Benicassim

[lac999]

Greetings all, my first time posting on the international festivals section.

Now that Glastonbury has passed and will not be blessing us for another 2 years our group have decided to check out Benicassim next year, however we've not the foggiest of the best way of going about it.

Now I know this year hasn't even been yet but we quite fancy being organised to get the best deals for everything.

Camping - I have heard talk of staying in a hotel because the campsite turns into a bake-fest and has very little going on during the day. So is it the norm to stay in a hotel? If so, can anyone recommend some nifty cheep'uns or some good sites to find a good hotel?

Flights - what's the best way of getting from the airport to your hotel?

Music - Is it true that the music starts at about 10PM and goes through to basically sunrise - leaving very little to occur during the day?

Any other decent guides/info that folk can give to help would be very welcome, as I've really not a clue. Cheers!

[sarah cg !]

Greetings all, my first time posting on the international festivals section.

Now that Glastonbury has passed and will not be blessing us for another 2 years our group have decided to check out Benicassim next year, however we've not the foggiest of the best way of going about it.

Now I know this year hasn't even been yet but we quite fancy being organised to get the best deals for everything.

Camping - I have heard talk of staying in a hotel because the campsite turns into a bake-fest and has very little going on during the day. So is it the norm to stay in a hotel? If so, can anyone recommend some nifty cheep'uns or some good sites to find a good hotel?

Flights - what's the best way of getting from the airport to your hotel?

Music - Is it true that the music starts at about 10PM and goes through to basically sunrise - leaving very little to occur during the day?

Any other decent guides/info that folk can give to help would be very welcome, as I've really not a clue. Cheers!

[atevieF]

I'm going this year for the first time - i think its going to be fricking awesome! Tents are like saunas?? Go for a dip in the sea! How anyone can argue that isn't as good as camping in a cold, wet, muddy field i will never know!

Beeeeeeenicasim! Whoop whoop!

Oh yeah, to answer your questions - i am flying to alicante. Booked a train to get to Beni (take 2.5hrs) and need to sort my transport back to Alicante (going to do that when i arrive). Shouldn't be an issue.

[lac999]

ok i've never been but im going this year and have been researching since i booked tickets so i reckon i can help you out a bit!

1. camping - some people do stay in a hotel yeah, but obviously loads of people camp! (the camping tickets have sold out this year so i cant be the only one planning it!) from what ive heard, yeah it is really hot, but thats what you expect from a festie in spain! i know one of the main reasons im going is for the weather! unless you plan on spending all day in your tent then you'll be fine, you're right by a beach, and theres plenty of cold showers. obviously you can get a hotel/apartment but the ones in benicassim hike their prices up to something mental for the festival and the cheaper ones are a trek away! ive also been told that half the atmosphere is in the campsite, and a few people said they got hotels and didnt end up staying there cos they were such a pain to get to and the campsites were so good. im just biased tho because im camping this year im sure somebody will argue that an apartment is the way to go! all just depends on what you want from the experience.

as for very little going on in the day...it's a beach holiday and a festie rolled in one! theres a waterpark, youre by benicassim town so im sure theres plenty to do there, theres the beach for one! and imo the daytimes are for recovering from the night times

2. flights - i'm flying from east midlands to alicante and we've used eufest.com for coaches, i have no idea how reliable these will be (can report back to you in 3 weeks) but they were pretty cheap and uncomplicated compared to using foreign websites etc. i know loads of people get the train tho, and they use the renfe website/phoneline. have a browse of some threads youll find loads of info on this. but yea as i said, we're getting the coach!

3. not 10pm! from what ive heard music starts at like 5pm, with the headliner being on about 1am, then dance acts/other acts afterwards. yeah ive heard music does go on til about 5/6am but that doesnt mean you have to stay up to watch it all i spose if you want an early night! but at the end of the day,youre only there for 10 days max, you have the rest of the year to catch up on your beauty sleep just stay out all night, catch an hour or 2 in your tent (or hammock, as we're taking this year!) then as soon as it gets hot, head to the beach and grab some kip there, then party alllll day long.

..can you tell im excited!

hope this has helped, like i said, ive not been before but i am a bit of an obsessive researcher! any qs i'll be happy to answer when i get back when im sure il have more info

[aka-andrew]

on top of the info already given:

Cheaper early bird tickets are available, they were £125 for this years, I paid for mine in October last year I think.

As for tents if you buying a new one, get a cotton one, they cost a bit more but are a lot cooler in hotter climates, in turn they are also warmer in cooler climates, once you have tried a cotton tent I doubt you will go back to nylon ones. Think about taking something to hang up to give shade in the morning s it will give you more time sleeping before you get woken up by the heat.

You won't need a sleeping bag, don't even think about taking one you just won't use it, at most a sheet or a very thin fleece blanket if you a cold person.

Get something decent to sleep on, the ground can be quite bumpy/hard.

I'm sure I will remember more after I get back after this years, its different from most festivals, its very chilled out, has a decent amount of showers and the toilets get cleaned often, even during the night in the festival site if i remember right, but could be wrong.

[sarah cg !]

That is some great info. Thanks very much for your help.

So basically what you mean to say once you're there, everything you need (the beach & the music) is surrounding you and you need not venture any further afield - sounds brilliant!

If you don't mind me asking how much (ish) did you pay per person for your flights and transfers? I'm just trying to get a total festival + travel cost expense for my group.