Benidorm a destination that has it all.

I’ll be honest before arriving to Benidorm I was not sure what to expect. I honestly had never even heard of it before being invited to attend Benidorm Gay Pride as part of the #MyGayPride campaign. They mentioned it was a beach destination in Spain and since I love the beach and Spain I was sold. Leading up to arriving I would mention Benidorm to other Europeans and they would look at me strange and mention how it’s only a beach destination with cheap drinks and nothing more. I was starting to get worried because even though I love that I always like to see and do more while I am also enjoying the beach. Lucky for me Benidorm is actually a destination that has it all. Benidorm is in the perfect location on the mediterranean sea that enjoys sun and warm weather all year round and because of that you can enjoy any of the following year round as well.

BEACHES

—Levante Beach, Benidorm—

I’ll start with the obvious Benidorm has beaches. Benidorm actually has 5 amazing beaches hugging it’s coastline. The beaches are prestigious having won many awards in quality, safety and cleanness. For a city this size I was shocked at how transparent and calm the waters were. We had a few cloudy days, but when the sun was out the water was just so clear I couldn’t believe it. So if you are looking for amazing clear water beaches this is a destination for you!

WATER SPORTS

—That’s me diving into the open sea from the rented boat.—

Where there is water there is normally water sports and that is the case for Benidorm as well. If you do not want to spend your time laying on the beach, but want to spend time in the water you have plenty of options for fun in Benidorm. With Aqua Sports Benidorm you can do trek helmet diving, snorkeling, scuba diving or even rent a boat. While we were there we rented boats and oh we had a blast. The good thing is you do not need a license to rent the boat and it’s easy to learn how to drive it. Renting a boat gives you the freedom to get away from the crowds and enjoy the clear waters out in the open sea.

WINE & FOOD

—Grapes growing at the Bodegas Enrique Mendoza Winery.—

When I mentioned Benidorm no one mentioned the amazing food and wine it also has. I am not a wine lover, but it’s growing on me. Just a quick drive outside of Benidorm is the winery of Bodegas Enrique Mendoza. We were given a tour of the winery and I learned that they specialize in Chardonnay and Muscatel in white wines and Cabernet, Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Petit Verdot, Shiraz and Monastrel in red wines. During that one tour I learned more about wine then I have my entire life. They go into great detail explaining the process and stages to make a great wine. It was such an interesting experience and the best part of it all was the wine tasting at the end. Aside from the good wine Benidorm also has some amazing food. Y’all know I love food and love eating just about everything. This beach side city benefits from having people from all over Spain living there and because of that has a wide variety of foods to enjoy. You have tapas, pinchos, paella, rice dishes and many sea food dishes as well. It’s a big melting pot of Spanish cuisine for all food lovers to enjoy.

THEME PARKS

—The crazy Titanide roller coaster in Terra Mitica.—

If you want to feel like a kid again Benidorm gives you many options to make you feel just that. Benidorm has 5 major theme parks for all ages. While I was there I visited two Terra Mitica and Aqualandia. Terra Mitica is a park divided into 5 themed zones: Egypt, Greece, Rome, Iberia, and the Islands. It’s a park filled with many rides and roller coasters like the crazy one you see in the photo above. Aqualandia is the largest water park in Europe and filled with crazy water rides. No like it seriously has some of the wildest waterslides I have ever been on in my life. I’ll let you see the video below to see just how crazy it is. Yes that is me screaming for dear life as I slide down one of the tallest water slides in the world. Oh I was so scared!!!

So I rarely post video but had to post this cus… this happened. Yeah I went down the tallest water slide in Europe (the red one over 35 meters tall) & was petrified. Yeah I couldn’t stop screaming jajajaja. • Thanks Aqualandia & @visitbenidorm for having the #mygaypride crew today!!! Oh & thanks @buttonandbly for recording my dramatic fall!!!

A video posted by Jaime Davila (@breakawaybackpacker) on Sep 10, 2015 at 9:49am PDT

THE OUTBACK & HIKING

—The #mygaypride crew looking fabulous in the Marco Polo jeep!!!—

One of the best things about Benidorm is it’s location, not only is it on the Mediterranean sea, but behind it is the Puig Campana Mountain and a lot of open terrain. So it’s technically not called the outback, but it’s what the tour guide best described it as. If you want to escape the heat and crowds and enjoy some nature do the Jeep Safari with Marco Polo Expediciones. We did it while we were there and were shocked at how close an entire other world is right behind Benidorm. The jeep tour took us to amazing views of the city, a water reservoir and the small town of Guadalest in the mountains. Aside from offering that you can also do a mountain bike tour, horseback riding, and even hike to the highest peak. I will have to come back one day to do that hike. It looks like an amazing challenge.

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I think I can go on and on about everything Benidorm really has to offer, but I think with the above you realize it is a destination that has it all. I think it’s a destination that packs quite a punch, but best of all is that it’s a destination that takes pride in supporting the LGBT community.

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I was invited to Benidorm as part of the #MyGayPride summer campaign from TwoBadTourists.com. The campaign, supported by official media partner Gay Star News, has involved over 12 different bloggers visiting different pride festivals around Europe. Visit the official Visit Benidorm website here. I’d also like to thank AllDayInternet for allowing us to have WiFi all day on the go & Eurail for providing me with transportation. All thoughts and opinions are my own.