With 320 days of sunshine a year and 8 km of coastline, Benalmadena is a great family destination with a huge variety of proposals to enjoy leisure time and family holidays.
- No refuelling fee
- Free cancellation
- Hire without intermediaries
- Pay when you pick up your car
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Why choose Benalmádena for family holidays
Benalmadena is a mature holiday destination only 10 km from Malaga airport and has all the infrastructures of a modern resort, motorway, public transport (suburban train connecting with the airport and Malaga).
Benalmadena has also specialised in family tourism and as you will discover below, it has a huge and varied range of leisure activities for all ages.
Family activities in Benalmádena
If you are looking for a family-friendly destination on the Costa del Sol, Benalmádena might be the perfect choice for you.
This coastal town has something for everyone: nature lovers, adventure seekers, water enthusiasts and night owls. Here are some of the best activities that you and your family can enjoy in Benalmádena.
La Paloma Park
500 metres from the promenade of Benalmadena is one of the most beautiful parks of the Costa del Sol. It´s a large urban green area with an artificial lake, two playgrounds and three cafes.
The special thing about this park is that it is inhabited by all kinds of animals that can be seen from very close: Goats, rabbits, parrots or chickens and in the lake there are ducks, swans or turtles.
Due to its large expanse of greenery, it is ideal for a picnic and an afternoon in the open air.
The park also regularly hosts concerts, children’s storytelling and open-air screenings in the summer.
Innova Skate Park
Right next to Parque de la Paloma is the Skatepark Innova, a large and varied skate park for all ages, with a basketball court, a gymnastics area, table tennis and an open-air climbing wall.
Those who enjoy watching can do so in the adjoining bar.
Selwo Marina
A stone’s throw from Parque de la Paloma is also one of the 3 Selwo Parks on the Costa del Sol, Selwo Marina, a marine animal park.
If you like to see dolphins, sea lions, penguins, reptiles, flamingos and many other animals up close and even interact with some of them, you will love this marine zoo. Every 2 hours there is a scheduled dolphin show (swimming costume essential).
It is a small park that can be visited in 1:30 – 2 hours, it is a good plan to spend an entertaining morning.
- More info and tickets on their official website.
- How to get there
If you are also interested in visiting the Cable Car, another Selwo park, you might want to buy a voucher and save some money, we tell you all about it in our article Selwo Parks on the Costa del Sol.
Cable car
From almost the centre of Benalmádena and only a few metres from the local train station, the cable car takes you in about 15 minutes to the peak of Mount Calamorro, which is 800 metres high and offers fantastic views of the coast.
At the summit there is a cafeteria, a bird of prey exhibition and several trails, two of low difficulty to other nearby viewpoints. There are also 6 hiking trails to other parts of the Sierra. It is best to wear trainers as some of the paths are stony and flip-flops are not the best.
You can also take the cable car up and walk down to Benalmádena. You are allowed to bring your bike in the cable car, another option if you are more of an adrenaline junkie!
It’s worth keeping an eye on the website as there are days with special promotions.
Parquelandia
In Benalmadena’s award winning Puerto Marina is a small amusement park which is open in the afternoons, with rides such as bouncy castles, trampolines, mini golf, carousel and slides.
You can have a drink at the bar while you keep an eye on the kids.
Sea Life centre Puerto Marina
In Puerto Marina there is a second enclosure to see the marine fauna up close, the Sea Life centre. It is an aquarium with exhibits and a great variety of marine animals such as sharks, sea turtles, otters, seahorses and many more.
Every day you can see the feeding of different animals.
The tour takes no more than 2 hours. The enclosure also has a cafeteria and is adapted for people with reduced mobility (wheelchairs available) and pushchairs.
Tickets are 10% cheaper if you buy them online.
Butterfly Park
In a beautiful building in the style of a Thai temple you will find the Benalmádena Butterfly Park with more than 1500 butterflies.
In the covered enclosure with lush tropical vegetation you can observe the most beautiful butterflies in all their stages of growth. And if you are lucky one may even land on you.
Oh, and while you’re there, just a few metres from the Butterfly Park is the Enlightenment Stupa, the largest in the West.
By the way, we have a very interesting article about all the Stupas and Buddhist temples in Malaga, in case you find them interesting!
Ice skating
Next to Parque de la Paloma and the Skate park there is an indoor ice-skating rink of 650 square metres. Next to the rink there is a small café where you can also celebrate birthdays.
The rink is within a sports complex with a large swimming pool, children’s pool and gymnasium. Be sure to wear warm clothes. You are not allowed to enter the rink without long trousers, gloves and socks. You can hire Skates and helmets onsite.
Costa Water Park
On the popular Bil Bil beach is installed every summer a floating water park where fun is guaranteed.
Installed just a few metres from the shore, these water parks are supervised by staff and users are equipped with life jackets.
The CostaWaterPark is open from 15 June to 15 September from 11 am to 8 pm.
Family hotels in Benalmádena
We have prepared an article dedicated to the best family hotels on the Costa del Sol.
There you will find a wide section of the best family hotels in Benalmádena, which in addition to those in Torremolinos, are the most specialised in holidays for the whole family, discover them!
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