Beach etiquette in Spain

[baggies]

Lying on Lo Pagan beach in Spain. Huge huge beach. Using sunloungers we have hired. Family after family, old couples, young couples are now surrounding us. Why? They've got the whole bloody beach to choose!
Paid 10 euros for the privilege of looking at brollies, deckchairs and baguettes! Just waiting for the kids to play bat and ball directly in front of us and we've got a full house. Grrr😡

They probably didn't realise what they had done.

Also some people prefer to sit with people as sitting on their own scares some people

It is a Spanish/Italian thing. All crowd in together

It not just beaches. We used to have a narrowboat. We would select a remote place to moor so our dogs could run about unhindered and we could enjoy a bbq. These were rural spots well away from towns. Nine times out of ten someone would come along and moor either directly in front or behind you. Why, when they've got miles and miles of canal bank to chose from? Used to drive us mad.

This is a Spanish thing. Everyone likes to live and gather cheek by jowl together. They have a very different attitude to us towards personal space and noise. Once you get your head around the fact it's quite a nice, sociable thing, and understand that we as Brits are the 'cold' stand-offish ones, it's easier to accept and just get on with. Although as a naturally stand-offish person who values personal space, I do feel your pain. Enjoy your holiday in beautiful Spain!

Yes, Italians do this too.

Also you will see in the countryside, miles from anywhere, a house - and actually it's a maisonette, occupied by two separate unrelated families. They have chosen to live cheek by jowl!

I've never known it Spain. Now in Turkey some years ago, people would plonk themselves down close enough to put suncream on your back without them having to move.

Oh god, that picture of the crowded beach looks awful. I'd rather be alone in a caravan on a cold rainy day in scotland than that 😂

If you dont like being on a beach surrounded by other people then dont go to Spain in August. It really is verys simple.

Northumberland has miles of empty beaches. Esp when the sea fret rolls in.

I know what you mean. It's not that people chose to sit near. It's that there's a row of sun beds for hire and the people sit so close they are practically using your sunned to prop them up! They could easily sit 1-2m further forward.

I'm a cow because I love it when ds and I get to beach early and get a good spot far forward and someone plonks themselves in front of us and at some point ends up recusing their kit from the sea I just think 'well there was 5m either side and behind us. You chose to sit on our laps!'

I live in Spain and it's just what the locals do. We're used to it now but, at first, we found it really odd that people would park themselves right next to us when there were literally miles of empty beach to choose from.

Fucking hell, as a pp poster said, you hired a sun lounger, not the exclusive rights to a clear view - for that you need a beach towel parked perilously close to the sea.

YABU, You are in a tourist destination, at the beach, in the summer..............WTAF did you think your 10 Euros bought you ????

Private use of the beach ????

A totally unobstructed view of the waves as they came in ????

A security bubble of 50 metres around you ????

Are you actually the bloody queen ????

You are behaving like a spoilt child, all petulant and cross :(

I've just got back from Spain and after having my personal space invaded so many times I realised it's just what the Spanish do. Literally loads of room and they're virtually sat on the top of each other.

A young group of Spanish sat very near us and others on the beach and started playing loud music, the Spanish didn't bat an eyelid, I moved very quickly. So British

I seem to attract people who insist on using me for the net when playing ball games!

I don't understand it either.

You'd be unreasonable if you expected a patch of beach in frontofyou big enough for ballgames and a clear view of the sea.

You'd not be unreasonable for thinking people end up a bit too close together in odd circumstances. (I'm the same when camping - I pick a nice spot not miles from the facilities but not on top of anyone else, there's loads of space and then there's always one family who seem to pitch up far too close to someone else when there's a whole damn field to choose from, even if they shuffled 10m across it would be acceptable)

I call this sheep syndrome and I reckon it's because you're a trend setter.

Practise your resting bitch face. People never sit near me unless it can’t be avoided, as I generally look angry

Interesting mix of replies. Only point I was trying to make was the beach was huge loads and loads of space, really quiet yet people chose to sit near to us. Didn't know about cultural reasons.
Thanks everyone for answers, felt better for offloading at the time. All good now

It is a Spanish thing. We had this rather a lot on holiday in Spain last September.

Sometimes there would be a massive and virtually empty pool terrace and I would be happily reading my book. They would come and plonk themselves literally inches from us and it felt like they were virtually breathing down our necks. I find it uncomfortable, as I like my personal space and don't want it invaded.

One woman even sat on the end of my sunbed (I was on it at the time). I'm afraid I gave her a good, sharp nudge as that really was going too far. She got up and looked daggers at me but thankfully moved away. I made a big show of arranging my bag and suncream etc. along the end of the bed just to make my point clear.

Should have added, I don't think you are being unreasonable. But it is a cultural thing, and whilst I do object to the invasion of my personal space, I actually like Spain and Spanish people. I guess if I was there for any real length of time I would become a little more accustomed to it, but don't think I would ever actually like it.

I am an antisocial old goat.