What’s it like to live in Benalmádena?
Life in Benalmádena is characterised by mild winters and hot summers, which makes it attractive for northern Europeans. It’s not only become a popular beach resort for tourists, but a popular place to move too as well, with a lively expat population.
Moving to Benalmádena would suit retirees looking for a beach-life and a strong community, as well as families who want to make the most of the outdoor lifestyle.
Living in Benalmádena: essential information
According to the latest stats from Spain’s National Statistics Agency (INE) Benalmádena has a total population of 7,5801. The most up to date details from the Estadística y Cartografía de Andalucía shows that the median age of the population is 42 years old, while 20 percent of the population are under 20 and 16.6 percent are over the age of 65. There are a total of around 18,994 foreigners living in Benalmádena and the majority of these are from the UK.
Healthcare in Benalmádena
The main public health centre in Benalmádena is the Consultorio Benalmádena (Alcolea). There are also two others in the surrounding urbanisations and beach areas - Centro de salud Arroyo de la Miel-Benalmádena and Centro de Salud Torrequebrada. Two more can be found slightly further up the coast in Torremolinos. The one you’ll be assigned to will depend on where you live within the area.
If you need to go to a larger hospital for an operation or an emergency, then your nearest ones will be in Malaga city. These are Hospital Universitario Virgen de la Victoria and
Hospital Universitario Regional de Málaga, which are both public.
If you have private health insurance there will be several other clinics you can visit including Intermedical SS and Clínicas Cume. Many of these private clinics have English-speaking doctors available.
For more serious issues, there’s the Vithas Xanit International Hospital too.
Read our guide to discover how healthcare in Spain works and what you need to know.
Working in Benalmádena
According to data from the Estadística y Cartografía de Andalucía, the largest number of jobs in Benalmádena can be found in the commercial positions. This is followed by those in the hospitality industry. Benalmádena is a big tourist destination so there are lots of jobs in this sector, including hoteliers, wait staff, travel agents and reps.
The next biggest group are those working in professional jobs such as science and technical positions, followed by construction work and lastly real estate.
Remember that if you’re from the UK, you will need a work visa to be able to work in these positions. It’s highly unlikely you’ll be sponsored for a visa for many of these positions, so you’ll need to find a way of legally moving to Spain with work permission first.
You can find jobs in Benalmádena on international jobs sites such as Glassdoor and Indeed. There are also more local job forums on Facebook groups. Try joining Jobs in Benalmedena & Fuengirola and the similar sounding group - Jobs in Benalmadena Fuengirola to see positions available in bars and restaurants for example.
One of the easiest ways to be able to get work permission in Benalmádena is through the digital nomad visa, which enables you to be self-employed.
Read our guide to discover everything you need to know about Spain's Digital Nomad Visa.
While there are several cafes with free wi-fi in the town, the most reliable option with fast internet, where you’re not going to get kicked out in favour of other customers, is to join a co-working space. One of the main ones here is Coworking Benalmádena which offers 12 desk spaces and private offices. They can be rented monthly, weekly or even daily.
According to the Fair Internet Report, Benalmádena has an average home internet speeds of 204 Mbps, which is 94 percent above the average in Spain. The fastest provider here is Orange Spain.
Find out more about working in Spain at the Spanish Chamber of Commerce and read our guide on finding a job in Spain.
Schools & Education in Benalmádena
The Benalmádena Town Hall lists eight public schools in Benalmádena, plus two kindergartens and five secondary schools, some offering just high school and the others offering Bachillerato, the equivalent of A-levels in the UK.
There are also two concertados, which are a combination between public and private schools and typically charge a small yearly fee. According to MiCole.es rankings, the best public school in Benalmádena is Colegio CEIP Jacaranda, which is a bilingual Spanish and English school, followed by primary school Colegio El Tomillar and Colegio La Paloma, which are also primary schools.
There are also five private schools, many of these being international schools with education in various languages. This includes The British College, with education from kindergarten all the way up to A-levels, and The Benalmádena International College, offering the same. There’s also the bilingual Novaschool in Arroyo de la Miel and a Norwegian school there too, while there’s another international school in the urbanisation of Torrequebrada.
MiCole.es lists the best international school as El Colegio Internacional Torrequebrada, followed by Colegio Noruego Costa del Sol and then the Colegio Novaschool.
Find out more about education in Spain at the Spanish Ministry of Education, as well as our guide on finding the right school for your expat family.
Transport in Benalmádena
Benalmádena is well-linked to the rest of the western Costa del Sol via trains and buses, so a car isn’t necessary, however, if you need to take kids to nearby international schools or want to get out into the countryside every weekend, then a car will definitely be very useful. Read more about driving in Spain after Brexit here.
The regional Cercanías train line C1 runs from Málaga María Zambrano train station to Benalmádena- Arroyo De La Miel station in approximately half an hour. This means it’s very easy to travel into Málaga whenever you need and the other way towards Fuengirola too.
Local buses travel throughout the Málaga region, with more frequent services running along the Costa del Sol around Benalmádena.
The nearest airport is Málaga, approximatively Málaga Airport is the fourth busiest in Spain and takes on 85 percent of the air traffic in Andalucía. easyJet, Ryanair, British Airways, Jet2, Iberia, TUI, BA Euroflyer and American Airlines all fly direct to Málaga, making it a big travel hub.
