Benidorm is already basking in glorious weather – but the resort has a dark side (Image: YouTube/JoeFish)
A top travel YouTuber has issued a stark warning to Brits planning on grabbing a little winter sun in one of Europe’s most popular resort towns. As people in the UK brace for an icy start to March, Benidorm is already basking in warm, sunny weather.
But, intrepid traveller has claimed there is a dark side to all that winter sunshine. As he filmed on the Spanish holiday hotspot’s beachfront promenade, he was approached by a pickpocketing gang and, as he was momentarily distracted, one of the criminals rifled through his bag.
Luckily, he realised what was happening before the crooks could get away with any of his valuables.
The notorious ‘pea scammers’ lure unsuspecting tourists in with a simple game (Image: YouTube/JoeFish)
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“I cannot believe that my bag was opened,” a horrified Joe said. “He’s tried to have a rummage in my bag.” The podcaster added: “If I had been p****d up and didn’t have my wits about me, that would have been a completely different ending.”
He warned anyone else planning on visiting the tourist Mecca, which attracts close to 3m Brits every year: “Just go steady when you’re out here. Don’t just get drawn in to the sunshine and the smiles, make sure you’ve got your wits about you.”
He also highlights the “Pea Scam” gangs, where individuals engage you in a rigged game involving a pea and some cups, while accomplices in the crowd eye up your valuables and attempt to swipe them. They may also signal to other criminals about the location of your valuables.
The resort becomes much livelier – and more dangerous – after dark (Image: YouTube/JoeFish)
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“During my research it revealed that Benidorm is the number one city in the whole world for Brits abroad being scammed. Over £12million a year is lost by British tourists here,” Joe says.
Nevertheless, millions are tempted by a cheap holiday just a couple of hours from Heathrow, with “glorious” weather and little or no language barrier – the streets of Benidorm’s lively New Town are lined with British pubs and takeaways with all-English menus.
There are some cultural differences, though, Joe says: “It’s very easy to tell the English and the Spanish apart here in Benidorm. You’ll see the Spaniards walking along with coats and scarves on – as it is February here – but you’ll see the Brits in the bars with no tops on shorts and flip-flops.”
Benidorm unashamedly caters to British tourists’ tastes (Image: YouTube/JoeFish)
Perhaps it’s for the best that Brits in Benidorm tend not to bother with shirts, though.
Some of the t-shirts on offer in the New Town’s many souvenir shops are printed with etremely racy slogans: “If you’ve got young children that can read, I wouldn’t advise going in to any of the souvenir stores in Benidorm,” Joe says.
“You might be confronted with some strange conversations should they read some of those t-shirts that’s for sure!!”