# Altea/Benidorm Spain in August? Alfaz Paradise on hold...



## Conan (Sep 14, 2014)

I have an August week in Mallorca booked for 2016 and was looking for a second week on the island. But meanwhile a week at Alfaz Paradise RCI#1462 in Altea (on the mainland near Benidorm north of Alicante) appeared and I have it on hold.

RCI is out-of-service most of today, so maybe I have until tomorrow to take it or leave it.

Any opinions about that corner of Spain? We like summer beaches, which is why I'm looking in August, but only if there are also areas of cultural or historical interest to drive to. (We're just back from Crete which filled that bill perfectly.)

The overall plan is an open jaw flight to Palma returning from Madrid. We would add flights Palma to Alicante to Madrid to close the loop.

Thanks!


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## ilene13 (Sep 14, 2014)

Conan said:


> I have an August week in Mallorca booked for 2016 and was looking for a second week on the island. But meanwhile a week at Alfaz Paradise RCI#1462 in Altea (on the mainland near Benidorm north of Alicante) appeared and I have it on hold.
> 
> RCI is out-of-service most of today, so maybe I have until tomorrow to take it or leave it.
> 
> ...



We are currently in Marbella and it is 90 degrees.  We were in Barcelona and Grenada last week and we are going to Madrid tomorrow.  It has been very hot and humid.  I can only imagine that August is hotter.  We've done a lot of sightseeing and the heat exhausts you.


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## Conan (Sep 14, 2014)

ilene13 said:


> We are currently in Marbella and it is 90 degrees.  We were in Barcelona and Grenada last week and we are going to Madrid tomorrow.  It has been very hot and humid.



I know what you mean - - we roasted in Seville in summer. I think the eastern coast may be a bit cooler, but that's a price we'll pay. Mediterranean waters are only comfortably swimmable for me in August. As discussed in another thread the Brits can swim in 65 degree (18C) waters, but we Americans want them at least 75 (24C) and the air 85 (30C).

Mainly I'm interested in knowing if the Alicante/Benidorm region hasn't been ruined by tourism, and whether there are sites of cultural and historic interest in the area.


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## Pompey Family (Sep 14, 2014)

Conan said:


> Mainly I'm interested in knowing if the Alicante/Benidorm region hasn't been ruined by tourism, and whether there are sites of cultural and historic interest in the area.



Oh it has! If you want to experience the worst of British (and other European) tourism then Benidorm hits the spot as one excerpt from The Independent summarises...

"Benidorm – ah! The cracked jewel of the Spanish Riviera, the tarnished zircon tiara of the Costa Blanca, home of the one-euro, all-day British breakfast and the Beach Rock Burger Café, of pub karaoke with wide-screen TV sport, and girls in tiny T-shirts with "Tits on Tour!" badges flooring pints of vodka and Red Bull at Gigolos and Rockefellas, Benidorm, one of the laughing-stock holiday destinations (along with Torremolinos and Magaluf) for lowest-common-denominator British tourists. It is, by its lights, fantastically successful, pulling in 4m visitors a year; by many other people's criteria, it's a loud, grotty, noisy, violent bit of home-from-home Blighty, in which the least appealing elements of British youth routinely get off their faces (and on each others) in English-style theme bars and just-like-back-home pizza parlours."

Stay in Mallorca would be my suggestion (avoiding Magaluf!)


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## Conan (Sep 14, 2014)

Well that surely answers my question!


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## Pompey Family (Sep 14, 2014)

Conan said:


> Well that surely answers my question!



Forewarned is forearmed!

You could try a trip to Ibiza. Whilst it's a fantastic party Island there's still some culture to be found particularly in Ibiza Town. It's a very cosmopolitan place and if you steer clear from Benidorm-esque San Antonio you can find some great and interesting places.


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## ilene13 (Sep 15, 2014)

Conan said:


> I know what you mean - - we roasted in Seville in summer. I think the eastern coast may be a bit cooler, but that's a price we'll pay. Mediterranean waters are only comfortably swimmable for me in August. As discussed in another thread the Brits can swim in 65 degree (18C) waters, but we Americans want them at least 75 (24C) and the air 85 (30C).
> .



78 degrees F is skin temp.  I like 85 degrees F to swim in!


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## Conan (Sep 15, 2014)

ilene13 said:


> 78 degrees F is skin temp.  I like 85 degrees F to swim in!



Today's sea temperatures:

Spain
http://www.seatemperature.org/europe/spain/

USA
http://www.seatemperature.org/north-america/united-states/


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## Pompey Family (Sep 15, 2014)

Conan said:


> Today's sea temperatures:
> 
> Spain
> http://www.seatemperature.org/europe/spain/
> ...



I'm liking Miami's temperature, bodes well for next summer's visit.

Meanwhile my local dip is a balmy 64f.


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## Conan (Sep 15, 2014)

Pompey Family said:


> I'm liking Miami's temperature, bodes well for next summer's visit.
> 
> Meanwhile my local dip is a balmy 64f.



I knew you fellows are good at 65F !

Update - - now I have Las Terrazas de Cala Codolar, Ibiza on hold for the second week. Apparently it's somewhere in this vicinity:
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.9507733,1.2239301,204m/data=!3m1!1e3

Any comment?


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## Pompey Family (Sep 15, 2014)

Conan said:


> I knew you fellows are good at 65F !
> 
> Update - - now I have Las Terrazas de Cala Codolar, Ibiza on hold for the second week. Apparently it's somewhere in this vicinity:
> https://www.google.com/maps/@38.9507733,1.2239301,204m/data=!3m1!1e3
> ...



I haven't been to that part of the Island but it would appear to be in a quieter area than the 24/7 party scene of nearby San Antonio. Ibiza Town is a half hour drive away and it can't be beaten for history, dining, shopping and celebrity spotting.

If it's a toss up between here and Benidorm then there is no contest, Ibiza wins hands down (plus the sea is warmer!).


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## dansdad (Sep 15, 2014)

+1 for Pompey Family's comments re Ibiza and Benidorm.

I don't know the resort but that area of Ibiza is very scenic with numerous sandy coves/beaches to explore.  

Ibiza island is possibly a mini Crete without the Minoan ruins but with the lovely but small medieval town of Ibiza.

Ibiza Town would be at tops a 30 minute drive from the west side of the island to the east.

I would not dismiss San Antonio entirely. Just avoid the area known as the West End after midnight.  Prior to that a visit to what is known as the Sunset Strip (in San Antonio) before sundown is high on many peoples travel plans.  Overall, if as you mentioned you like summer beaches then Ibiza certainly hits the spot.


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## Pompey Family (Sep 15, 2014)

dansdad said:


> I would not dismiss San Antonio entirely. Just avoid the area known as the West End after midnight.  Prior to that a visit to what is known as the Sunset Strip (in San Antonio) before sundown is high on many peoples travel plans.  Overall, if as you mentioned you like summer beaches then Ibiza certainly hits the spot.



You're right, a couple of drinks in the beach bars during sundown is not to be missed.....just get out before 10 o'clock!


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## Conan (Sep 16, 2014)

Thanks to all - - I'll do one week Mallorca, one week Ibiza!


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## Pompey Family (Sep 16, 2014)

Conan said:


> Thanks to all - - I'll do one week Mallorca, one week Ibiza!



Good man! A wise choice, I hope you enjoy it.

Here's a brief but good article on how Ibiza isn't all clubs and all night parties:

http://www.theguardian.com/spanish-tourist-board/ibiza-historic-town-eivissa


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