11 Things To Do In Benidorm

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When people from the UK think of Benidorm, they tend to have a few stereotypical images in their minds, but there is a whole other side to this Spanish seaside town. Below are my favourite activities and experiences you have to try for yourself if you have a holiday to Benidorm coming up soon.

1) E-Bike Tour

You probably wouldn’t expect this so high on the list, but all 7 of us loved this! We started off near the seafront, picking up the e-bikes from the Tao bike shop, before heading along the beachfront and then up the hills where you can look out at Tio Ximo, a stunning beach not accessible by car so you don’t have the crowds.

Of course, you don’t want to confuse this with the first beach along (Cala Almadraba), which is a nudist beach.

You can explore where you like, with bookings available for a single hour, a half day or even a full day if you wanted to completely get around Benidorm. The powerful engine means you can race up hills without too much effort, nice when you want to explore but don’t fancy an intense cardio session.

Heading up Serra Gelada, you can see Torre de les Caletes, the former watchtower which would protect the shoreline against invaders.

2) Wine Tasting at Bodegas Enrique Mendoza

I honestly didn’t expect to find a vineyard in Alicante, which is maybe a bit silly looking back, but I was delighted to visit the winery in L’Alfas del Pi.

With the booking, you get a tour around the building, where they explain the process and show you the huge casks they have, before you get to the main event, trying the wine!

They serve 7 different wines, which was a white chardonnay, a rose, then 4 red wines and ending with a dessert wine. Personally, I was all about the reds, they were easily the best of the lot, but that’s my taste, everyone is different.

The wine is paired with some food as well, we’re talking various different cheeses, cured meats and some bread, while they instruct which food you should eat with each drink to enhance the flavours.

This is a nice contrast to the usual Benidorm activities and gets you a bit out of town, so it’s something I would definitely recommend if you’re booking your holidays to Benidorm.

3) Cocktails at Selvatico Rooftop Bar

Honestly, this could have been number one, as I loved this experience. You have beautiful views of the town from above, the infinity pool with the Selvatico logo alongside, plus expert mixologists making some amazing cocktails.

So the reason it wasn’t top was that you do have to book in advance, you have to queue once you arrive and then it took 40 minutes for our cocktails to arrive. Admittedly, we were a group of 8, so maybe that was a factor, but I will openly state that if you’re ordering a drink, maybe order in two at once, or order another when yours arrives so it is served as your last one is finished.

There weren’t too many places in Benidorm that did a good espresso martini or an Old Fashioned, so this was a good spot if you want a particular cocktail out of the more ‘Benidorm expected cocktails’ (like a cheeky Vimto or an Aperol Spritz).

4) Eat Lunch On The Balcony of D-Vora

There are only a few tables on the outdoor dining terrace, so you’ll need to book this in advance and specifically state you want a table on the balcony, but otherwise they do have plenty of tables inside and you can pop out to get a photo.

I have to talk about the grilled salmon dish I ordered. Sure, everyone else’s dish looked nice, but I think everyone had buyers regret when my dish came out and it was hands down the best salmon dish I’ve eaten in a long time!

Ok, I do love salmon anyway, but seriously, this was spectacular. I wasn’t expecting fine dining while in Benidorm, but I was delighted to eat here. Plus, the sangria went down a treat!

The views overlooking Levante Beach are inevitably the key attraction, watching the waves crash against the rocks and people jumping in the sea, but it helps when the food is equally as good as the view.

5) Jet Ski

This was actually my first time trying a jet ski, I can see why people love them, especially if you’re a bit of an adrenaline junkie or love to go fast.

There are excursion stores along the seafront, like Carlos Water Sports, where you can drop your bags and possessions off. They will provide you with a life jacket, before you swim over to a boat, that will take you to the jet skis.

We had around 40 minutes on the jet skis…I think. It’s hard to know as you don’t have your phone on you, but I’m pretty sure that’s right. We went around Illa de Benidorm (the small island off the coast of Benidorm) and raced back over the waves.

Whether you’re on a family holiday, visiting as a couple or on a stag or hen do, this is an ideal activity to try out and a great location for it.

6) Explore Old Town

A lot of people that visit Benidorm spend a fair portion of time either by the beach or the main strip, but you’re repeatedly told the Old Town is really nice, offering much better restaurants and a more authentic feel. I assumed the Old Town was a long distance away, but was delighted to find it only took us 10 minutes walking from where we were based near the beach.

There are some amazing restaurants, hence why it’s a great spot to go for some tapas or paella, as well as restaurants and nice viewpoints.

Visit Benidorm also have a guide on where to shop which might be useful. We spoke to a few locals that swear by Zara, while the prices in Zara were much cheaper than back home.

A fair few of the streets are quite narrow and have traditional Spanish architecture, while many of these streets are pedestrianised, something I do love about Spain and wish we had more of in England.

Many of the restaurants have outdoor seating, ideal so you can make the most of the warm evenings.

If you’re looking for a cafe, then Calle Alameda is a good spot, while Carrer dels Gats is good to snap some pics of the traditional buildings and architecture. Then stop for some dinner on Calle Santo Domingo.

7) Jeep Tour

The jeep tours are available for different lengths, most commonly as a half day trip, picking you up in town and also dropping you off where you want at the end, meaning they can drop you back off outside your hotel (if based in the centre).

These 4X4’s are ideal to tackle the rough terrain as you head up the hills, providing you with some amazing views over Benidorm. This is great if you want a slightly different view of Benners, much like when we did the e-bike tour.

We also passed the water park and theme park, both something I’ll have to give a try in the future. While there are different tour routes available, you might head to the small village of Guadalest, or to the falls of Fonts de l’Algar.

The full day tour will take around 7-8 hours, while the half day tour is about 3.5-4 hours. Make sure to pack some sun cream and water for these trips, as it was warm and the nice breeze on us meant we didn’t always notice how much the sun was on us.

8) Kayaking

This is a fun thing to do if you fancy a watersport, but one word of warning is that they’re all double kayaks, I actually prefer a single one so I’m completely in control. It’s also sea kayaking, so this is weather permitted and strong waves can make it a bit more tiring compared to leisurely floating along a river.

Having said that, this is a great way to see some caves close up and other sides of Benidorm that would be hard to reach otherwise.

The kayaking is also guided, you’re not just floating off on your own (well, you can, but a guide is provided). You’ll normally take off from the main beach in Benidorm and then explore along the coastline, around Serra Gelada.

9) Eat a Luxurious Dinner at Exotico

In the same building that has the Selvatico rooftop bar is Exotico, a fine dining restaurant that really did have the wow factor with every dish.

There is also live music to enjoy with your meal, a saxophone player walking around the room as we ate.

While we went for the A La Carte option, they do have set menus, so you can opt for a 3 course meal with starters to share and a drink included. These do require a minimum of 4 people for a booking.

The only negative, and this was a big negative, the waiter was incredibly rude. This restaurant deserves a higher spot on this list, but the staff let them down.

10) Cake and Coffee at Moka Bloom

If you’re like me then you’ll crave a good cup of coffee, but this isn’t always the easiest to find in Benidorm. Having said that, Moka Bloom perfectly hit the spot with an amazing cafe latte, plus the cakes were unbelievable!

On top of that, I have to talk about the latte art, it was unbelievable, I could practice for 1,000 years and still never be able to replicate it. Inside the building is a florist, while they have an outdoor terrace area, so it really is a beautiful spot to stop off for an hour or two.

Plus, if you like their cups or bowls, they sell them inside the cafe, a nice souvenir which everyone in our group purchased.

They do sell bumble coffee, so we asked what that was, assuming it was related to honey, but apparently it’s an espresso mixed with orange juice. I wasn’t brave enough to order it, but if you do, let me know if it’s nice, it just sounds too odd for me.

11) Mirador del Castell

We wandered over to here in the evening to watch sunset, before heading for dinner and I’m very glad we did. There was a really nice atmosphere, while it felt more like we were in Greece than Benidorm.

This is where a defensive castle stood, a key settlement to look out for marauding pirates, but it’s now a spot where people get great pictures of the stairway down to the Balcon del Mediterraneo (Balcony of the Mediterranean).

On the upper viewpoint, you have live music often being played, as well as plenty of people talking and hanging out, while the lower viewpoint is mainly a photo spot due to its beauty.

You have Levante beach to the East and Poniente beach to the West, as well as Benidorm Island out in front of you.

Our Trip To Benidorm

This was actually my third trip to Benidorm, so it felt about time to write about my experiences. We took flights to Benidorm via Alicante with Jet2, which means you get the package deal with your flights, hotel and airport transfers included, taking away all the hassle when it comes to working out your plan.

We then stayed at the Innside Costablanca via our Jet2holidays booking, which was right along the Plage Levant beach front, meaning a 10 second walk to the beach each day. Having said that, despite planning a swim every morning, it never quite happened as I kept oversleeping. Too many beers? Maybe…