According to a Winter Sunshine report carried out by the Post Office, Spain, Bali and Portugal have been crowned best value destinations for Winter Sun.....which comes a no surprise to us here! Apparently the place to avoid if you are looking for value for money is Dubai – where a glass of wine can cost more than 7 GBP! The price of alcohol here in Benidorm is most definitely a great pull for many, where a pint can easily be had for 1.50 euro or even 1 euro if you look – especially during the low season.
Benidorm is great value for money
When conducting the report they looked at the price of eight typical holiday purchases, which included a cup of coffee, bottle of lager and a 3 course meal for two – including wine. Spain came out the cheapest at 44.03GBP wheras Dubai came in at an eye watering 159.34GBP for the same comparable items. The euro exchange rate is currently strong so your pounds are going further – plus you also need to factor in things like travel insurance. The current unusually warm weather here in Benidorm, yesterday it was 28 degrees, is still attracting many visitors and all week the Levante beach has been buzzing.
Benidorm hotels are 92% full
Figures for the first half of October show hotel occupancy at 92% – which is higher than it was in July and half of the holidaymakers are Brits. Walking around this week I was also surprised by the amount of school children here – obviously the fines for taking them out of term time is worth the savings gained. With half term coming up the resort will get even busier and with such a short journey from the UK understandable why Spain and in particular Benidorm is such a favourite with the Brits.
Easily eat out in Benidorm for under 10€
Eating out is very reasonable here. If you opt for self catering you can go and sample something different every night. Cooked English breakfast can be had from 1 euro and a 3 course lunch with wine from 5 euros upwards – it´s a shame to go all inclusive in my opinion, where the lunch and dinner buffets are usually the same every day! But Tapas Alley in the Old Town is a must.
Travel Insurance - don´t leave home without it
However, do not risk leaving without travel insurance and please please declare ANY pre-existing medical conditions. A very sad case came to light this week when dad of six Thomas Owens, who was on a lads holiday from Manchester suddenly collapsed at a bar here in Benidorm and died. He did take out travel insurance but failed to declare that he had had heart surgery to fit a microvalve in 2005 and a pacemaker in 2012 – making his policy INVALID!
His wife and family have now set up a Facebook appeal to try and raise the four THOUSAND pounds needed to repatriate his body back to the UK – all for failing to declare a heart condition on the form! It probably wouldn´t have cost that much either on the premium but regardless it goes to show the mess left behind for family. An EHIC – blue European Health Insurance Card will only cover for medical emergencies and NOT flying you back to the UK so do not take the risk. Remember, no-one plans on having an accident... we have a number of travel insurance options on offer so you don´t even need to leave this page to look.
