What are the rules for reserving a spot at the beach in Spain?

Spanish local news recently reported how security cameras had captured a man setting up his beach umbrella and sun loungers at 5:30am in order to reserve a first-line beach spot in the coastal town of Torrevieja on the Costa Blanca.

While this is pretty extreme, getting up so early to guarantee yourself a spot at the beach or by the hotel pool is quite common in Spain, and with the problem of overtourism in many areas over the summer, people want to ensure they can get a space.

But what are the rules surrounding this practice, is it permitted?

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Beaches are regulated by Coastal Law 2/1988, which states that sandy areas "shall not be for private use," so generally this means that the practice of reserving a private space is not allowed as the beaches belong to everyone.

Some city councils have gone further, however, clearly specifying that spaces cannot be reserved and even issue fines for those who lay out their towels early and then leave them for hours before using them.

In some cases fines can reach up to €3,000.

In Andalusia, towns including Torrox, Algarrobo, Vélez, and the city of Málaga itself have established regulations prohibiting reserving beach space at any time of day or night with objects such as umbrellas, sun loungers, awnings, or tables.

Back in 2015, authorities in Málaga brought in a rule that said that any unoccupied umbrella or sun lounger left for a certain period of time would be removed. If the owners wanted their belongings back, they had to pay €30, in addition to the fine.

In fact, Torrox was the first town to do this in this part of Spain back in 2014. There you can be fined €300 to "reserve physical space on beaches, at any time of day or night on the sand without the presence of the owner”.

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In the Valencia region, towns including Cullera, Oropesa, and Calpe also have penalties to discourage those who occupy space beach spaces without being there themselves. In Cullera, for example, a fine of up to €3,000 can be handed out those who leave their umbrella unattended on the beachfront.

In Benidorm and Gandía fines can also range from around €750 up to €3,000.

In September 2015, Torrevieja police also fined a swimmer €150 for setting up his umbrella early in the morning in a prime spot on Playa del Cura to reserve a spot.

In Alicante, under the local beach ordinance, police can remove abandoned items from the sand and prosecute tourists or residents who engage in this practice.

In the region of Murcia, a ban has also been implemented in some coastal areas, such as San Javier. The regulations expressly prohibit reserving space for umbrellas, sun loungers and towels. Although the amount of the fine is not a clear set amount, objects that interfere with cleaning work will be removed and stored at local police stations, where owners must go and claim them.

And in Catalonia, ERC Municipal Group at Tarragona City Council denounced the practice of reserving spaces and temporarily abandoning chairs, towels, and parasols on the city's beaches, however, no specific fines were introduced.

So, while you have to be careful about where you leave your towel and for how long at the beach, what do the rules say about the swimming pool?

Sun lounger wars have become a running joke at many hotel pools and there have even been TV adverts mocking the practice (cue the famous one by Carling brewery in 1993 which sees a British holidaymaker beat German tourists to the best spot).

Basically, the rules of whether you can reserve a spot at the pool or not is down to the individual establishment. Different hotels will have their own regulations.

If you’re staying in a complex of private residences, the community of neighbours may prohibit reserving spots at the community pool, so again different places will have different rules.