Trick or Treating in Marbella - Q & A

by Karmen
(Seattle, WA, USA)

QUESTION:

I will be in Marbella or Ronda on Halloween night with my 1 year old and 3 year old. I am wondering if there is anywhere to go trick-or-treating.

Thanks so much! Karmen


ANSWER:
This is always a tricky one as Spaniards don't celebrate Halloween and neither are they accustomed to strangers knocking on their door begging for candy. So, don't even try. There are, however, some enclaves where foreigners live and congregate to trick or treat.

My kids and I are true Americans when it comes to Halloween. We decorate the house, bake pumpkin cupcakes and all my kids want to do is trick or treat. Most foreigners here organize parties of their own. So every year we are challenged with where we can trick or treat.

You might want to first try the Halloween Fair at the Marbella Golf and Country Club. We just posted information on this fair and they promise a "Trick or Treat Adventure for Kids" among lots of other entertainment and surprises. I´m sure it´s good enough for your little ones as they are probably not sure what to expect. Mine, on the other hand, are a bit more tricky to convince if it´s not "authentic". Although, I hear that the owners (or maybe managers?) of the Marbella Golf and Country Club are Americans, so there is a good chance that they´ll get into the spirit.

Sometimes we go to Sotogrande where our friends live and join them in their trick or treating. There are a lot of foreigners here who get organized and open their doors for a few hours once the sun
goes down to the kids in the neighborhood. However, you must be ready for a 40 minute drive from Marbella.

If you are staying with friends or in a complex where there are some foreigners you should ask around if their neighbourhood or community organizes some kind of trick or treating. The first year I lived here I knew a girl who knew a handful of elderly people in her community who would be willing to open their doors to our kids. So we bought lots of candy and gave it to them to pass out to the kids. There were only 3 or 4 doors, but it was enough to satisfy them. Actually, they were thrilled.

You may also want to try the Kidz Kingdom Halloween Party. This is an indoor playground, so they won´t offer trick or treating, but your kids will have a chance to dress up and feel the Halloween ambiance. It´s a nice chance to mingle with other kids and parents in case you don´t know anyone out here.

If you're really desperate, then you can always try Gibraltar. I hear that Halloween is celebrated all throughout the city and you can just jump into any old neighbourhood and start trick or treating. Gibraltar is a very small place, so you can´t really get lost. I haven´t tried this out myself, so don´t quote me on any of this. It would be a good idea to check out any websites on Gibraltar to see if the city is planning any events in case the trick or treating falls through.

Good luck and have a very Happy Halloween!

Comments for Trick or Treating in Marbella - Q & A

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Sep 29, 2016
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Ttrick or Treat in Marbella
by: Anonymous

Where can kids "trick or treat" for Halloween in Marbella?
Are there villages or urbanization's where kids can knock on doors and ask for candy or expect a good trick?
Maybe somebody could organise something for the English community on the Costa del Sol!

Nov 18, 2012
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A great place to spend the holiday
by: Alisa

Taking the advice from the reviews from previous years, we took our 3 children up to Benhavis this year and had an excellent time! They had some jump houses for the kids, a "haunted house", face painting, and some candies and fun entertainment (tug-a-war and gunny-sack races). There was also some trick-or-treating available in town...although we found the most success by having our children go to the store owners. We left right around dark.

Nov 04, 2011
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Kidz Kindgom - Halloween
by: Pammy

We went to Kidz Kingdom for Halloween, and I can say is NEVER AGAIN !!

It was overpacked, the fire exits were blocked by parked cars on the outside and people doing acts on the inside. Rather than selling tickets to avoid letting too many in, the doors were open to anybody. Unfortunately I do not think they were keeping an eye on how many people were in there.

There was nowhere to sit - my daughter wanted to come home after half an hour... just utter chaos and will certainly not be returning again !

Have spoken to other people about the evening and they all agreed that it was awful.

Nov 01, 2011
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Benahavis Halloween
by: Jennifer

Yes Zora I was there too! It was fab

Nov 01, 2011
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Halloween party in Benahavis
by: Zora

Ok, so we just had Halloween last night in Benahavis and this is the scoop so you´re prepared for next year.

We have some friends who told us to come up to Benahavis for Halloween and so we got there at about 8:00pm and were we surprised! There were tons of kids and adults all dressed up in their Halloween costumes walking the main street, filling up the pubs and restaurants and just plain old having a good time.

My kids were really set on trick or treating, but we were told that the trick or treating started at about 6:30pm. My girlfriends 7 year old was really disappointed, because she was on her own and heard about Halloween, but never did it. So, next year we´ll be better organized.

What we found was that the Benahavis town hall organized a spooky haunted house that scared the daylights out of me, but the kids thought it was a riot. They also set out two bouncy castles for the little ones. And it was all FREE! It was all very impressive, because I have never seen that many trick or treaters in Spain. The whole town really gets into the spirit. Evidently, Benahavis is 60% foreigners, out of which many are from the UK, so they know how to celebrate Halloween!

Even though we missed the trick or treating, my kids had a great time running around with children they recognized from school or who used to go to school with them. My kids are now 11 and 13 and don´t want their parents hanging around their back, so we felt perfectly comfortable sitting ourselves in a bar while the kids ran off on their own. I felt that the village was very safe and my kids wouldn´t get lost. Actually, it was the first time I could actually sit back and enjoy the company of good friends in a beautiful village on a lovely night sitting outdoors while my kids ran off into the night for Halloween. I think I could get used to this!

I was very impressed with the organization of Halloween put on by the residents of Benahavis and will definitely be back next year. I think I´ll have to book a table and just sit back and have dinner there too!

Nov 01, 2011
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Diana Park
by: Laura

Massive trick or treating in Diana Park, too. Was brilliant!

Oct 28, 2011
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Benahavis or La Heridia
by: Zora

You may want to try Benahavis just 15 - 20 minutes from Puerto Banus. This is a lovely village that has a large concentration of foreigners.

You can also try La Heridia near the Ronda road about 10 minutes drive from San Pedro. There are lots of foreigners with children who live there.

Whenever I go trick or treating in these neighborhoods I bring a bag of sweets and pass them out behind me to the neighbors when the kids aren´t looking. I always feel a bit bad about "invading" a neighborhood I don´t live in...even if I am invited by friends. They don´t sell mega bags of candy cheap here like they do in the US, so it can get expensive and I´m sure the neighbors appreciate it as their buckets become "dry". So I´d recommend you bring a bag too.

Oct 28, 2011
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La Zagaleta trick or treating
by: Laura

Would suggest La Zagaleta might get lucky!

Oct 28, 2011
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Los Naranjos
by: Suzanne

Los Naranjos de Marbella always good - alot of them dress the houses up so sometimes better to stick to those as always a treat x

Oct 12, 2010
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Thank you!
by: Karmen

Thank you for all of the information! You have been so helpful!!!!

Happy Halloween!

Oct 11, 2010
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Halloween in Marbella
by: Marbella Family

This is always a tricky one as Spaniards don´t celebrate Halloween and neither are they accustomed to strangers knocking on their door begging for candy. So, don´t even try. There are, however, some enclaves where foreigners live and congregate to trick or treat.

My kids and I are true Americans when it comes to Halloween. We decorate the house, bake pumpkin cupcakes and all my kids want to do is trick or treat. Most foreigners here organize parties of their own. So every year we are challenged with where we can trick or treat.

You might want to first try the Halloween Fair at the Marbella Golf and Country Club. We just posted information on this fair and they promise a "Trick or Treat Adventure for Kids" among lots of other entertainment and surprises. I´m sure it´s good enough for your little ones as they are probably not sure what to expect. Mine, on the other hand, are a bit more tricky to convince if it´s not "authentic". Although, I hear that the owners (or maybe managers?) of the Marbella Golf and Country Club are Americans, so there is a good chance that they´ll get into the spirit.

Sometimes we go to Sotogrande where our friends live and join them in their trick or treating. There are a lot of foreigners here who get organized and open their doors for a few hours once the sun goes down to the kids in the neighborhood. However, you must be ready for a 40 minute drive from Marbella.

If you are staying with friends or in a complex where there are some foreigners you should ask around if their neighborhood or community organizes some kind of trick or treating. The first year I lived here I knew a girl who knew a handful of elderly people in her community who would be willing to open their doors to our kids. So we bought lots of candy and gave it to them to pass out to the kids. There were only 3 or 4 doors, but it was enough to satisfy them. Actually, they were thrilled.

You may also want to try the Kidz Kingdom Halloween Party. This is an indoor playground, so they won´t offer trick or treating, but your kids will have a chance to dress up and feel the Halloween ambiance. It´s a nice chance to mingle with other kids and parents in case you don´t know anyone out here.

If you´re really desperate, then you can always try Gibraltar. I hear that Halloween is celebrated all throughout the city and you can just jump into any old neighborhood and start trick or treating. Gibraltar is a very small place, so you can´t really get lost. I haven´t tried this out myself, so don´t quote me on any of this. It would be a good idea to check out any websites on Gibraltar to see if the city is planning any events in case the trick or treating falls through.

Good luck and have a very Happy Halloween!

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