By Jo Pugh • Updated: 31 Jul 2023 • 15:35
Levante Beach beomes very overcrowded in Summer. Credit: Jo Pugh
SPANISH holidaymakers are unhappy after they were accused of hogging front line beach spots in Benidorm.
At 6am, it is common for many of the coveted spots to already be taken on Levante beach in the resort.
“I get up at 5.40am,” said Poli González, a pensioner from Ciudad Real. “I come once a year in July and I like to have my front row,” he said to Sur in English.
“Everyone lives their own holidays,” said Francisco Pérez, “I’ve been a farmer all my life and it’s not hard for me to get up early”.
In the last few days, Benidorm’s Levante beach has been in the spotlight after a report in the Daily Mail newspaper, headlined “Hilarious moment when Benidorm locals are caught setting up their sunbeds in the middle of the night to beat the crowds of British tourists”.
Pedro Medina, originally from Vitoria, said. “We have been called racists and xenophobes. I’ve been here for 30 years and I get up early to get my first line”
Benidorm’s councillor for beaches and the environment, Mónica Gómez, said: “Traditionally there are people who get up very early in the morning to secure a spot on the front line of the beach closest to the coast and stay there all morning enjoying the sea.”
However, Gómez highlighted the problem of “people who take their belongings out at this time in the morning and go home, and that is something that is not allowed”.
The municipal regulations prohibit the leaving of belongings in public, an offence which can be enforced by the Local Police with the power to remove personal objects and impose a fine of up to €750.
“If the police come and they remove the umbrella, you move away and leave, so you don’t pay the fine,” one Spanish early riser said, with a laugh.
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Jo Pugh is a journalist based in the Costa Blanca North. Originally from London, she has been involved in journalism and photography for 20 years. She has lived in Spain for 12 years, and is a dedicated and passionate writer.
Is it not because there are only certain free areas of the beach , the remainder you pay for and folk don’t like paying 12euros a day. Been to Benidorm many times for many years. During covid they sectioned the beach into specific areas. That’s has now become permanent and they charge to use these areas. So there is very limited free space available hence the so called rush.
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