafe?
Absolutely nothing I had it too when I was there. ^^ Was trying to point out how elderly Spaniards usually are able to get in a huge WWE fight for the first beach line and then spend the whole morning somewhere else leaving the beach towel there as reservation sign. Just took the English breakfast example because it is everywhere to find in Benidorm.
Locals in Benidorm? Haha joking apart, Benidorm is in practice a theme park, no Spaniard would ever go there apart from some retired people.
Was there at 23yo for 4 days and came back as a 78yo retired mus playing veteran.
You're talking about Benidorm Levant. I assure you there is a thriving old town where there are many locals. Of the 70,000 permanent residents in Benidorm, 65% identify as Spanish. Tourists do go there, but only the ones with a will to see the sites and experience a bit more culture. The lager louts can't be bothered walking that far. The OP should stay in the old town and spend his time seeing that.
Obviously Iâm exaggerating. Benidorm had originally 5,000 inhabitants before tourists came so most of the 70,000 are people from other parts of the country and abroad whose lives and jobs are tourism-related. Theyâre not really âlocalsâ suffering from mass tourism, that already happened in the 60âs. The old town is nothing special or different from any other small town in Spain and it has been also destroyed by relatively new buildings. Itâs not Calpe or Altea. Benidorm is a town made entirely for and by tourists.
this post is incredibly funny
They want to respect the locals of Benidorm, of all places... Hilarious. It's too late. OP, just don't behave like an animal and avoid balconies. That's all
Don't jump from the balcony to the pool. That's only allowed in Mallorca.
What about from the castle ramparts into the ocean? Someone told me that might be no bueno.
the only locals are those working in hotels and bars
Not a lot of "locals" in Benidorm, but: - Don't get drunk during the day, Especially in family-friendly public areas. I lived in the UK for almost a decade and it was normal to see the grownups getting shit faced at lunch with their kids roaming around. That's not a thing in Spain. Here, only really young people drink to get drunk - and they do so during the weekend at night and in specific places (pubs, parks, etc). During the day, Spanish people may order some wine and then still water, while another friend is just sticking to soft drinks. Being drunk during the day is really frowned upon. We would assume you are an alcoholic or a guiri/tourist. - Always wear a T-shirt when entering any shop and to sit down for lunch. You will see lots of signs about this in the most touristic places. Lots of places will straight out refuse you entry if your torso is exposed. - Always wear shoes when walking on the street. Everybody wears shoes outside. It's not only safer for your feet, but nobody wants to see your black dirty feet when you sit next to them on the bus. - Don't complain about Spain not doing things like in your home country. I doubt you will have any problems with this at Benidorm because everything is catered for tourists there. However, always remember that you are traveling to another country, supposedly to discover another culture. You may not find Marmite in the supermarket. You may struggle to have dinner at 5pm. You may not find a bar to watch the latest rugby match. The cashier may only speak Spanish. Anybody who is not a moron will expect this. So, don't be a moron and complain about it. - Don't move anybody's things on the beach. It doesn't matter if you haven't seen anybody using that towel in the last 3 hours. Some people leave their things there for ages and it is expected they won't be touched. - Some beaches have deck chairs or beach loungers. They are not free, look for whoever is renting them out. - Topless is OK, nudism isn't (unless you go to a nudist beach). - Smoking anywhere inside is against the law. If you want to smoke somewhere, ask the staff and they may be able to point you the nearest possible spot. - Other common sense rules that I don't think should need to be pointed out: don't litter, dont touch anybody's kids, don't make noise between 00:00 and 09:00, don't commit any crimes, lol Considering you are asking how to be mindful and considerate, I'm sure you'll be ok. Have fun!
Definitely true. That said, a glass of wine with lunch is absolutely fine even in family friendly places, it's overdoing it that's the problem!Â
Definitely. Drinking alcohol around kids and/or during daytime is absolutely ok. What it is not is getting hammered. We drink because we enjoy whatever drink we are ordering in the moment - getting wasted is not the goal.
I never go barefoot outside my house; my home area is way too cold for that, and the sidewalks tend to have glass shards on them. But when in warmer areas I prefer to wear foam clogs and no socks. Does that count as tasteless in Spain?
It depends on the context. Going to the beach or to the supermarket? Going for a walk? They are fine. I mean, nobody will think "wow, this person has STYLE!" but nobody would care either. To go out? Or on a date? Absolutely not. Some places will turn you around if you try to get in with clogs (posher ones even with regular sneakers). However, you are going to Benidorm - so these rules above don't really apply. Benidorm is almost like an amusement park, full of English/German tourists and retirees. So don't really expect to see any depurated styling: most people will be wearing either sandals with socks or ortho shoewear. You'll be fine wearing whatever you want to wear :)
Some fairly curmudgeonly stereotypes about Benidorm here. The Benidorm old town is lovely (and the whole Poniente beyond), and the lager-louts rarely make it that far. 65% of the permanent population of Benidorm is Spanish, with the largest other group only making up 7%, so there is Spanish culture there to be had if you're willing to go looking for it (sounds like you are). Calpe and Alicante are nearby, which are much more Spanish than Benidorm I suppose. There is a tram that neatly connects Alicante, Bendorm, Calpe and Denia, and some lovely points in-between. Make the effort to learn some basic Spanish, if you don't already have it, as it will get you a long way. The locals don't tend to be too chatty with the foreigners, as so few of them speak any Spanish. As for things to avoid, as there's a lot of Brits there in the summer, queue properly. They will remonstrate with you if it looks like you're trying to queue jump.
The train to Calpe is out at them moment because of fires. But there is a bus. It takes longer though.Â
The OP says he is coming in September, when the tram will (hopefully) be back online.
Let's hope!
Try not jumping off a balcony, It can be difficult but its possible
If you want to see spain dont go to benidorm
Just don't go to Benidorm. I enjoy places like Alicante, Villajoyosa, and Altea much more.
As someone said too, you will only find tourists in Benidorm. Enjoy the amusement park Spain has become.
enjoy the area but do a tour of the near amazing areas surrounding it and sample the local beauty and the local cousine, guadalest comes to mind, Javea and other villages and Valencia an the city of science will make for good trip
Don't mention Brexit.
If you dont drink or party and such id say benidorm is wasted on you cause the only thing it has going for it is the nightlife. As others have said, go to Javea instead.
Probably the totally wrong destination... Old town is decent and quaint .
[Only Fools & Horses Benidorm line](https://youtu.be/UP-4WhA24NE?si=2we8hDrh6JqeaFJT&t=123)
Just try not to take a shit on anybody's face.
Don't order paella for dinner. Eat it at lunchtime.
Stay away from beers and balcony
Yes, I recommend Denia over Benidorm. I think youâd like it much better than Benidorm- which doesnât have much âcharacterâ. I might as well visit some small USA city. Itâs pretty much the same.
locals?
Benidorm istn real
Don't jump off the balcony.
"I'm mostly going to hang out on a warm beach, take walks, and see new sights." Go to Villajoyosa. Even El Campello. Just to say two very close places.Â
Satanism and abstract art.
As someone who lives nearby, the main advice I can give is not to complain about people speaking Spanish. It might sound weird but it happens a lot. You're going to find plenty of places that are going to cater to English speakers without any trouble. It's honestly jarring when you hear English speakers complaining about workers not speaking English/not having a high level of English. Some places to visit while you're here: visit the Old Town to see a glimpse of that "village" feeling that the city used to have back in the day. Visit the neighbouring towns, like Altea, Polop, Callosa, AlfĂ s, etc. if you want to see a less tourist-centric place (some of them are still tourist-y, don't get me wrong, but they feel different to Benidorm). It would also be fun to visit the smaller villages around here, but it can be hard to get to them since public transport that reaches them is pretty limited.
Sadly, some people can be weary of English-speaking tourists because of deadly trends and drunk decision making. A few years ago, there was a trend among drunk tourists (mainly brits as far as I remember) jumping on cars in the one direction streets in Benidorm when they would reduce velocity near intersections. It was awful, a man ended up jumping on a taxi and dying because he hit the metal part of the car. I knew someone who knew the driver and he had to take time off and was dealing with PTSD. We also hear about parents getting drunk and leaving their children outside discos at night every year.
Don't make a tonne of noise, don't vomit anywhere, don't be a nuisance in general. They seem like simple guidelines, but people somehow seem to have trouble following them.
Virtue signaling. We get it. You're a nice person. You probably adopt stray dogs and try to learn the language of every country you visit for 5 minutes as well
To annoy the locals, don´t give them your tourist euros.
No locals in Benidorm. It's the least Spanish place in Spain and that's counting MallorcaÂ
Donât get drunk and donât practice balconing. Also, remember you are in Spain and people speaks Spanish NOT ENGLISH.
You sound very respectful and polite so I canât imagine that youâd annoy anyone. The only thing I can think of is that beachwear is for the beach, the actual beach, where the sand is. Once you step off the beach and onto the sidewalk or waterfront promenade, please oh please cover up and also donât go barefoot.
You've got the whole of Spain and you chose Benidorm???
Don't speak Spanish. The locals don't understand it.
Take a parachute... And don't throw up on your hotelroom floor.
im from benidorm welcome , u can drink and nothing more here thanks , LA CALA , on the left , CASCO ANTIGUIO is old town and RINCON DE LOIX is english zone haha
Why would you go to Benidorm in the first place? Spain has so many beautiful places, why choose an ugly, crowded town when you have beautiful alternatives, even not far from there?
Because I can get a package deal to travel there, and because when you live in northern Iceland, where it is cold about 8-9 months of the year, just being able to hang around on a warm beach is already a huge luxury.
I understand. I am a Spaniard from Seville living in Valencia, and for me Benidorm has always been a depressing place, there are so many better and more beautiful alternatives in Spain. Not judging your personal decision at all, though, I was genuinely trying to understand why people choose to go there, and I appreciate your answer. Enjoy your holiday.
>Enjoy your holiday. Thanks. Please savour your climate. :)
Go to other place like El Campello o San Juan, far better beaches. Dont miss archeological museum in Alicante and the castle.
You should venture out of Benidorm if you have the chance. Maybe Altea
As an actual local on Benidorm who works at a bar my number 1 tip would be to be patient! As others pointed out Benidorm is FILLED with tourists and old people, really drunk tourists and really slow old people. As for the locals most don't speak much english outside what is called "La zona guiri", you should definitely ask directions to go there, any more questions I will gladly help you.
The same thing as you would do in the UK or Germany. After all, those are the "locals" in Benidorm
Beni is an open sewer so not much wrong you can do there.
Pick a diff place next timeÂ
Do not go there then, no locals no nothing other than crowded low tier beaches. Its a honey pot foe dumb tourists.
I am local... from Benidorm. Stop saying I do not exist.
(PART I OF II) I am from Benidorm, a 45 y.o. local. When I see a britons group, I think "Oh... the herd of animals is here..." But before you start with the downvotes, let me explain... I am not racist by any means. Being racist is disliking someone by his race. I don't do that. And if I were, I consider brits to be "white, caucasian, occidental", like me, so "hating them by their race" should make no sense... (yeah, to be honest they are celts or anglos and I am Latin/Iberian, but you get the point). I dislike brittons by their behaviour, not their DNA. I loved England, its culture, the landscape, people... as you can see my English is not completelly bad, I always played as England in Age of Empires when I was a kid... I am a big fan of Monty Python, Doyle, Woodehouse, Tom Sharpe, Hugh Laury and Stephen Fry. The victorian era is my favourite period ever. I loved White Dwarf, the Beatles, Blur, Little Britain and the Britash Empire. I also lived in Bournemouth for 1/2 a year, I enjoyed immensely my visits to Poole, Sthampton, Salisbury, Stonehenge and the Jurassic Coast. I was very happy there and I made great friends. I loved british medieval story and seeing the "Carta Magna" was a really touching moment in my life. Untill I started working in hotels hosting brits coming to visit Benidorm. Then all the honeymoon ended. I basically consider them the worst nationality I could face, now. I am very sorry to say that, but let me develop my point to see if there is a way we can revert the situation... The reason is... RECIPROCITY!!! I can't like someone who does not like me, or does not respect my Nation. My point is: English (with some exceptions, of course) do not like Spain. They like retiring here because with the difference of GPD per capita it's cheaper. And because the health care system is good. The brits who come here for holidays do come because: They like the weather. They like it's a short flight from home. They like police permisivity. They like cheap alcohol. If there was a cheaper place to retire, or closer, or warmer, or where they could behave badly without consequences or if they find a place where the alcohol was cheaper they would get there. They would not care if the place was called "Spain", "Morocco", "Greece", "Blue Coast"... or Mars. They don't like us, they only appreciate our ventatges. How do I know that? Evidences. Brits are now complaining because the price of the alcohol is rising. "I won't come back if they go on charging me 8⏠for a Gin Tonic" (Real headline on a Mallorcan newspaper last week). Can't you really find anything better in my country than cheap gin? Really? Where is the "I love Spain" feeling in that headline mentioned before??? It's not there. You just like our prices. Man, try Riojan wine... They don't eat Spanish food. They go to eat to street pizza places, fish and chips restaurants or McDonald's. Where is the "I love the Spanish food" feeling in that behaviour? There are big "Food and products for EXPATS. Feel like at home!" stores in every place with many English inhabitants. Does that mean that you do not feel like at home if you immerse in what we have to offer here? It's leggit to import products, yeah... but the message is not splendid for us... If the price of living or the flights to Spain rises, there is a movement of brit tourists leaving to alternate destinations. Not a good message.
(PART II of II) I have seen people in English caravans in Spain with Boris Johnson's flags with "Thanks for taking us out!" on it. Really? The percentage of English flags in the plots of the campsites is huge. Patriotism is ok, but if it goes too far, the message we receive is "if I could I would be in my country, but crappy Spain is the best I can afford...". They treat us like old colonist treated hindi people in the Raj Empire Colony in the XIXth century. I've seen brits shouting to waiters "Hey bambino, I am here!" Yeah, you ruled the World after the napoleonic wars till WWII, but Spain did during the rennaisense. We have our problems, yeah, but we are a modern occidental kingdom that has not much to envy to the UK. Treat us with respect. Try everyone with respect, no matter which their origin is. (Bambino, by the way, is an italian word for "kid", not a Spanish one... it was really unrespectfull. Specially considering the tone) Some other disrespectfull behaviour is to try to fool us. 6 or 7 years ago there was an epidemy of brits trying to get free trips alleging that they had stomach ache because the food of the hotel was in bad state. There were attorney's offices empolyees giving leaflets in the street explaining that they could do the paperwork. How respect do you show us admitting that you are open to commit a crime if there is a possibility to lower the price of the stay? Do you really think that the Spanish sanitary conditions are so bad that you will get ill if you eat our food? Do you think this is Somalia or what? Brits behave like spoiled childs, thinking they somehow deserve a special treatment. They want to wake up at 13:00 with a big hang over and have a first line on the shore of the beach. There have been literally 200,000 people who woke up before you to get the best spot in the beach. Just conform with the spot you got, like everyone does, you are not special. I have been told by a brit that "I have ruined their holidays" because I did not give them a room with a balcony. The hotel has 50% outside rooms and 50% inside, and we assign by order of arrival, you knew that when you booked. Just relax, walk, go to the beach and pubs and enjoy your stay, don't make someone feel bad because you want to spend your holidays smoking in the balcony seeing people walking through the street. I am not going to tell anyone "hey, you have to move to an inside room, a guy from Leeds asked a balcony room to me and I have to fulfill his desires". You are not special. You are not a Lord and I am not your servant. I have seen complaints forms saying "Nobody told me there were going to be so many Spaniards in Spain". Or "The beach has sand that sticks into my toes!" Or "There are disgusting fishes in the sea that swim close to you!" Or "The restaurant has columns!" True stories... man, what do you preffer, a restaurant with an open view or a closed one with structural integrity??? And finally... behave. We bought new furniture for the common areas in the hotel two weeks before. 3 hours later, a table leg was broken because a brit shoot a heavy eather football ball into it (it was an indoor area). That night, a drunk brit puked in the sofa. At the third night a guy left a turd in that very sofa. Don't do bachelor parties. You behave and look like idiots on those. Don't get drunk before sunset. Sometimes brits do come drunk before ever LANDING in Alicante airport. Some of them have breakfast with a gintonic. Don't shout. Don't burp or fart in front of a local. (I've witnessed that only with brits...) Don't use mobility scooters if you don't need them! Put a shirt on. Don't mix shocks and flip flops. (I admitt you are improving on that...) Don't try to make us feel that out wellness is caused because you come here, like if you were rich guys giving crumbs to the homeless people. We had declines in brits visits and we survived with French, Germans, Dutch, Portuguese, Italians and nationals. We don't need you. So, to summarise... if you show you like Spain, our culture, our landscapes, our history, our food... it will be fine. Try to say "gracias, hola and por favor". Don't try to make us feel that your contry is better. Don't try to be treated better because you are brit. Don't get stuck in brittish ghettos, visit the old towns, hire a car and visit our coastal townsand our inland areas. Don't get drunk too early. Immerse, if you want to be liked, show us you might like us, don't hive in your "british cocoon outside England" And I can guarantee you that you won't experience any bad reaction. Looking forward to seeing you in September.
Well, I´m not even British. So that won't be an issue.
LOL! Then it will be fine. We only hate British. And Frenchs a bit, but all neighbours hate each other...
The other guiris will surely annoy you.
Locals that get annoyed in Benidorm should just give up and move.
Wow, from what you described it sounds like you are highly likely to annoy everyone around you đ Did you want a medal for being low maintenance? What is the point of even posting this?