Benidorm Beaches Split To Morning And Afternoon Sessions

Brit expats in Benidorm are now forbidden from staying on the beaches all day.

Benidorm is a popular resort for both British expatriate retirees and tourists, but the news that all its beaches are to be divided into morning and afternoon sessions hasn’t gone down well. The new rule was introduced to restrict the numbers of beach-goers and sun-worshippers, thus making social distancing easier to patrol. The beaches will now be totally cleared between the morning and afternoon sessions.

As if that wasn’t a bridge too far for many expats, the sandy strands will remain closed until the middle of this month, and tourists from overseas won’t even be admitted into the country until the beginning of July. Today, the entire Mediterranean seacoast will move into phase two of the Spanish government’s coronavirus recovery plan, with the beaches of the Costa del Sol resorts of Fuengirola and Marbella also due to reopen today. T

o help identify when a beach is too crowded for social distancing, Fuengirola’s lamp posts have been fitted with sensors identifying the numbers of people on the sands and advising visitors via smartphone which are the least crowded. British tourists are expected to be the first to return to their favourite Spanish holiday destinations, with July seeing the end of the quarantine rulings for entry into Spain but not for holidaymakers returning to the UK.

From June 8, these unfortunates will need to stay in quarantine once they arrive back in the UK, with those in the hospitality sector believing many would-be Brit visitors will decide to postpone their spring breaks rather than having to go into lockdown again on their return. Regular visitors as well as expats are asking why the two countries can’t arrange their rulings to coincide with each other, especially as the Spanish economy has been hard hit by the pandemic.