Where can I park in Benidorm, and is any of it free?
Dear Brenda
We're driving up from further down the coast for a few days and our apartment has no parking. Is there free street parking near the beach or the Old Town, or will we be feeding a meter every two hours? We'd also like somewhere secure overnight. And our car is an older diesel: will a low emission zone catch us out?
Park once in a secure public car park and leave the car there: with no space at your apartment, that's the calmest way to do a few days. Free street parking does exist, but it's on side streets a few blocks back from the front and goes early; nearer the beach and the Old Town you're mostly in blue zones, and visitors say you're back at the machine every couple of hours. For secure overnight parking, visitors paid about €16 a night in the Old Town car parks in 2023 and about £20 a day in 2024, and the Telpark car parks can be booked online. Your older diesel should be fine for now: Benidorm has a low emission zone, but in March 2026 the council extended the grace period for cars without an environmental sticker to about March 2027. Check the council's rules again just before you drive.
Who the regulars recommend
- Telpark Tomás Ortuño car parkCentral, bookable online; visitors used it in 2026 for guaranteed overnight parking, vans included (check the height).
- Telpark Mercado car parkThe other central Telpark visitors booked in 2026; handy for Levante and the Old Town.
- Free car park at Av. Cuba and Av. ParaguayA large free open car park a 2025 visitor recommended, useful for taller vehicles; check it's still free.
- Car park by the Benidorm TRAM stopA 2024 visitor believed it was free and it puts you on the tram; check the signs before you leave the car.
Watch out for
- Read every sign before you leave the car: colours, hours and loading bays change from street to street.
- Blue-zone time limits mean moving the car or topping up every couple of hours.
- Check height limits before you drive a van or camper into an underground car park.
- Leave nothing on show in the car; the Foreign Office warns that hire and foreign-registered cars are targeted.
- Streets near the market fill up on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
Is there any free parking near the beach or the Old Town?
Yes, a few blocks back, if you're early. Free spaces are on side streets behind the front, and you're competing with people who work in town. On the Levante side, visitors in 2024 found free spaces on Calle Derramador and the side streets near the Presidente hotel. In 2025 a visitor pointed to a large free car park at the junction of Av. Cuba and Av. Paraguay. Streets near the Tuesday and Saturday market fill up on those days. Read every sign before you walk away from the car.
Will I be feeding a meter every two hours?
In the blue zones, yes. Blue zones are paid street parking with a time limit, and a 2024 visitor said they had to go back every two hours before giving up and moving the car further out. In 2023 visitors said some green-marked streets are free from 1 October to 1 July and some machines are covered over in winter. We haven't confirmed those dates with the council, so treat them as a lead and trust the sign on the day.
Where can I park securely overnight?
A public multi-storey or underground car park. Regulars mention the old multi-storeys in and around the Old Town: about €16 a night in 2023 and about twenty pounds a day in 2024. In 2026 visitors booked the Telpark car parks at Tomás Ortuño and Mercado online for guaranteed spaces in July, and a 2025 visitor found a central car park easy to reach by sat nav. Bringing a van or camper? Check the height limit before you drive in.
Will the low emission zone catch my older diesel?
Not yet, as things stand. Benidorm does have a low emission zone (ZBE), and visitors in 2023 understood it to cover the central area by the Levante and Poniente beaches. In March 2026 the council extended, for another year, the grace period that lets cars without a Spanish environmental sticker enter, as long as they meet the other rules; the local press put the end at about March 2027. UK cars don't normally carry the sticker, so check the council's current rules before you set off.
Should I bring a car at all?
For a few days in town, most regulars say no. A single bus ride is €2.00, a BUS card brings it to €1.50, and most lines run from about 06:30 to 22:30. Lines 1, 10 and 50 run the length of Levante. Where a car earns its keep is day trips inland, or a stay out at La Cala or Finestrat. Driving in for a day? Park on the edge of town near a TRAM stop or the bus station and ride in.
What the regulars say
- Read every street sign before you leave the car; zones and hours change street by street.
- Book a Telpark space online if you need a guaranteed spot in July or August.
- Ask about hotel parking before you book, not at check-in. Hotel spaces fill up.
- Coming for a day? Park by a tram stop or the bus station outside the centre and ride in.
- Market days, Tuesday and Saturday, are the worst for finding a street space.
The numbers
| What | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Hotels we track that list parking | 37 of 71 | benidorm.co.uk/hotels, checked 14 Oct 2026 |
| Old Town multi-storey, per day | about £20 | visitor reports, 2024 |
| Old Town car park, per night | about €16 | visitor reports, 2023 |
| Low emission zone grace period for cars without a sticker | extended to about March 2027 | alicanteplaza.es (15 Mar 2026), checked 15 Oct 2026 |
| Local bus single / with BUS card | €2.00 / €1.50 | benidorm.co.uk/buses-and-trams, checked 15 Oct 2026 |
| TRAM Benidorm–Alicante single | €2.90 | benidorm.co.uk/buses-and-trams, checked 15 Oct 2026 |
Reader figures are what visitors reported in that year. We have not checked them ourselves unless the source says so.
Your other questions, answered
2026Secure car parks in Benidorm for a van in July?
The Telpark car parks at Tomás Ortuño and Mercado are central and bookable online, and visitors took transit-sized vans in 2026. Check the height limit before you book.
2025Day trip by car from Torrevieja: where to park?
Park on the edge of town, near a TRAM stop or the bus station, and take a €2.00 bus into the centre. Central street spaces are mostly time-limited blue zones.
2025Parking for a three-metre camper van near the hotel?
Most underground car parks are too low. A 2025 visitor recommended the large free open car park at Av. Cuba and Av. Paraguay; check it's still free.
2024Free parking near La Cala and Poniente beach?
There's free street parking on the side streets back from the front, but La Cala fills up in August. Arrive early or park further back.
2024How much is parking at the Benidorm tram station?
A 2024 visitor understood the car park on the far side of the lines was free. We haven't confirmed it, so read the signs.
2023Which blue zones are free to park in winter?
Visitors in 2023 said green-marked streets were free from 1 October to 1 July and some machines were covered in winter. It's unconfirmed, so trust the sign on the day.
Read next
Buses and trams: the alternative to driving · Hotels, filtered by parking · Alicante airport to Benidorm · Ask Brenda: airport bus, taxi or transfer?
More on getting here and around
If the car's just going to sit there, leave it at home and spend the parking money on lunch.
Where to stay: hotels and apartments with live prices
Live prices from Booking.com, Expedia and others via Stay22. We earn a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you. How we earn.
About us · How we earn · How we score · Editorial policy · Is Benidorm safe? · Practical guide · Cheapest time to go · Sitemap
Benidorm.co.uk is an independent guide. Hotel and tour links are affiliate links: we earn a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you, and it never changes what we recommend. Prices change; each table shows the date we checked it. Brenda is an AI guide.