A Month in Benidorm with a 14-Month-Old: Our First Long Stay
This is the big one. A full month abroad with Tallulah. We've booked a Poniente apartment, we're flying Ryanair for the first time, and we'll be updating this post with the full honest review once we're back.
Full review coming April 2026
We check in on 11 March and check out 11 April. This post will be updated with the full review, real photos, costs, and honest tips once we've lived it. Follow us on social media for real-time updates during the trip.
What We've Booked
Why Benidorm?
Benidorm gets a bad reputation. Stag dos, English breakfasts, that sort of thing. But everyone we've spoken to says the Poniente end is completely different - quieter, more family-oriented, with a flat promenade that's perfect for buggies, a sandy beach, and proper Spanish restaurants mixed in with the tourist spots.
The real reason is practical: it's cheap, it's warm in March, the flight is short (2.5 hours), and there's a massive expat community which means everything is set up for English speakers. When you're doing a month-long stay with a toddler, you want easy. Benidorm is easy.
The Apartment
Sunset Cliffs is an 18th-floor apartment on Avenida Republica Argentina. We booked through Booking.com. Two bedrooms, which means Tallulah gets her own room (game-changer for sleep). We don't know yet whether it has a washing machine, cot, or highchair - all things we'll find out and report back on.
At €2,754 for 31 nights, that works out at about £74 per night or £37 each. For a month in the sun with a sea view from the 18th floor, that feels reasonable. We'll see if the reality matches the listing.
Flying Ryanair for the First Time
We've flown Jet2 twice and they were brilliant both times. This time we're flying Ryanair to Alicante so we can do a proper comparison. Ryanair has a reputation for being less family-friendly - we'll find out if that's fair or just snobbery. We'll update our Jet2 vs Ryanair comparison with the full Ryanair experience.
What We're Planning to Review
- The apartment itself: Baby safety, kitchen, washing machine, WiFi speed, noise level, buggy access - the full Lost Little Moons rating
- Poniente beach with a toddler: Sand quality, shade options, how busy it gets, nearest toilets and changing facilities
- Supermarkets and pharmacies: Where to get nappies, baby food, formula, and how the prices compare to the UK
- Eating out with a baby: Which restaurants have highchairs, what the local food is like, and whether Tallulah will eat anything that isn't a rice cake
- Playgrounds: Every playground we find, rated for age-appropriateness and shade
- The promenade: Is it really as buggy-friendly as people say? We'll walk the whole thing
- Day trips: What's worth doing nearby with a toddler, and what's not
- Remote working: Can Liam actually work from the apartment while Leila takes Tallulah out? WiFi speed, desk situation, noise
- The full cost breakdown: Flights, accommodation, food, activities - every penny for the full month
What We're Nervous About
Honestly? The Ryanair flight. We've had two perfect Jet2 experiences and we're slightly dreading the comparison. Also, a month is a long time. Our longest trip so far was a week in Turkey and a week in Norway. Four weeks is different - we'll need to find routines, deal with teething and illness away from home, and figure out the balance between exploring and just living.
Tallulah will be 14 months when we arrive, which is a completely different travel companion to 4 months (Turkey) or even 13 months (Norway). She's walking now, has opinions about everything, and her nap schedule is the thing our entire day revolves around.
Follow Along
We'll be posting real-time updates on social media throughout the trip. The full blog post with photos, videos, honest review and cost breakdown will go up in April 2026 once we're back and have had time to process it all.
Our Other Family Trips
This post will be updated with our full experience in April 2026. We pay for everything ourselves - no sponsorships, no freebies. Some links may be affiliate links once the full review is published.