Planning a trip to Spain this summer? Here are all the new rules and regulations you need to know
A heat and sunny local weather, 5,000 km of shoreline and world-class meals and wine – it’s simple to see why Spain continues to be a prime vacation spot for vacationers from all around the world.
In 2024, Spain welcomed a record-breaking 94 million guests, 10 per cent greater than arrived in 2023. Worldwide vacationers spent roughly €126 billion, accounting for round 13 per cent of the nationwide GDP.
However with this inflow of vacationers got here a raft of issues, a few of which Spain is attempting to rectify in 2025. Following a 12 months marked with high-profile anti-tourism protests, various new guidelines are being introduced in or thought-about in an try to stability the wants of the locals with the affect of hovering customer numbers.
With guidelines being set at a number of ranges – some making use of nationally and others simply in particular cities and cities – navigating these new laws is usually a minefield for guests.
Nonetheless, with some guidelines attracting fines of tons of of euros, it’s necessary to concentrate on what to do and count on when planning a visit to Spain this 12 months.
What do you want to bear in mind to get into Spain?
Spain’s entry necessities for vacationers rely vastly on the place you’re coming from, how lengthy you propose to remain and why you’re travelling.
For guests from the EU, EEA or Schengen Space, entry continues to be pretty simple. Only a nationwide ID Card or Passport is required, and there’s no restrict on the size of keep, though guests should register in the event that they plan to remain longer than 90 days.
For non-EU travellers, which incorporates the UK, Canada and USA, border checks have been tightened to raised management arrivals.
Even when you’re solely visiting Spain for sooner or later, you’ll want a passport legitimate for no less than three months after your deliberate departure date, in addition to as much as 5 different paperwork.
New for 2025, Spain is now requiring proof of journey insurance coverage on the border for non-EU guests. It’s best to have a return or onward journey ticket in hand too, as chances are you’ll be requested to point out this.
You additionally want to point out you’ve sufficient funds to cowl the size of your keep in Spain, and proof of your resort reserving. In case you plan to remain in your individual property, you’ll want a proof of deal with.
For these staying with buddies, household or a 3rd social gathering, a ‘carta de invitation’ from the particular person you’re staying with or proof of their deal with could also be required.
In case you’re planning a visit to Spain later within the 12 months, remember that the brand new European Journey Data and Authorisation System (ETIAS) is about to return into pressure in mid-2025. This journey authorisation prices €7 and could be utilized for on-line, lasting for 3 years following a profitable software.
What lodging guidelines can be in place this 12 months?
The Spanish authorities applied new restrictions on short-term leases on 2 January. Any property proprietor wishing to hire out their home is now required to be registered in a nationwide database and acquire a allow earlier than they’ll listing their property on reserving platforms.
Lodging suppliers are additionally required to acquire delicate private info from their friends, together with financial institution particulars and private identifiers. Spain has additionally proposed elevating VAT on short-term leases to match the ten per cent paid by inns which, if it occurs, might make a keep within the nation costlier.
Airbnb has criticised the transfer, noting that earlier efforts to limit short-term leases in different cities haven’t had the specified impact on overtourism.
Travellers are nonetheless capable of keep in inns, guesthouses and Airbnbs that have been registered earlier than these restrictions got here into place, so within the brief time period, there needs to be little affect on holidaymakers. Nevertheless, as customer numbers proceed to develop, the shortage of recent rental lodging might see costs start to inflate within the coming years.
Are Airbnbs banned in Spain?
Airbnbs should not banned throughout Spain, however can be restricted in some neighbourhoods.
In Malaga, 43 neighbourhoods have been recognized the place rental flats exceed 8 per cent of the housing inventory. In these neighbourhoods, no new rental properties can be allowed.
Barcelona plans to close down all 10,000 flats at present licensed as short-term leases within the metropolis. Airbnb-style flats is not going to have their licenses renewed, whereas new properties can be refused. Barcelona hopes to section out all short-term vacationer lets by 2028.
What vacationer taxes will you want to pay in Spain?
Spain has had types of a vacationer tax in place since 2012, when Catalonia launched a ‘ecotax’ of €0.60 to €3.50 per evening. Now, a number of cities and areas have applied a customer tax, which needs to be paid to the lodging supplier, normally at check-in.
Barcelona’s vacationer tax is without doubt one of the quickest rising in Europe, and in 2025 it has been doubled. In early March, the Catalan authorities signed an settlement permitting Barcelona and different Catalan locations to boost charges from €3.50 to €7 per evening for luxurious inns.
Charges are doubling however remaining smaller at much less lavish lodging, with 4 star inns attracting a price of €3.40 per evening, up from €1.70. Cruise passengers can be anticipated to pay €6, up from €3, even when they’re simply visiting for the day.
On prime of this, Barcelona has a municipal surcharge of €4 per evening, which may be doubled in 2025. This is able to deliver the whole value per evening in taxes to €15 for the highest finish inns, with VAT added on prime.
Within the Balearics, together with Mallorca, Ibiza and Menorca, approvals have been granted to boost the in a single day cost from €4 to €6 per particular person, per evening. Charges can be highest for these holidaying in peak intervals (June, July and August) and on the most luxurious inns.
The Canary Islands are additionally mulling a vacationer tax within the wake of a number of protests final 12 months. The city of Mogan on Gran Canaria was the primary to take a step, introducing a €0.15 charge per particular person, per day, in January.
Elsewhere in Spain, Santiago de Compostela and Toledo are introducing new vacationer taxes in 2025, with charges ranging between €1 and €2.50 per particular person per evening.
The unhealthy habits that would get you fined in Spain
Other than the complicated taxation and rental guidelines, some Spanish cities have some fairly uncommon guidelines about vacationer behaviour.
Boozing bans in Barcelona and the Balearics
Cracking down on drunken disruption, Barcelona will ban pub crawls within the historic Eixample district from 1 June. Pub crawls have already been banned within the metropolis’s outdated city – the Ciutat Vella district – since 2012, and that exact prohibition will stay in pressure till no less than 2028.
Within the Balearics, alcohol consumption has been restricted in all main resorts since Could 2024. The principles apply in Llucmajor, Palma and Calvia (Magaluf) in Mallorca in addition to San Antonio in Ibiza. Alcohol consumption on the road is banned, and outlets should not allowed to promote alcohol between 9.30 pm and eight am.
Breaking these guidelines might see fines of €750 to €1,500 for disruptive behaviour or as a lot as €3,000 for probably the most critical offences.
Vacationer driving ban in Mallorca
Hiring a automobile is about to get tougher too, as guests can be required to supply the identical info to rent corporations as they do to inns. Some corporations are permitting guests to fill within the required varieties earlier than arriving to hurry up the method, however bear in mind to take a sound ID with you when amassing your automobile.
The city of Soller in Mallorca has moved to ban vacationers from driving within the city centre with its new low emission zone. Protecting 12 historic streets and a few 70 hectares of the municipality, the rule means solely residents’ vehicles can be allowed to flow into.
Guests driving non-registered autos, comparable to rent vehicles, can be requested to park in newly-created parking areas, on the sting of the historic city centre.
Bans on seaside gazebos and tents
Torrox, a preferred vacation spot on the Costa del Sol, is banning seaside tents, gazebos and comparable buildings from being arrange on the seaside. Accepted by native councils on 24 February, the rule goals to extend security within the city.
Councilors clarify that such buildings take up area, create noise and block the view of lifeguards attempting to guard swimmers. They might additionally get in the best way of emergency providers attempting to entry the seaside.
Torrox first made headlines in 2014 when it grew to become the primary municipality in Malaga to concern fines for beachgoers who tried to order spots by leaving deckchairs, umbrellas, or private belongings unattended.
Smoking in Spain might mild up a tremendous
Over latest years, Spain has cracked down on smoking closely. Though smoking indoors has been banned since 2011, a number of exterior areas even have restrictions that guests ought to concentrate on.
Barcelona was the primary main metropolis in Spain to ban smoking on seashores, however greater than 100 different seashores within the nation have since imposed bans.
On the Balearic islands, 28 seashores are actually smoke-free zones. In Ibiza, these embody Playa de Santa Eulalia del Río and Playa de Talamanca; in Mallorca, it contains Sant Joan, Santa Ponsa, Cala Estància and a number of other others; and in Menorca, smoking is banned at Binissafúller and Platja Gran.
Elsewhere in Spain, 53 seashores in Andalucia, 61 seashores on the Canary Islands and 18 seashores within the Costa del Sol have all been declared smoke-free. In Costa Blanca, one in 4 seashores has banned smoking.
Along with conventional smoking, a latest rule change has seen vaping banned in a number of areas. Ten seashores in Barcelona and 28 within the Balearic Islands have banned using vapes.
Peeing within the sea might value you greater than your dignity
No matter your stance on urination within the ocean, Spain is eager to cease it taking place.
Two years in the past, the northern Spanish city of Vigo launched fines for “physiological evacuation on the seaside or within the sea.” Following in its footsteps, Malaga has additionally banned underwater urination at 25 seashores within the municipality, and is seeking to enhance its fines from €300 to €750.
The ruling for Malaga continues to be underneath session, however whether it is handed, it might see various different disruptive actions banned like taking part in with balls, permitting canine to enter the water and reserving areas with parasols.
The right way to keep the suitable facet of the vacationer legal guidelines in Spain
Whereas it could appear complicated, a lot of the guidelines on taxation fall to your lodging supplier to conform. Vacationer taxes needs to be collected by the property after which declared to the federal government, and any failure to take action will see the lodging proprietor in bother, not the vacationer.
Ensuring you’ve all the suitable documentation is a pure a part of any journey. Maintain it available as you undergo border management in case you’re requested for proof, and be careful for information on the ETIAS coming into pressure as this can be one other step to recollect.
In terms of unhealthy behaviour, appearing with decency and consideration from native residents will normally be sufficient to maintain you away from any fines. Nevertheless, do examine together with your lodging or journey agent concerning the guidelines in place at your vacation spot to keep away from falling foul of any new native restrictions.
