Spanish police attempt to deter sunbed hoggers in Costa Blanca by imposing fines and removing belongings

Local council warns visitors who hog spots on the beach for long hours face $400 fines. Photo / Getty Images

Heading to Spain? Be ready to bail out your belongings if you leave the beach for more than 3 hours, police say.

Tourists who want to bask in the sun in the popular Costa Blanca resort of Calpe are advised to not leave belongings in a bid to “reserve” a spot on the beach — or prepare to face a $400 fine.

The beach is 40km from the popular holiday destination, Benidorm, and is a well-frequented tourist spot itself, seeing thousands of beachgoers every day during summer. With its pristine waters and fine white sand, tourists and residents love to stay on the beach for hours on end — to tan and to swim.

However, due to a record-breaking number of visitors every summer, some holidaymakers have started to “reserve” the best spots on the beach before breakfast, effectively hogging their spot all day by leaving sunbeds, towels, and parasols seemingly occupied, but unattended.

In an attempt to curb the habit, local police have issued an ordinance for visitors and residents who purposefully leave their belongings on the beach.

They will remove belongings, including towels, parasols on the sand before 9.30am. Owners could face paying a penalty charge of £210 ($455) at the municipal depot to retrieve their belongings.

The Calpe Town Council said in an online statement, “This measure prohibits the indiscriminate occupation of the public domain, especially the beach, with items such as chairs, hammocks and parasols at the start of the day. These bad habits make it difficult to clean the beaches.”

➡️ ¿Sabías que según la Ordenanza Municipal de Uso y Gestión del Litoral está prohibido instalar sillas, hamacas y sombrillas en las playas antes de las 9:30 horas para no dificultar la limpieza de las playas?.
+info:https://t.co/d4aifHpuoC
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— Ayuntamiento de Calp (@calp_ayto) July 17, 2024

Similarly, those who hog the best spots on the sand all day will face the same consequences.

Beachgoers often leave their belongings unattended at the beach, so they have a guaranteed spot “reserved” for them after returning from a long lunch, excursion, or siesta. This results in crowded spaces and litter, and further ignites the sunbed wars between visitors.

To help with this, the council announced police will also remove any unattended belongings left for more than three hours.

“The ordinance also states that umbrellas, chairs or deckchairs left for more than three hours without the presence of their owners throughout the day may be removed. If there is evidence of these elements being installed without the presence of a responsible person or owner, the town council, through the local police and its cleaning staff, may remove these elements from the beach and transfer them to the municipal depot,” the notice states in Calpe’s official website.

The “sunbed wars” have been recurring for years, with the town council receiving numerous complaints regarding the issue every summer.

With the threat of a fine now in place, the local council hopes to reduce these cases and create a fair environment for all.