This summer, are you heading to a dreamy Spanish beach town with secluded stretches of golden sand? If so, here are some weird beach laws you should know about. Failure to follow them could mean fines of several thousand euros — enough to put a serious dent in your vacation budget. So listen up!
The first weird law is that playing paddleball on the beach is forbidden in some cities, including Benidorm and Murcia on the southern coast, where offenders risk fines from $800 to $3,400. Yikes! What, you ask, could be so wrong about standing on a beach with a buddy and hitting a ball back and forth with small paddles? Apparently, this and other activities using balls have the potential to disturb other beachgoers, especially at popular beaches in high season, when space becomes extremely limited. Our guess is that once upon a time before this law was enacted, beachgoers getting hit with stray balls or stepped on by overly enthusiastic players was not uncommon.
Some Spanish cities (e.g., Malaga) have a more relaxed version of the rule that allows paddleball on larger beaches as long as players ensure a distance of at least 20 feet between themselves and others. When in doubt about what kinds of paddleball restrictions are in place in a particular region, be sure to inquire at a local tourism information center before heading to the beach. And if you’re a fan of paddle sports, check out our article on some of the top vacation destinations for pickleball lovers.
Other Spanish beach laws to know about
