Whats there to do in BenalmÃ¡dena costa?

Show all answers

Pompal '09.

I've been going there for 20 years, sometimes as many as 4 times per year, and never get tired of the place. There is something for everybody and you may find that you don't even want to leave the place, to go elsewhere.
The attractions of Benalmadena are many but the main one's would be:
The Marina - probably the best in Spain, maybe Europe. There are many great restaurants, shops, bars and clubs for nightlife. The boats are well worth a look and the water is teeming with fish, which you can feed.
Sealife centre - situated in the Marina.
Paloma Park - a vast landscaped park, with a large lake and fountain, animals running freely as well as others in an enclosure. There are a couple of cafe bars, a childrens play park, & a large Cactus Park. It really is a lovely place to spend a few hours.
Selwo Marina - alongside Paloma Park, with Dolphin, sea lion and penguin shows.
Tivoli World - in Arroyo de la Miel, which is the the commercial area of Benalmadena and a lovely town with a very Spanish feel. Tivoli is an amusement park with rides and show. Great for kids and adults alike.
Cable car - situated by Tivoli and takes you to the top of Monte Calamorro. If you don't mind heights this is something not to be missed. At the top there is a great collection of birds of prey & displays take place at various times of the day. Choose a clear day for this trip as the views are magnificent.
Benalmadena Pueblo - the third part of Benalmadena is the original little white village and a lovely place to see.
The beach promenade is itself a wonderful attraction with many great restaurants, bars and little gift shops.
Eating out is a treat and can still be done very reasonably, with Arroyo and the Bonanza Square area being among my favourites. For entertainment, there are professional acts every night in places like the Bonanza Bar, El Efefante, and Busby's. There are also karaoke bars, clubs in 24hr Square and the Marina & a Casino, too, if you enjoy a gamble.
A train runs from Malaga to Fuengirola, it's frequent, cheap & the station is by Tivoli in Arroyo. The local buses are also very cheap, taxis are reasonable too, so a car is unnecessary.
You will see that I haven't even been out of Benalmadena yet but if you do wish to leave it, Mijas, Gibraltar, Ronda, the lakes above El Chorro, Granada and Malaga itself are all worth a visit. Next door in Torremolinos there is a water park and a Spanish Horse show (Wednes. evenings I think).
My next visit is in 2 weeks time and, as you may gather, I can't wait.
The link below gives the best guide to the area, in my opinion, telling you all you need to know.
Have a great holiday.

Paul B

Loads of ideas here - http://www.yougodo.com/en/things-to-do-in-Benalmadena/Search.aspx?l=2521139&d=25

You can filter the results to finds things which you want to do - i,e, water sports, riding, etc.

Or take a look at the activities map for the area - http://www.yougodo.com/en/Spain/Andalucia/Benalmadena/information/L2521139.aspx

Some great water parks at Fuengirola and Torremolinos (both easy to get to), a great Marina in Benalmadena. Good Zoo (Selwo) at Estepona, Mijas Mountain Village, cable cars up the mountains, Tivoli small theme park, Malaga city (easy to get to), etc.

I live here - It's a great place to visit.

Have fun.

english rosethorn

Been there a lot. You will wish you had not asked after reading this lot.

It rather depends on what you like to do. But we found that there are free blanket trips, you have to listen to a sales pitch for an hour but the trips out are full day ones, free and worth taking. Leave a tip for the courier on your way out though. You may get an free extra trip for it.

Otherwise there is a lovely Marina and you can walk all along the front for miles, they are planning to organise it so that you can walk from Malaga all along and it will take about three days to do the whole thing.

You can take buses from the station and get to loads of other places for an inexpensive day out. Marbella, Puerto Banus, Torremolinos Malaga, Fuingerolla and inland Mijas is a lovely place well worth going. Gibraltar, daily coach trips from Bucket shops or the Thomson rep but that is dearer. There is a decent train service too.

Nerja is along the coast, pretty little place, change buses at Malaga.

The worst thing is the time share touts. If you are a couple/family you could well be harrassed to the point that you end up going out separately. One reason we avoid the area. Do not buy one or even think of going to the presentation no matter what they offer you. If you want a time share you can get them free on line from people only too pleased to get rid of them to be released from the annual service charge.

If you are self catering go to the Euroski supermarket for supplies. They are the cheapest a bit like ASDA or Tesco. They do good quality own brand goods. Nice cakes and bread. One shop, taxi back with the shopping it is still worth it. Make a plan before you go, like a menu.

Spain is expensive with the Euro as it is at the moment but if you are on half board, it wont be too bad. Eating out costs a lot and drinking isn't cheap like it once was. So be prepared to make your own meals if you are self catering.

I usually take things like instant mash or rice and things which are dried so they do not weigh much, a plastic measuring jug, then get fresh meat and salad veg. Buy a bottle of wine and enjoy a meal on the balcony then go out for the evening. The bread is lovely I think and the Spanish cheeses and cerano ham is better than Palma, the salamis are great too. It does not take long to make a sandwich. I also take some plastic bags, a 25p roll from Asda. Always useful. Even on half board, you can make a sandwich to take out with you at breakfast. Be discreet and pop it into your bag.

Yeh I know I am a cheapskate but I have seen Brits on holiday refusing to cook but short of cash trying to pretend they are enjoying a plate of badly cooked frozen chips at a British bar so often I always think that they could have enjoyed their holiday so much more with just a tiny bit of thought and preparation before hand.

If you smoke, English brands of cigarettes and tobacco are cheaper and you can bring quite a few back. They keep well so you could use them as Christmas gifts for family. Of course it is illegal to sell them on so you are not allowed to sell what you buy to friends when you get home.

There are loads of different places to go to at night, you might have entertainment where you are staying but some of it is, not always of a high standard.

You can get a boat accross to Africa on a day trip but be warned if you have taken a Europe only travel insurance you wont be covered. Take the up to date version of the E111 just in case you need emergency treatment. If you are taken ill, try the pharmacist first, they can sell a lot of drugs over the counter, some will sell antibiotics even. Their pharmacists who own their own shops are very highly qualified and can offer just as good advice as a lot of doctors.

Mosquitos are not usually a problem but can be so if you think you need to, take repellent.

Look for tourist information, they have free maps bus time tables and sometimes have offers like half price for local attractions. The staff are helpful.

Markets are rubbish now, they seem to have the sort of cheap Chinese imports you can buy anywhere. Don't expect to get bargains department stores will have the same stuff a lot cheaper.

Take your own mobile phone for phoning home too. It is cheaper in most cases than using public phones or getting a card (commission is another rep's perk) . Just make brief calls. Even pay as you go ones cost less than public phones and room phones are prohibitive. Enquire with your service provider about the charge for things and texts, you may have to pay to receive & for answer phone messages made to you once you have tuned into the Spanish network.

Those sun loungers on the beach can be expensive. I suggest you use the ones round the pool. Take a beach towel , Spanish never give these out.

If you want extra pillows do ask at reception, they usually just give one each but are happy to give you more if you ask. People are afraid to ask.

If you have a complaint

xxlauraxxox

this is the 1st hoiday me and my boyfriend went on in 2006 and we loved it.theres a national wild park,theme park is ten minutes away in the nearby town of, and ders loads of water parks up by the marina where u can go on boat trips and have a great day shopping, the bars and clubs are brill and the food is awesome,people are lovely and where we stayed in benal beech apartments the staff where unreal
We loved it and have returned der every year since.

estepona

Apart from visiting Benalmadena itself, you may visit the rest of cities and towns around the coast.

If you like mountains, you have fantastic opportunities to visit them, and renting a car to visit the villages too would be a good occasion.

guiri

Nothing apart from Beach, sunbathing and drinking.
Hire a car and explore the countryside!

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: