Beach hoggers face €750 fine

SAN JAVIER and San Pedro del Pinatar are cracking down on the practice of reserving beach spots by planting umbrellas or leaving beach chairs. Both towns have implemented fines of up to €750 for beachgoers who stake out a beach area with these items and then leave.

Regulations Target Beach Spot-Saving in San Javier and San Pedro del Pinatar

San Javier’s rule has been in place since 2021, and San Pedro’s has been around since 2017. These are the only towns in the region enforcing such fines right now. Recently on social media beach-goers captured the local police removing unattended beach beds and filling out documentation. This common practice—where people claim a spot early and come back later—has been a long-time frustration for other beachgoers.

Beach Cleaning Efforts Supported by Crackdown on Abandoned Items

Both towns also want to make beach cleaning easier. If cleaning crews find unattended items, they will remove and store them at the local police station. Owners can pick up their things from there, but if they don’t retrieve them within 14 days, the items will be treated as waste and discarded.

Other nearby towns, like Mazarrón and Cartagena, haven’t adopted these rules yet. There, complaints about spot-saving are usually handled informally, with locals simply moving items or voicing their frustrations directly.

Final Thoughts

While these fines are intended to curb beach hogging and improve the experience for all, questions remain about how effectively the regulations are communicated to the region’s many tourists. With no signs posted or official notices in multiple languages, international visitors may be unaware of the rules, potentially leading to unexpected fines. This raises concerns about whether enough is being done to ensure that tourists, who might not be familiar with local customs, are adequately informed. As the summer season continues, a key question is whether clearer communication will be introduced to help visitors navigate these beach policies more easily.

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