Benicasim is a place which certainly adds bright colours to the resorts of Costa Azahar. Nowadays it is considered to be a tourist centre for young people but it has existed for more than 100 years. But for a long time it has been popular only among the Spaniards who have prefered spending weekends there. Benicasim, like the ugly duckling from Andersen’s fairy-tale, has suddenly changed into a wonderful swan.
In the middle of the 60s a poor fishing place suddenly changed into a beautiful town built of chrome and glass. The growth of industrial production in Spain and as a result the great investments in the development of tourism there gave Benicasim a nice opportunity to build wonderful hotels and to get a status of the international level resort. Six kilometers of beaches with excellent infrastructure, shopping centres, cafes, restaurants, disco clubs and villas…
If somebody goes fishing in Benicasim today that is not because of the lack of means but because of the useful habit to eat fresh fish.
In the millennium besides a great number of hotels there appeared the best in Valencia aquapark in Benicasim, called Aquarama. It is a gigantic complex of side-shows built in 2000. On the territory of 45000 square kms there are hundreds of water cannons, swimming-pools and steep climbs. The park is open from the 16th of June till the 9th of September.
There is one of the most interesting nature reserves in Benicasim. It is the best not only in the province of Castellon but in Valencia as well. It is called the Palm Heritage. It was named by the monks who lived there in the past and founded a monastery in Benicasim. Today there are hundreds of rare and not very rare plants in the park. If you visit this place you will have a nice opportunity to enjoy the view of Benicasim and the vicinity from the top of the Bartolo mountain. Besides the natural beauty of the place you should pay attention to the local herbal liquor produced in the monastery.
In summer Benicasim can be compared with a hot frying-pan with “paella”. The season is in its hight, the merry-making is in its peak. At the end of July or at the beginning of August the great festival starts there where a lot of famous modern rock groups take part. Thousands of young people from Europe come to the festival to have a jolly good time. It lasts for several days.
If you are tired of the decibels of festivals and disco parties the best thing for you will be to escape from Benicasim. Not far away there is a chain of the Columbretes Islands. You may rent a small cutter in the port and forget about hustle and bustle of everyday life near the sea and the vulcanic landscape, because the main merit of the Columbretes is that they are desert.
