It's All About Benicassim

Where to begin... booking tickets to the Spanish festival Benicassim on the fly during a very cold December felt like we were going to have a holiday straight from a music video. Oh, how wrong we were. For those unaware of the festival, Benicassim is a small town north of Valencia which required us to fly into to Barcelona and then hop a train. Benicassim offered ticket and hotel packages that provided buses from surrounding hotels to the festival every night however these were relatively expensive packages. Getting the tickets so cheap on the first release we thought we would be savvy and do it on our own so after contacting an Airbnb villa two towns over informing them we were going to the festival assuring there will public transport we thought we had got a steal of a deal. 

Arriving at Benicassim train station which was more of a concrete bus stop we waited just under three hours for a taxi in the searing heat with no shade. Once in the taxi, it took about half an hour to reach our Airbnb which was in a village in the middle of nowhere where our host spoke no English and we both got E's in GSCE Spanish. Due to the taxi wait, it was now rather late with google translate the host offered us dinner in the attaching small restaurant to which we eagerly agreed as there wasn't much else around. Until Lauren cut into her chicken which she thought was pumped full of cranberry sauce which was in fact blood we shook it off. The following day and the first of the festival we asked our host to book a taxi which never arrived who then informed us there was no public transport in the village and he would take us himself for a ridiculous amount of Euros. We decided it wasn't worth the money or risk. While lounging around the pool the next day coming to terms with missing the whole festival and living off crisp butties because there was nowhere to eat another English couple arrived. I don't know if they heard us speaking about our predicament or could tell by the disappointed look on our faces that we had come to this random part of Spain for the festival like them. However, the defining difference was they had a car! They offered us a lift which was god sent, the festival site was beautiful going to see 2ManyDJs and Fouls. The now known 'car couple' were only there for one night the next morning they informed us to be careful getting to the festival wasn't our main issue it was getting back to Benicassim on Sunday to get the train back. So knowing that day we again wouldn't make the festival again we spent the majority planning our escape. The Saturday night the village came to life with a small funfair set up on the beach with many empty rides, two restaurants opened up for the first time all week. The first gestured they didn't want us there, the second welcomed us the owner spoke English we explained our situation about getting to the train station in two days time. In so many words he stated the likely hood of us doing so was very small. He suggested our best option was to pay for a hotel room in Benicassim for the Sunday night asking them to send a taxi to us, which we did. As you can imagine Sunday morning we were up at the crack of dawn, hectically packing and ringing the hotel to ensure a taxi was coming the money hadn't come out of my account so I assumed I might have to pay with cash. So I ran down to the local cash point which if you think this trip couldn't get worse the ATM swallowed my card. As promised the taxi arrived on time, I had messaged our host to say we would be checking out early the night before asking what we should do with our keys but I never received a reply. We were so frightened of the taxi driving off, I dragged both suitcases running towards the puzzled driver as Lauren ran to the host's door putting the keys in his hand saying shouting "Thanks" as she climbed into the taxi. 

We arrived at the Hotel Intur Orange were the receptionist who had dealt with us on the phone greeted us at the door, as she checked us in she informed her fellow receptionist the village we had come from who asked us how had we survived. I can't express the fear I felt that we might actually never of got out the place so the hotel change was extremely expensive but necessary and I can't thank the staff of Hotel Intur Orange enough. So that night we walked to the festival had a wonderful night watching Dua Lipa, Years & Years and Kasabian ending the night with walking back. The next day getting our train back to Barcelona where we spent the night to recuperate with retail and cocktail therapy, before flying home.

I know this one has been a pretty long post but there was a lot to tell you about, all I would say is do your homework I thought it would be like a festival in the UK in which the whole region surrounding it is geared for. I would love to go back to Beni one day but trust me I will be staying in a hotel a stone's throw away from the festival.

Hannah