Festival International de Benicàssim, Benicàssim

I’ve been to Benicassim twice now, and it really should be on the roadmap for any serious European festival goer. Slightly too commercial for my usual taste (i.e. you can only buy Heinenken), it more than makes up for the shortcoming with the guaranteed 30 degree weather and fantastic location just 10 minutes from the beach. After two visits, I have a couple of tips for prospective newcomers:

- If you arrive on the Thursday afternoon, you tend to be able to get into the campsite that is right next to the festival. Any earlier, and it’s not yet open, any later, and it’s full. This is important, because the other one is a bus ride away, and who can be bothered with that after dancing all night?!

- It’s hot. Really hot. Take some shade. Take a gazebo - it’ll be the best 20 euros you’ve spent in a long time.

- There used to be a public beach party on the Monday night after the festival… was fairly classic, everyone in the sea all night etc, but not sure it’s still going so worth checking before you book your flights.

Quite a few people I’ve spoken to have rented apartments instead of camping, which seems to be a good option but there’s not much with air conditioning around, so it’s still hot, and not as fun.

All in all, very different to a British festival but well worth the trip. Easy to get to - about an hour out of Valencia airport, and there’s a cheap shuttle bus laid on for you.

Smack-dab in the middle of Valencia, Benicàssim is the perfect place for this summer music Festival. On the Costa Azahar, it is hard to imagine a better setting for the emotional rush of summer, right on the sea, sharing emotions and experiences with people from all over the world, where the friendliness and hospitality of the locals and the gorgeous natural surroundings make for a truly unique experience.

The blessings Mother Nature has bestowed on Benicàssim make this a very special setting for a one-of-a-kind music festival. And there are so many other advantages: centrally located bus and train stations; its proximity to the Valencia airport; its wide range of hotel and restaurant services – to ensure that your stay in this city by the sea is as comfortable as possible and that you have the opportunity to savour the succulent culinary traditions of the region.

Many are the good reasons to take part in the Festival and the whole Benicàssim experience. Many are the good reasons to summer here, with an unbeatable mix of music, sun, surf and sand. Benicàssim is all this and much more!