New Year's Eve Benidorm & Alicante: Parties, Grapes & TRAM

For New Year's Eve in Benidorm, head to the Levante seafront: the big council-backed street party there had music from early evening in 2025, grapes handed out before midnight, fireworks at around 00:15 and, for the Brits, Big Ben's chimes at 1am Spanish time. In Alicante the official party was on the Rambla de Méndez Núñez, with the town hall clock chiming midnight in Plaza del Ayuntamiento.

Those are last year's details. The 2026 programmes aren't out yet, so every time below is TBD and based on 2025. They usually get confirmed in mid to late December, but both parties have run for years, so the basics are a safe bet.

Quick facts

• New Year's Eve 2026: Thursday 31 December
• Benidorm: Levante beach, at the junction of Paseo de Levante and Avenida de Bilbao. Times TBD. Based on last year: from 6pm, fireworks around 00:15, Big Ben at 1am.
• Alicante: Rambla de Méndez Núñez, chimes from the town hall clock in Plaza del Ayuntamiento. Times TBD. Based on last year: from 10.30pm, orchestra until 4am
• Grapes: handed out free at both parties in 2025 (2026 plans TBD)
• Getting home: 2026 late TRAM timetable TBD. Special services ran on Lines 1 to 4 in 2025
• Weather: late December nights are about 8-9°C, so bring a proper coat

The 12 grapes: how it works

This is the bit that catches people out. In Spain you eat one grape on each of the 12 chimes at midnight, one for luck in each month of the new year. They're called las uvas de la suerte, the lucky grapes, and the whole country does it at once, watching the clock at Puerta del Sol in Madrid on TV or on big screens.

A few tips from someone who's choked on a few:

• Wait for the real chimes. Before the 12 chimes there are four quicker bells, the cuartos. Everyone's mate starts eating on those. Don't.
• Go small. Pick little seedless grapes, or peel them first. The chimes come about every three seconds.
• Don't stress if you fall behind. Half the fun is everyone laughing with their cheeks full.
• Have the cava ready for straight after.

New Year's Eve in Benidorm

The main event is the street party on the Levante seafront, run by the bar and nightlife association Abreca with the council. 2025 was its ninth edition, and earlier years drew around 10,000 people onto the front. Here's how 2025 went. The 2026 timings are TBD:

• From 6pm: music and DJ sets on the promenade, where Paseo de Levante meets Avenida de Bilbao
• Before midnight: grapes and party bits (cotillón) handed out, with help from the beachfront bars
• Midnight: a live link to Puerta del Sol in Madrid, with the chimes on giant screens
• Around 00:15: synchronised fireworks over Levante beach
• 1am: a live BBC link to Big Ben for the British crowd, so you can do midnight twice

Earlier in the day, there was also a "Tardevieja" afternoon party on Calle Santo Domingo in the old town from 12.30pm in 2025 (2026 time TBD). Daytime parties are a big Spanish thing, and it's a nice way to start without peaking too early.

If you'd rather be indoors, lots of hotels sell New Year's Eve gala dinners, and bars do their own nights. Book these well ahead. For a drink with a view before you head down to the front, look at La Terrasse or Gran Hotel Bali, and check what they're doing that night first. On the beach itself, Penelope and Oasis Beach Club are right on the Levante side. For a pub, the Shamrock in Rincón de Loix. More on the town in our Benidorm area guide.

New Year's Eve in Alicante

Alicante's party is in the city centre, on the Rambla de Méndez Núñez. Here's 2025, with the 2026 times TBD:

• 10.30am to about 12.30pm: a kids' New Year's party at the Portal de Elche end of the Rambla, with a practice run of the chimes. Good if you've got little ones who won't last until midnight.
• From 10.30pm: the adults' party on the Rambla, with DJs and a host warming things up
• Before midnight: over 2,000 bags of lucky grapes handed out
• Midnight: stay on the Rambla, where the chimes play over the speakers, or walk to Plaza del Ayuntamiento to hear the town hall clock live
• After midnight: an 11-piece orchestra played on the Rambla until 4am

What about the Explanada? It's lovely for a walk before or after, but it wasn't part of the official 2025 programme, and that programme didn't include a fireworks show. So if fireworks matter to you, Benidorm is the better bet. Expect traffic restrictions in the centre from the early hours of the 31st until the morning of the 1st.

For drinks nearby, Pipirrana Vermut is right on the Rambla, and O'Hara Irish Pub is on Plaza de los Luceros, handy for the TRAM. If you want to keep going after 4am, our Alicante nightlife guide will point you the right way. More on the area in our Alicante city centre guide.

Getting home: TRAM, taxis and walking

This is where a good night goes wrong, so plan it before you go out. The 2026 TRAM timetable is TBD. In 2025 FGV ran a special service on Lines 1 to 4, all starting from Luceros in Alicante:

• Line 1 (Alicante to Benidorm): one extra tram from Luceros to Benidorm at 00:19, and one from Benidorm to Luceros at 01:50, stopping at all stations
• Line 2: every 30 minutes from Luceros until 01:54, and from Sant Vicent del Raspeig until 02:24
• Line 3: trams towards El Campello from 23:19 until 03:19
• Line 4: every 30 minutes from Luceros between 22:59 and 01:59, and from Plaça de La Coruña until 02:30
• 1 January: normal service restarted, with Line 1's first tram leaving Luceros at 06:04 and the first from Benidorm to Alicante at 07:05

The catch: if you're in Alicante for midnight and staying in Benidorm, the 00:19 from Luceros was the only late Line 1 tram, and you won't make it if you're still on your grapes at the town hall. Either celebrate where you're sleeping, or plan on a taxi. In 2025 the special timetable was only announced on 30 December, so check close to the day. Check tramalacant.es or the FGV app. Our Alicante TRAM guide covers the network.

Taxis are in huge demand after midnight, and night and holiday fares are higher. Expect queues. Pick a meeting point with your group before midnight, because phones can be unreliable in big crowds. If your hotel is walkable, walk.

Tips for New Year's Eve

• Book dinner early. New Year's Eve set menus sell out, and plenty of places only do a set menu that night.
• Wrap up. Nights in late December are about 8-9°C, and it feels colder by the sea. Layers and a proper coat.
• Bring your own grapes as backup, in case the free bags run out where you're standing.
• Watch your stuff in the crowds, and on the TRAM home.
• Take it easy on New Year's Day. Lots of places open late on the 1st. In Benidorm, the Unión Musical's New Year's Concert was at the Centro Cultural auditorium at 7pm on 1 January 2026 (2027 time TBD), if you fancy something civilised.

FAQ

Where's the best place for New Year's Eve in Benidorm?

The Levante seafront, where Paseo de Levante meets Avenida de Bilbao. The 2026 times are TBD. In 2025 the council and the bar association Abreca ran a street party there from 6pm with DJs, grapes handed out, the Madrid chimes on big screens, fireworks around 00:15 and Big Ben at 1am.

Is there a New Year's Eve party in Alicante?

Yes. The 2026 times are TBD. In 2025 the official party was on the Rambla de Méndez Núñez from 10.30pm, with DJs, over 2,000 bags of grapes handed out, and an orchestra playing until 4am. For the chimes you can stay on the Rambla or walk to Plaza del Ayuntamiento to hear the town hall clock live.

Are there fireworks on New Year's Eve in Benidorm and Alicante?

In Benidorm, yes: in 2025 there were synchronised fireworks over Levante beach at around 00:15 (2026 time TBD). Alicante's official 2025 programme didn't include a fireworks show, so don't plan around one there.

Does the TRAM run late on New Year's Eve?

In 2025 FGV ran special late services. On Line 1 there was an extra tram from Luceros to Benidorm at 00:19 and one from Benidorm to Luceros at 01:50. Lines 2, 3 and 4 ran into the early hours from Luceros. The 2026 timetable is TBD. It's usually announced in late December.

What time is Big Ben on New Year's Eve in Benidorm?

1am Spanish time, which is midnight in the UK and Ireland. In 2025 the Levante party showed it live via the BBC, so you can do midnight twice. The 2026 plan is TBD.

What are the 12 grapes?

It's Spain's New Year tradition: you eat one grape on each of the 12 midnight chimes for good luck in the year ahead. Spaniards call them las uvas de la suerte, the lucky grapes.

Grapes ready, coat on, tram time noted. Happy New Year.

Planning the rest of the winter? See Benidorm in December · Alicante in December