Illa de Benidorm

An island with its own history

Illa de Benidorm is a small island about 3.5 kilometres off the coast, 350 metres long and 260 metres wide, rising to a maximum height of 73 metres. Geological studies link it directly to the Serra Gelada ridge, of which it was once part, before the land connecting them sank beneath the sea. In Roman times, when ships sailed hugging the coastline, the island served as a landmark on the trade route linking Italy and the Balearic Islands with Baetica (southern Iberia) and North Africa.

After the 13th-century Christian conquest, direct occupation of the island stopped, largely because of the threat of Barbary piracy through the late Middle Ages and the 16th and 17th centuries. In 1834 it sheltered several families from Benidorm and Villajoyosa fleeing a cholera outbreak. During the Franco era it was popularly known as the "island of the journalists," a nod to the press's role in promoting the city's tourism boom in the 1960s.

Nature reserve and diving spot

Uninhabitable and without any infrastructure, the island has been part of the Parc Natural de la Serra Gelada since 2005 because of its high ecological value, and it hosts a nesting colony of shearwaters that only enter and leave the nest at night, to avoid predators. Its waters, rich in marine life, rank among the best-known diving spots on the coast of Benidorm. Boats leave from the city, with regular departures near Platja del Mal Pas and the harbour, on trips that usually combine the crossing with stops for swimming.