Benicàssim/FIB 101
So, it´s almost summer. And that means music festivals. We
have the FIB (International Festival of Benicasim) during July (3rd
week of July normally) and then during August we have the Rototom Sunsplash. The
FIB week is one of the busiest weeks of the year as a huge amount of tourists,
mostly from the UK arrive here hopinf for it to be one of the best festivals of
their lives. And it normally is. For almost everyone. Not so much for the ones
that have to go to Alicante or Barcelona to the British Consulate to get an
emergency passport; before their flight takes off if they’re lucky enough. So
here are some rules to make visiting Benicasim during the FIB one of the best trips
of your life.
Number 1: Your
passport is one of the most important things you need to have if you want to
get out of this country. DO NOT LOSE IT. You can use your driver’s license as
an identity card here in Spain so consider taking it with you. The FIB has
lockers on the premises that you can rent for you to leave your important things in.
Leaving your passport there safely is a great idea. It costs both a lot of time
and money to get one made while in Spain. Also, in Spain, like everywhere else
in the world there are pickpocketers, so take care of your things like passport,
phone or wallet if you’re in the middle of the crowd during concerts or
swimming at the beach. It’s not a safe heaven. It’s a normal music festival
where, although there is a lot of security, you can still have your iPhone
stolen.
Number 2: Please,
please, for the love of God buy and USE sunscreen. At least a 30spf. And use it
many times during the whole day that you already know you’re gonna spend at the beach. Getting
that shrimp pink skin tone is not attractive nor healthy. P.S. From 12 to
16 no Spaniard will go to the beach. Why? Because the sun freaking burns and
the possibility of skin cancer or other future health issues make us avoid sun burning
ourselves. Learn from it. Those hours
are great for having lunch for the restaurants will not be full of people, so
you can go and just relax on a terrace somewhere, with a drink in your hand.
Number 3: Just an
advice. Like all touristic places, restaurants in Benicasim still try to make
the most amount of money possible out of you people, so try to be smart. Full
English breakfast is a thing you won’t find during the rest of the year, just
that week. It’s a good thing for all you people that want to go to a foreign
country and still eat the food they have at home, but because it's only a “seasonal”
option they can charge for it whatever they want. Try to go to a restaurant
that has the menu available for everyone; both in English and Spanish if
possible. Because unless you’re going to Burger King, the nuggets are only on
the kids’ menu in Spanish restaurants, so that means it’s there, on the FIB menu, just for the fibers;
which means the same thing as with the Full English.
And don’t judge a
restaurant by how fancy it looks. There are restaurants that look “very fancy”
which you would think equals to very expensive but that’s not always true. It might
cost you 2 or 3 more euros but at least you know that the food prices are the
same for everybody, during the whole year and that they are not overcharging you just because you're a tourist. Our favourite restaurant for example, Manduca, has great food, different
options and average prices. We love it there. It looks pretty fancy from the outside so most people
don’t even think about entering. I had some friends last year to whom I recommended
the restaurant for their last day here and afterwards they complained to me that
I should have said something earlier in the week as it had something for
everyone, and you all know how difficult is to find a restaurant for a big group of
people when having to take in account picky eaters and allergies.
Number 4: Please
don’t make us think that you’re stupid when you take a nap on a green area
under a tree or at the beach and you have your things stolen. You wouldn’t do
it in your country, why would you even think that it’s a great idea to do it
here? Going to fill a police report and saying that you fell asleep under a
three, your friends left you there or fell asleep as well and that you had all
your things including your phone, wallet and passport stolen is pretty embarrassing.
Read number 1 again.
Number 5:
Remember to put aside money for the train/car/bus/taxi or whatever you’re
taking to go back to the airport. Running out of money means you’re probably gonna
lose your flight and that’s not pretty. Being stranded in a foreign country
never is.
Number 6: Plan
your trip back to the airport. Don’t leave everything for the last minute. A
lot of people do that which means that usually on Sunday night or Monday all the
trains will be full. There aren’t a lot of trains going to Barcelona and some of the
trains will full because people took them from Castellón or wherever which means
that they won’t stop to get new passengers. Also, the buses take time to get to the
airports so plan according to the bus schedule, because if you have a 9am flight
from Barcelona and you take a 4am bus you probably won’t get there in time. Handle
the preparations for the trip back the first or the second day you arrive here,
so that you won’t have to worry last minute.
Number 7: Make
friends. Most people don’t tend to speak a lot of English, but they have no problem trying to make a conversation and make friends with you. We’re very nice and friendly people so just start talking :)
