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What’s the law on camping in Spain?

Spain is full of beautiful natural spots, but is it possible to camp anywhere you want? What are the rules for wild camping, the potential loopholes and the fines to avoid?

Published: 6 October 2022 16:01 CEST
Updated: 6 June 2023 16:50 CEST
What's the law on camping in Spain?
Can you go wild camping in Spain? Photo: Dominik Jirovský/ Unsplash

Camping is a popular pastime in Spain and there are many great dedicated campsites dotted all over the country.

But with so many natural and national parks, mountain ranges, forests and rivers, many people want to make the most of them and wild camp overnight.

So, is wild camping permitted in Spain?

Unfortunately, the short answer is that wild camping in any area in Spain is generally forbidden.

The reasons for restricting camping in natural areas range from health and safety to security and respecting the environment.

The general rule is that you must find an appropriate campsite to stay the night.

READ ALSO: Can you camp or sleep over at any beaches in Spain?

What about camping in a campervan or caravan instead of a tent?

Wild camping, even in a campervan, is not allowed, however, you are allowed to sleep in your own vehicle overnight, according to Article 93 of the General Road Traffic Regulations and Manual 08/V-74. This means that you can actually park your campervan somewhere and sleep in it, as long as you don’t appear to be camping.

Practically it means that you can’t set up awnings, chairs and tables or barbecues outside your caravan and must look as though you are simply parked.

Be aware that parking by the coast is forbidden. General Traffic Regulations state that they “prohibit parking and circulation, as well as camping and camping sites, 20 metres from the beach in an urban area or 100 meters in a rural area, counted from the seashore”.

READ ALSO: What you need to know about Spain’s campervan and motorhome rules

Are there any exceptions? What if I camp without a tent?

Vivac in Spanish or bivvying, as it’s referred to in English, is the practice of sleeping outside in the wild without a tent or a campervan. This is a bit of a grey area when it comes to camping law in Spain and you may be able to get away with it in certain rural areas where you can’t be seen. But you need to be aware that you may be fined for it too. 

Are there any other situations I might get away with wild camping?

Wild camping is strictly prohibited in national and natural parks, on beaches, or by the coast, but there are similar grey areas when it comes to free camping on private land.

Technically you can camp in someone’s garden or field if you get permission from the owner. Remember, they may ask for a small fee for doing so.

Wild camping may be more accepted in some rural areas such as in the Pyrenees, but remember it’s still illegal so you can be fined if you’re caught.

What are the fines for camping illegally?

If you are found to be wild camping, you can be slapped with some hefty fines. According to the Coastal Law, you can be fined from €40 for each metre square of space you occupy if you’re caught camping near the coast.

You can also be fined between €50 and €150 for not parking in a dedicated spot near the coast.

Like most rules in Spain though, each region has its own when it comes to how much you can be fined. Here’s what you might have to pay for wild camping in nature in certain regions.

Madrid: €60.10 up to €601.01.

San Sebastián municipality: From €50 to €3,000.

Asturias: From €60.10 to €601.01. 

Murcia: Anywhere up to a maximum of €1000.

Valencia: Between €751 and €1500 for camping on the beach during high season. 

Catalonia: A minimum of €60.10, but if you’re found camping in natural areas, such as the Delta del Ebro, this can rise to €6,000, the highest camping penalty in Spain. 

Extremadura: From €30 to €150.

Granada provice: €100. 

Be aware that the fines could be higher for wild camping in natural or protected areas.

General camping rules 

Campfires or bonfires are strictly prohibited in wild and natural areas, particularly due to the risk of forest fires, which caused devastation across many regions of Spain in the summer of 2022. Starting a fire is considered a criminal offence and you may get a lot more than just a fine if it gets out of hand. 

Remember to take all rubbish away with you and leave the place exactly as you found it and to bury all human waste away from water sources. 

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DISCOVER SPAIN

A history of Madrid’s Barrio de las Letras in seven places

To mark World Book Day, Madrid-based Felicity Hughes takes us on a fascinating journey through the Spanish capital's Literary District, retracing the steps of Hemingway, Cervantes, Dumas and other iconic writers who stayed in this barrio.

Published: 23 April 2024 10:13 CEST
A history of Madrid's Barrio de las Letras in seven places

World Book Day on April 23rd marks the date of Cervantes’ death. The author of Don Quijote lived in the Huertas neighbourhood of Madrid when he published his classic, starting a literary tradition in the area that continues to this day. Also known as Barrio de las Letras, Huertas is Madrid’s equivalent to Bloomsbury.

In my new book, A Guide to Madrid’s Literary District, I explore this heritage in-depth. To celebrate the launch of this guide and to get you prepped for World Book Day, here’s a quick history of the neighbourhood told through seven places.

Teatro Español

While the current neo-classical building was constructed in 1849, Teatro Español traces its history back to 1583. Madrid’s first theatre, Corral del Príncipe was built here 16 years before London’s Globe. As in Shakespeare’s London, the theatre was extremely popular but up until this point, Madrid did not have a dedicated venue. Instead, plays were performed in the courtyards of buildings. In the Corral del Príncipe, lower-class spectators stood in a square courtyard to watch actors perform on stage, while wealthier citizens were up in balconies overlooking the action.

Comic farces involving scandalous plots in which lovers switched partners several times were particularly popular. A writer who excelled at this style of drama was Félix Lope de Vega, Shakespeare’s contemporary and one of the Siglo de Oro’s most famous figures. To this day, you can see his name etched into the facade of Teatro Español, alongside other great writers of the time.

Madrid's Teatro Español

Madrid’s Teatro Español. Photo: Felicity Hugues

Casa Museo Lope de Vega

Lope de Vega didn’t have far to walk to see his words come to life on stage. His house is just a few minutes walk away at number 11 Calle de Cervantes. Now open to the public, you can still wander into the museum’s pretty garden whenever you fancy. Better yet, book yourself in for a free guided tour and you can see the house and hear all about his exciting and slightly disreputable life. A hit with the ladies, the playwright was a prodigious talent and penned around 500 plays during his lifetime. This prompted Cervantes to call him a “monstruo de la naturaleza” (a freak of nature) in his Eight Comedies and Interludes.

Casa de Lope de Vega by Felicity Hughes

Lope de Vega’s house in Madrid. Photo: Felicity Hugues

Convento de las Trinitarias Descalzas

Miguel de Cervantes’ bones lie just one street away in the Convento de las Trinitarias Descalzas at number 18 Calle Lope de Vega. Someone in town planning must have been having a laugh at the expense of both writers when these streets were named! Cervantes’ freak-of-nature taunt came after Lope de Vega had trashed an advance copy of Don Quijote in a letter announcing: “Of poets I do not say: this is a good century! Many are in the making for the coming year. But there is none so bad as Cervantes; nor so foolish as to praise Don Quijote.”

Lope de Vega, of course, was very wrong. Don Quijote was a smash hit when it came out in 1605 and even though Cervantes was pushing 60 when he published his masterpiece, he did get to enjoy his final years in the spotlight. However, this fame didn’t prevent the destruction of his former house at number 2 Calle de Cervantes nor the misplacement of his bones, which are muddled up with other miscellaneous skeletons in a box inside the convent with the initials MC on it!

Madrid's Convento de las Trinitarias

Madrid’s Convento de las Trinitarias. Photo: John Dapolito

Lhardy

As Madrid’s theatre district, Huertas was a thoroughly disreputable place back in Cervantes’ time and a popular saying went: “Calle de Huertas, más putas que puertas” (Calle de Huertas, more whores than doors). However, in the 19th century, this didn’t deter French chef Emilio Huguenin from opening an upmarket restaurant in the area closer to Sol in 1839. A fan of fine dining, Alexandre Dumas famously dined here when he rolled into town.

However, the restaurant wasn’t affordable for many. In fact, Lhardy was considered so posh that Spain’s answer to Dickens, Benito Pérez Galdós declared that they even “put white ties on their Tahona buns.” It’s still going strong and is a great place to soak up the atmosphere of 19th-century Madrid where heated literary salons or tertulias (social gatherings) were often held in coffee shops and restaurants.

Lhardy madrid

Lhardy in Madrid’s Barrio de Las Letras. Photo: John Dapolito

Ateneo de Madrid

The best tertulias were hosted in Ateneo de Madrid, a deceptively slender building tucked away on Calle del Prado. This cultural institution had a rocky beginning during the tyrannical reign of Ferdinand VII when many of its liberal members had to flee to London. However, it was re-established in 1835 after the king died and has been going strong ever since.

The organisation aimed to promote enlightened values that would modernise Spain by fostering scholarship and lively debate and it continues to stick to this philosophy to this day. While it’s still a private member’s club, the spectacular interior of this tardis-like building can be seen by either booking a visit to the library or attending a talk in the gorgeous Salón de Actos.

Madrid’s Ateneo. Photo: John Dapolito

La Venencia

The rumour exchange during the Civil War, this bar has changed little since it was first opened in 1927. The décor, with its wooden tables and gleaming rows of bottles, is simplicity itself. To this day, music is never played, nothing but sherry is served and photos are strictly forbidden, a policy that goes back to the Civil War when Madrid was full of Nationalist spies. Ernest Hemingway would drop in to pick up information during his time as a correspondent in the city. Of course, this wasn’t enough to slake his thirst: Chicote’s on Gran Via was a firm favourite as was Villa Rosa and Cevecería Alemana, both on Plaza Santa Ana.

La Venencia. Photo: Felicity Hughes

Las Cuevas de Sésamo

Another Hemingway haunt in Barrio de las Letras was Las Cuevas de Sésamo. This underground cave was opened up after the war as a clandestine literary salon by former Republican aviator Tomás Cruz Díaz. One of the main attractions of this bar was its literary prize. Tomás launched the Sésamo Prize for theatrical works in 1952 and the scheme was such a success that a short story and painting prize was added, followed in 1956 by an award for novelists. Though the prize money was negligible, the cultural cachet for winners was huge, with many authors going on to forge illustrious careers. These included Soledad Puértolas, Juan Marsé, and Juan José Millás.

Las Cuevas de Sésamo in Madrid. Photo: Sergio de Isidro

Of course, there’s much more to discover about the history of Barrio de las Letras. If you’re interested in the subject, my book A Guide to Madrid’s Literary District from The Secret Kingdoms Press is out now. 

Felicity Hughes is the author of The Making of Madrid, a blog about the history of Madrid.

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