A YouTuber has revealed her top tips about what is happening in Benidorm and what tourists who are considering visiting the area need to know. The woman behind the YouTube channel Benidorm by Ana, who lives in Benidorm, offered several safety tips and an update on scams in the area during a recent video.
She said that at the moment, hotel occupancy is at around 70 to 80 per cent and the area is expected to become even more packed heading into Easter holidays. She added that a lot of local people are racing to get their new businesses up and running in time for the tourists’ arrival.
The first tip Ana had was to watch out for heat stroke. She said the weather is currently hot and it is easy to fall into the trap of becoming dehydrated. It is important that people keep their water intake up and watch out for signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
According to the NHS, heat exhaustion does not usually need emergency medical help if you can cool down within 30 minutes. If it turns into heatstroke, it needs to be treated as an emergency.
The signs of heat exhaustion include: tiredness; dizziness; headache; feeling sick or being sick; excessive sweating and skin becoming pale and clammy or getting a heat rash; cramps in the arms, legs and stomach; fast breathing or heartbeat; a high temperature; being very thirsty; weakness.
The symptoms of heat exhaustion are often the same in adults and children, although children may become irritable too. If someone is showing signs of heat exhaustion they need to be cooled down and given fluids.
Ana warned that heat stroke can happen quickly and urged people to watch out for signs indicating they or people in their party are suffering. She said April is “really busy, really fun, really sunny and really nice.” But she also said there are plenty of potential dangers to watch out for if you are visiting Benidorm.
The Benidorm potato scam is a game that is illegally played on the streets in various guises, and it is a well-known scam in different parts of the world. In this version, the potatoes are scooped out and in the middle of them there is space for an object. An object such as a ball or a chickpea is put inside one, the potatoes are then switched around and punters have to guess the potato which contains the item.
Those that are ‘playing the game’ are in on the act and it looks like an easy win. If you bet, you double your money if you win but lose all of the money if you lose. When a tourist engages, the scam begins and the punter inevitably loses their money.
“You will never win,” warned Ana. “People around it (the game) are in the same group and you might lose your belongings — if you play you will definitely lose your money.” Ana said recently she saw three or four groups playing the game within a space of about 200 metres. Police turned up and the people involved pretended to just be sitting near the beach. She added that police are powerless unless they see the game in action, but said word has gone around with fewer people playing the game than before.
Ana said: “Don’t play because you will lose your money, it is better to spend your cash on a nice evening, drinks, meals, tapas, excursions — whatever you need.”
Another scam Ana highlighted which is prevalent on several of Benidorm’s beaches are cocktail sellers that wander up to tourists to sell alcohol on trays. Ana said that unlike other countries that have bar service on the beach, this is not the same and it is mainly men who are engaged in the scam. Touts have trays and come across like they are working in a nearby bar but mix the drinks in cars, behind bins or on the street.
The drinks sold at best are cheap alcohol but can also be water or alcohol from disinfectant which is mixed in drinks like mojitos, tequila sunrises or other popular summer cocktails. This has led to people who have drunk these concoctions ending up with sore stomachs or in the emergency department.
Ana said the drinks are normally cheaper than at bars but she said it is imperative people avoid these sellers so that they don’t end up sick.
Ana highlighted that popular areas British tourists tend to visit for nightclubbing can be sketchy. She said drugs can be prevalent and fights can break out over deals gone wrong. She acknowledged that being offered drugs as a tourist can be an issue but as a local she doesn’t tend to be a target.
“There are plenty of nice places in the British areas where this doesn’t happen,” she said. But you need to do your research – she recommended the Old Town, Levante Beach, Avenue Philippines or the city centre. Ana said it was sad to see the area get a bad reputation when a lot of people who live there still recommend it as a great place to have a holiday.
“Do not leave your belongings unattended on the beach,” said Ana. She recommends protective, transparent plastic sealable bags for hotel key cards, money or other valuables that you can take into the ocean. She said it is important to only take “essential” items with you and added that many places around the world have issues with thieves on the sands.
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