hi a friend of mine as just come back from levante area in benidorm and they say they wont be going again as there was a lot of fights going on and muggings they say it was very bad
anyone else seen the trouble

You say "a" friend of yours as in one person, but then (not 'he' or 'she') you go on to say "they" as in more then one person?

Whatever your friend(s) saw, I am sure it is not as bad as what you have been led to believe. There is bound to be the odd 'scuffle' here and there as the dreaded drink takes over, but "alot of muggings" that seems highly unlikely.

I live in Cambridge

There was a fight Friday night in the town centre.

Id better move home.

Hundreds of thousands of Spanish holidaymakers go to Benidorm each year. I bet none of them have seen a mugging or a fight. Why? Because they aren't staggering around the streets blind drunk at five in the morning.

botty asked a question why do you feel the need to take the
**edit to remove swear word**

sorry admin .

hmm you really should'nt listen to other peoples views... if i did that i would never go anywhere for my holidays and to be honest compared to the u.k benidorms like heaven. i go to benidorm to get away from all the hustle and bustle here in the u.k.

i have been going to benidorm since i was 18months old, i am now 18, and i have only ever seen one mugging (by the potato men) and one fight (between two girls that had too much to drink).
whilst here in the u.k ive witnessed attempted murder, muggings (more than half a dozen) and alot of other really terrible things.

honestly you will love benidorm and you wont find your 'friends' opinions accurate... the opposite really.

Not taking the you know what at all. Just stating the fact that the later in the night (morning) you stay out, the more likely you'll see crime. Those scrawny Romanian thieves are not stupid, they know that by 4 or 5 am their victims are likely to be in no fit state to defend themselves. Up until 2 or even 3am, while the streets are still pretty full, the only fights you'll see are odd ones between drunken British holidaymakers and you'll see them anywhere!

Now now children, let's all play nice please.

Botty, can you come back with some more details please and then the negative post that you made, might be addressed in a civilised fashion.

For example"¦where did these fights/muggings take place.?
What time of day/night.?
Who was involved.? Was it tanked up Brits or was it other Nationalities.?

I've been going to Benidorm and the surrounding areas for years now, at least 3 or 4 times a year, and I can honestly swear on my life, that I have never seen a fight in Benidorm, apart from a scuffle last month in broad daylight which involved a woman fighting to get her money back off the potato/pea men who had swindled her. ...and the possibility of ME starting a fight with a woman last month.
I don`t sit around the pool all day and sit around the bar in the hotel all night....I get out and about the resort.

But here is the but, I don't get tanked up, I don't walk the streets in the early hours, I avoid the "hot spots" and I don`t put myself in a position where the low-life of any town can take advantage of my vunerability by letting my guard down.....and surprisingly enough, I still manage to have a good time with the thousands of people who visit Benidorm who want to have a good time and who are not looking to kick someone's head in.

Benidorm is a town verging on city status situated beside the sea...it is not an Island sat in the middle of the Atlantic ocean or the Indian ocean....
It is a working town with many Nationalities visiting and living there....therefore there HAS got to be fights and scuffles just like there is in Brighton or Bournemouth or Blackpool ( no offence to these places or people who live there)
If your friends thought they were going to paradise when they went to Benidorm, then they need to wake up and get real....or go to an isolated Island with few inhabitants and yes, the statistics for crime may favour that Island, but they will certainly not have the vast choice of entertainment, diverse nationalities or the buzz that we lovers of Benidorm cannot get enough of.

Finally, I have been visiting Spain and other places in Europe for the best part of 30 years, and touch wood/thank god I have neve been mugged, robbed or had anything bad happen to me.....WHY.?

Besos xxx
sanji

Let common sense prevail, I have family living in Benidorm and they feel safer there than the UK, true there are a few dodgy characters around therfore don`t walk around late at night alone just like home really.

My parents and I have been holidaying in Benidorm since the early 1980's. We are not as fortunate as Sanji, but we do go twice a year. We are unable to this year because my father has just had another heart attack. However, in all the trips we have made to Benidorm we have never witnessed

lot of fights going on and muggings

. Never.

Yes, there may be the odd scuffle here and there, but it is cerytainly not as bad as is being painted. Benidorm is a large cosmopolitan city, there are bound to be the occasional disagreements here and there. Benidormn is certainly not totally 100% 'crime-free'. But is is cetrainly not full of people bashing one another up.

In the four years we have been going to Benidorm we have never witnessed anything untoward or heard of anything happening to other holiday makers whilst we have been there.
I used to holiday in Britain and everytime I went away, I witnessed drunken fights, abusive language and heard of muggings, but not once has anything like this happened whilst I've been in Benidorm or anywhere else abroad(including Tenerifes Pde la Americas, which is supposed to be another hot spot)
Do you think it's the police carrying guns puts them off?

hi i have been to benidorm 7 times and think it is great and not seen much trouble my self it is only what i have been told by a couple who came back last week
from sue

Was there from last Wednesday - Sunday and didnt witness or hear of any trouble at all...and we were out quite late!!!

Best Regards - Taggy

Julie and I go to Benidorm 2 or 3 times a year, and this has been for several years now. Because it is an all round the year resort, you could say that every night is like a weekend in a British City or large town, especially in the high season with an influx of the younger element. We live in Manchester, if we want to go out on the weekend, and we want to see fights, muggings, altercations and worse, then we know where to go, if we don't, then we avoid those places. Benidorm is exactly the same. Having said that, in all the times that we have been, we have only seen two fights. One was a scuffle at the Benidorm Paladium, just the usual thing, all broken up and sorted in a few minutes, (we just smiled - silly people). The only other one was a fight between two Spanish youths at a local festival, again, the usual thing, along came BIG AL, (or was it BIG JUAN), and broke it up.

I think that, because of the bad press Benidorm got on one or two occasions back in the 1970's, some people go there expecting to see what they have read in the newspapers and seen on TV. They go to the worst places, see the odd scuffle, mugging, raised voices, and by the time they get back to England, it has become the Wild West.

It's a bit like Chinese whispers - I saw a fight - he/she saw a gang fight - he/she saw a gang fight with knives - he/she saw a riot with knives and guns - etc etc

Benidorm? Great place. If you are still out after sunset, stick to the main streets and the best entertainment/night life anywhere.

Hi all, my first post this.
but I regularly visit the site and the info on it is first rate, thankyou to the moderators for doing a fantastic job.
anyway, I've been to beni about 10 times (lost count), great place and never seen any fights or muggings, as sanji says common sense tells you to watch your back when alone or out late in unlit areas.
I live in a small town, and in one of the pubs there's at least one fight a week, it's great going to benidorm and not feeling nearly as threatened.

Thank you for your comments Paul. I agree with you wholeheartedly about the Moderators
David

Hi, My husband and i went to the levante area of Benidorm in September 2008, we had a wonderfull 7 day holiday. But BE WARNED we were mugged at knife piont by 2 men on the way back to our hotel, on a well lit road, we were not drunk, just enjoying a strole back to our hotel on a lovely night. they did get cash, mobile phone and camera, it was terrifying. If we had of fought back i think they would of stabbed us without hessitation, one of the men was particulary angry. The police did say it is not unusual to be mugged or pick pocketed but it is unusual for them to use knives.
I think we were lucky to escape with our lives, i hope these 2 men are caught before they do kill someone.
2 days later in the afternoon we whitnessed an elderley man screaming and shouting in the street, a spanish gypsy had pick pocketed his wallet, she was denying it and lifted her top to prove she had nothing on her, but an English tourist found the wallet thrown in the street, there was no cash left in it, the gypsy had passed the wallet onto a second person who took the cash out and flung the empty wallet. the gypsy fled and no police came.
I think the streets of Benidorm need to have a higher police presence.
We were only in Benidorm for 7 days and whitnessed these two incidents, this begs the question just how many people are mugged.

Hi molly so sorry to read your review it must of been very scary,But i was there in july for 2 wks and was back in sept for a wk so nothing thought it was very quiet this year .where did this happen as we go back out for new yr so we can keep our eyes open cheers mazza

Hi, My husband and i went to the levante area of Benidorm in September 2008, we had a wonderful 7 day holiday. But BE WARNED we were mugged at knife piont by 2 men on the way back to our hotel,

a spanish gypsy had pick pocketed his wallet,

I find this post very strange. If this is true how can you say that you had a wonderful 7 days holiday, at least one of them cannot have been that wonderful.

How on earth did you know that this Gypsy was Spanish?

I see that you are new to this forum, if this is a genuine post then I am sorry to hear about your experience but.......... mmmm never mind, I'll keep my suspicions to myself .

Oh one last thing, you have said that you were in the Levante area of Benidorm,please can you post back and state where you were allegedly mugged as the Levante area covers quite a large area, what street was it? What time was it and were there anyone else around?

Sue