How To Benicasim

Benicàssim/FIB 101

So, it´s almost summer. And that means music festivals. We have the FIB (International Festival of Benicasim) during July (3^rd 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 :)