The mass influx of holidaymakers yesterday bought the roads leading into Benidorm to a virtual standstill.
The Levante exit on the AP7 motorway saw some drivers waiting up to an hour on the sliproad to pass through the tollbooths.
Police figures estimate that 40,000 vehicles descended on the resort - which if you are here and trying to find a parking space, will certainly agree with. Car Parks are full and due to ongoing roadworks in the centre many parking bays have been suspended, adding to drivers misery. The bus station was also exceptionally busy, with 180 coach arrivals and more expected on Sunday. Many hotels have reported nearly 100% occupancy, with the current good weather encouraging many last minute bookings.
But this deluge of people has caused problems with the wifi network, in particular the mobile phone network. Many users have reported being cut off mid conversation or third parties coming onto the line. Last Easter the system overloaded and crashed, leaving restaurants and shops unable to accept credit card payments. Following the incident the Mayor sent letters to the main network providers asking them to make improvements, although as private companies the Council had no authority to impose any penalties.
However, a number made substantial investments – Movistar installed Smartcells along the Levante and Poniente beaches to boost 3G and 4G signals last summer; Vodafone have laid down fibre optic and Orange invested €2 million to launch 4G.
Many UK network providers offer special rates and packages for roaming add ons so check before starting to use you mobile or tablet from the beach to upload selfies! . The European Commission planned to scrap roaming fees by the end of this year (2015) but the 28 EU member states have voted in favour of keeping roaming charges until at least 2018 but bring in caps.
