Forget the stereotypes, Benidorm is the complete package | Spain holidays

Last year, Benidorm welcomed close to 3 million visitors. Despite its reputation as a British holiday mecca – nearly 900,000 UK travellers visited the city in 2024 – it was actually Spanish nationals who made up the largest share, with more than one million domestic visitors flocking to the Costa Blanca resort, according to Benidorm city council. I have a feeling that these visitors did not come for the stereotype of full English breakfasts and pub crawls, but for something often overlooked by international tourists: the authentic, everyday rhythm of Spanish coastal life.

In a country where tourism makes up about 15% of GDP but has also spurred a housing shortage and countermovements, Benidorm offers a contrast to cities like Barcelona and Madrid, where tourism pressures are acute. The city’s mid-20th-century reinvention as a purpose-built resort might once have been controversial, but today it looks surprisingly sustainable in the context of a national housing emergency.

Benidorm was designed and built to handle industrial numbers of visitors – including me. My first visit was in the early 1990s, aged eight, on a classic package holiday with my family. I vividly remember staying up late to play billiards with a rotating cast of kids, and language barriers didn’t matter. Their mothers – and what felt like every other señora in our 20-storey hotel – took turns pinching my cheeks.

The coastal city has long accommodated large numbers of domestic and international travellers without displacing residents at the same rate as elsewhere. Unlike the “live like a local” model that has backfired in Spain’s big cities – such that more and more apartments once meant for residents are now exclusively for tourist use, especially in Madrid, where I’ve lived for 12 years – Benidorm has absorbed demand with ease while still offering an authentic Spanish experience. I’m here to explore exactly that.

Before the sun has fully risen, I walk to Poniente beach, the quieter, more local stretch just west of the old town. It is already full of life. A dozen elderly señores are taking a refreshing, pre-breakfast dip and a group of señoras are easing into the day with a free session of group yoga. As the weather heats up, the Spanish crowd moves away from the main beach to the nearby Cala Almadraba or, further along, to…