{"id":667139,"date":"2026-01-01T16:08:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T16:08:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/667139\/"},"modified":"2026-01-01T16:08:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T16:08:15","slug":"brit-who-moved-to-spain-reveals-the-astonishing-reality-of-benidorm-in-the-winter-and-whether-it-lives-up-to-its-famous-nickname","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/667139\/","title":{"rendered":"Brit who moved to Spain reveals the astonishing reality of Benidorm in the winter – and whether it lives up to its famous nickname"},"content":{"rendered":"

By MARTI STELLING, REPORTER<\/a> <\/p>\n

Published: 09:28 EST, 1 January 2026 | Updated: 10:42 EST, 1 January 2026 <\/p>\n

In the summer months, Benidorm is packed with sun-seeking Brits enjoying the many sandy beaches, vibrant nightlife and entertainment.<\/p>\n

But despite its nickname of the New York of the Mediterranean, Benidorm seems to be the city that does sleep.<\/p>\n

The Spanish holiday resort, long famed for its 24-hour party scene, is facing a quiet winter after a\u00a0subdued peak season.<\/p>\n

Over the summer, videos on TikTok<\/a> showed shuttered pubs,\u00a0deserted terraces and rows of empty sun loungers.<\/p>\n

And now an\u00a0expat living in the coastal city has revealed what the Benidorm strip looks like in December.<\/p>\n

Posting on YouTube, a British expat who uses the name ‘Benidorm Enthusiast’ (@benidormstuff3337<\/a>) described the area as being ‘as dead as it gets’.<\/p>\n

She showed that while multiple entertainment venues were open during December, they were mostly empty or closed early in the evening.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘There are just two people in there watching the football,’ she said of one bar.<\/p>\n

\"Posting <\/p>\n

Posting on YouTube, a British expat who uses the name ‘Benidorm Enthusiast’ described the area as being ‘as dead as it gets’<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The expat showed how empty the streets were in the New Town area of Benidorm on a December evening<\/p>\n

‘Through the week, on the square, it’s completely dead.’<\/p>\n

But, she admits, it’s not a case of the whole of Benidorm being abandoned at this time of year.<\/p>\n

‘If you go down on the beach during the day, you’ll see plenty of people out and about. And the Old Town has life pretty much all year round,’ she said.<\/p>\n

‘In the evening, most of the tourists who come in December will just stay in their hotels rather than venturing out in the cold.<\/p>\n

‘Another reason why it’s very quiet around here in the winter months, I think, is down to the age group as well. We do get a slightly more mature age group at this time of year.<\/p>\n

‘And I think sadly, some just don’t feel particularly safe around here on the strip late at night anymore.’<\/p>\n

The video, which has been viewed more than 80,000 times, received a mixture of comments, with some users describing it as a ‘ghost town’, while others said they enjoy visiting Benidorm in December.<\/p>\n

It comes as earlier this month, it was reported that Benidorm was\u00a0preparing for one of its most active winter seasons in recent history.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\"Benidorm <\/p>\n

Benidorm old town view and Platgeta del Mal Pas beach, are pictured<\/p>\n

Many travellers from the UK choose to spend the Christmas and New Year period in Benidorm.<\/p>\n

Due to the heavy British presence in the coastal city, there are familiar festive traditions, social gatherings and lively evening entertainment – without the cold weather.<\/p>\n

In December and January, the weather in Benidorm is mild with minimal rain.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Figures revealed a notable increase in off-season visitors, particularly from the UK.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Recent data shows hotel occupancy in November reaching 83.3 per cent within the resort, while the broader Costa Blanca registered 77 per cent.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Share or comment on this article:
\n Brit who moved to Spain reveals the astonishing reality of Benidorm in the winter – and whether it lives up to its famous nickname<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By MARTI STELLING, REPORTER Published: 09:28 EST, 1 January 2026 | Updated: 10:42 EST, 1 January 2026 In…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":667140,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5312],"tags":[92,2000,299,104,449,183,1737],"class_list":{"0":"post-667139","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-spain","8":"tag-dailymail","9":"tag-eu","10":"tag-europe","11":"tag-spain","12":"tag-tiktok","13":"tag-travel","14":"tag-youtube"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115820711441000775","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/667139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=667139"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/667139\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/667140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=667139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=667139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=667139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}