Benirras beach is much more than a gentle stroll from Puerto San Miguel You can follow the road past the Hotel Galeon and the caves but it's a very steep road with no pavement.
However, you can get a water taxi from San Miguel beach which will take you there for 3€ each way. It's not actually very far by boat and seemed popular with some of the older teens at our hotel, apparently there is one night (or maybe a couple of nights) a week where they have musicians and drummers at Benirras for the sunset. You'd be best asking the boat man on San Miguel beach for more information.

sunday evening is the drumming night

Supersub, - welcome to the forum. We had a cot the first year we went and have met numerous other people since who have had them and we've never known anyone to have a problem. With the hotel being a super family one I would be very surprised if there weren't more than enough to go around.
For peace of mind why not phone the hotel a week or so before you go and ask them, - the receptionists speak excellent English.
If you need the phone number send me a pm and I'll send it to you.
Anything else you need to know just ask - there's more than enough people on this thread to answer any questions you might have.

Thanks very much Ade and Cyberspacekadette - you've been really helpful. I have replied to your replies on the topic I posted about this beach! Cyberspacekadette, I asked you another couple of questions on there, but it looks like you have answered one already (see the boatman) - cheers for that. I guess he will be able to tell me whether they could pick us up again in the evening............if not I will follow other good advice given and ask at a bar if they could phone us a taxi!
I heard about the drumming (and apparently guitars etc sometimes too), and was very tempted by the whole idea, a really nice way to chill out and watch the sun go down!
So thanks again, and if I get there I will put a couple of pix on the galleries if they come out well.
cheers, Katie xxx

does anyone have the phone number for the san miguel hotel including dialing code.
thanks tracey

Hi Tracy

its 0034 971 33 45 51

phoned them to ask if we had been given one of the larger rooms(emailed requesting one awhile ago)but was told they won't know until tomorrow(day we arrive)receptionist was a bit vague really.don't hold out to much hope of getting one now.never mind i tried.
thanks tracey
p.s thanks to everyone who has given advice, fly out tomorrow at 3.15pm

it looks like you have answered one already (see the boatman)

I think it's the banana boat guys who run the water taxis, or maybe the Portinatx ferry or glass-bottom boat people. There are one or two posters advertising the water taxi on the little shed near where the banana boat goes from, they also do a water taxi out to the island in San Miguel bay, the one with the big posh house, although I don't think you can go right up to see the house.
We went on the glass-bottom boat one day and it goes around to Benirras bay (but not to the beach) so I know it's not far. Still too far to walk though! We walked up to the caves one morning and that was far enough in the heat and they're only really just next to the Galeon when you see it from San Miguel bay!

Hi - Me Again!

Does anyone remember what night the seafood special is on in the Hotel restaurant, and is it as good as people say?

Also, do you need to bring your own towels for the beach / pool or are they supplied?

Thanks

Seafood night was Tuesday, I remember because it was our last evening meal last week before we came home on Wednesday. Seafood is not everyone's cup of tea, (my daughter's not keen) but I really enjoyed it.
There was a huge cooked salmon, which would be carved for you and also slices of cold smoked salmon, also shellfish and some white stuff which looked a bit like crab sticks and didn't taste of much There are lollipops for kids who may not like seafood. Don't forget to get your glass of champagne
We stayed in the hotel, and Alfredo, the restaurant manager, was dressed as a ship's captain and all the other restaurant staff were dressed as sailors - one kitchen guy in particular always looked a little too comfortable and happy in his sailor suit... The restaurant is also decorated specially for the occasion.

Friday night is kebab night - yum! A popular night with everyone
One night we booked for the Chinese restaurant in the hotel, but everything was so salty, we could hardly eat it. The ribs and spring rolls were okay, but anything in sauce - chow mein, veal in peppers, noodles etc and even the soup was so salty it just became hard work to eat it Quite a few people walked out after a few mouthfuls and went in the main restaurant instead

You can get Thomson Superfamily towels from reception for 12€ deposit each. I wish I had known about this before we went because I packed lots of towels which I wouldn't have needed. However, the Thomson towels came in handy on the last day after I'd packed our towels away.

Another query if you don't mind. Are there TVs in the room and do they get any English-speaking channels? Believe me, I'm not going on hol to watch the box but it could prove handy to entertain the wee one to let me get ready for five mins.

Good to know about the towels. That's another thing I don't need to pack. Maybe now I'll have room for some clothes (as well as all the nappies and the rest of the gear for my toddler son who doesn't get a luggage allowance). 27 days to go!!

Supersub are you flying from Glasgow 26th sept ?

Supersub: Yes there are televisions in the rooms, they do have a few English speaking channels, sometimes if your lucky you get one with a good picture. Ive been to S/M quite a few times now and i am a tele addict. You sometimes get to see movies that have not been shown in the uk, there is also some channels to keep the wee one happy...Hope this helps...

kat225club...

Yes we are on the glasgow flight... are you?

The TV in the rooms is free, but not many English channels - we got CNN, Eurosport and another channnel which would vary from day to day between Sky Sports, BBC1 and BBC News From what I can gather from most people I spoke to, it wasn't just our room with the "daily surprise" channel... There is MTV but it is German, and for some reason you have to be physically touching the TV for that one or else the picture goes wonky... There's loads of Spanish channels, including cartoons.
We never really bothered with TV because we needed the plug socket for our hairdryers and straighteners (There was another plug socket on the other side of the room, but it was too far from the mirror, and we couldn't use the hairdryer or plug socket in the bathroom because that would mean a delay for whoever was waiting to have the next shower...)

Supersub..... We just booked within the last few days, me and a friend from work. We won the holiday on a thomson auction. We live near Newcastle but get free rail travel through work so Glasgow no hassle for us. Were allocated on arrival but guaranteed to be staying at one of the following

San miguel

Hotel el Greco

Hotel tanit

We got a great deal all inclusive for the two of us for £265 each
Fingers crossed the weather be nice and we have good flight etc x

hope you paid your transfers from airport.depends how old you are but Hotel tanit would be best for a younger person.only a 15 mins to san an.the other two are way out west?..but thats cheap.which ever you stay at make the most of it.

kat225club - think you better take earplugs for the flight! My wee boy has never been on a plane before and gets very excited at the mere sight of one in the sky so it could get noisy (not to mention the fact it will be well past his bedtime.
Sounds like you got a great deal - brill price for a week and absolutely incredible if it's a fortnight.
All those hotels look pretty good. I'm sure you'll have a great time.

To everyone else who posted about the TV stations - thanks a million. My wee boy will love MTV in German (music and people dancing, what more could a 20-month-old want) and Spanish cartoons...anything else is a bonus.

we booked the transfres Djwoody. The auction price was £460.00. then £20.00 pp booking fee then £15.00 pp transfre which i think is great value, we've looked at all of the hotels and dont mind which we get. Just cant wait to get there x