It’s half term in the UK so the resort is full of families this week… but what to do with them? Naturally the beach is an obvious choice and the brightly coloured pedaloes are already lined up on the waterline along the length of Levante and Poniente beaches. It’s a fun family activity – dads to do the peddling and kids having fun going down the slide!
If you want to continue the water-themed activities, both of the waterparks here are now fully open for the season. Aqualandia is by far the bigger and probably more appropriate for the real adrenalin junkies among you, with some very daring chutes to try.
The ‘Big Bang’ yellow, blue, green and orange slides are iconic on the Benidorm skyline and next to it Vertigo is the world’s highest capsule slide, propelling you at more than 100 km/hr.. it’s like jumping from the 13th floor of a building! The newest ride, Cyclone is due to open in June and is a four-person capsule chute standing at over 36 metres tall, giving you the feeling of zero gravity along the way – make sure you haven’t just eaten before trying that one!
Next to Aqualandia is Mundomar, a sealife and animal park similar to seaworld with over 30 different species. Here you will see dolphins, penguins, reptiles and sea lions as well as tropical birds with a variety of shows on throughout the day.
Aqua Natura waterpark also has some slides, but certainly not on the same scale as Aqualandia and probably more suited for families with younger children - there is a big area specifically for them. They also have a daily foam party which even the grown ups take part in, then get hosed down afterwards.
One of the great attractions to this waterpark is that there is a free sea lion show on twice daily and you can even book to have a sea lion experience, which involves getting in the water and swimming with them! This is obviously an extra but you get photos taken with them which will certainly be a memory for any child or adult for that matter.
Terra Mitica, the theme park isn’t actually open until Thursday, 31 May and then is shut on Mondays and Tuesdays until nearly the end of June, when at last it opens daily.This is full of rollercoasters, rides, including water rides and daily shows and again, a specific childrens area with mini versions of the big rides.
Just down the road from there is Terra Natura – open daily, a 32 hectare Wildlife Park which is divided up into 3 zones – America, Asia and Europe with animals and plants typical of each continent. They run a breeding program for endangered animals and they do a lot of conservation work. Lots of activities throughout the day and you can even zipwire across the elephant plain.
You can often pick up discount vouchers for these theme parks around the resort, giving you around €5 off the entrance price but there are also combination tickets for Aqualandia, Terra Mitica and Mundo Mar which are part of the same group giving quite a big saving on the ticket booth price – but only valid until the end of June.
If driving then there is free parking at Aqualandia/Mundomar but a real bugbear is that you have to pay to park at Terra Mitica, Terra Natura and Aqua Natura.